Why has Cadel stayed with Lotto for four years?

RichN95 wrote:

Also, even though SL are fairly low budget, he gets a hefty chunk of it. According to the Wall Street Journal, he's the second best paid rider.

Is this the 2nd highest in SL?

Good article on Cadel Evans in The Guardian.
http://m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gmg/op/sR- ... cat=Search

And no doubt his earnings will now take a bit of a boost.

alanmcn1 wrote:

Procycling interview suggested he really likes Belguim too?

If he likes it that much, why does he live in Switzerland?

Hey don't shoot the messenger.................

I think maybe it was referring to riding for a Belgian team? It was a while ago, and I have consumed too much wine since I read it...................I'm off to berate FF.............

Tusher wrote:

I know he's tied into a contract and can't move this year, but why didn't he move last time his contract was up?

Last summer he didn’t move because he eventually became leader at Silence-Lotto. Before then McEwan ruled the roost.

RichN95 wrote:

Essentially he had a rotten time at T-Mobile

He was taken on by T-Mobile as a possible top-10 GT contender, but the idea was dropped because, even if less frequently than before (he had 3 bad crashes in 2003), in training he continued to be a ‘fall guy’. T-Mobile manager Godefroot just didn’t trust him to survive the hectic first week of the TdF without crashing.

The Other McHoy wrote:

I was in the warm up area for La Vuelta time trial in Valencia and got a chance to see all of the leaders on their Tacx turbos. Believe me when I tell you that Boonen, Valverde, Cancellera, Kolobnev and Andy Schlek were all personable. Posing for photos, smiling having a laugh - with team mates and the public.
Then I went to the Silence Lotto bus and there was Cadel with his back to everyone. No interaction with the public whatsoever.

I was at the start of the TdF stage in Colmar, and Evans was the most friendly rider I saw when it came to contact with the public, posing for photos, chatting, etc. So maybe it depends which side of bed he gets out of?

[/quote]

Some people prepare for the task at hand differently then others.
It was the warm up area, so maybe he didn't want to be distracted as he mentally prepared himself for the stage ahead. Being one of the most consistant riders over the last few years it seems to work for him. But also as Knedlicky said "maybe it depends which side of bed he gets out of." Haven't you ever had a day where you just couldn't be bothered dealing with people and answering stupid questions? Then again, I'm guessing you have never been in a situation where people want your photo, autograph or statement prior to one of the biggest events of the year. :P[/quote]

Sure you can make up all the excuses you want for him, maybe valid maybe not. I offered you my observation on why I wouldn't want him in my team if I had the choice.

He is who he is, prickly and very quick to criticise others - be it towards other riders, his own team or the media. On the day in question, he wasn't surrounded by fans or the media, there was no battery of photographers or interviwers harrassing him or asking him "stupid questions". I simply said that unlike every other rider, he turned his back on the public.

He wasn't having a bad day, that's how he is, that's how he warms up elsewhere too. If that is all it was then i'ts no big deal but he has a history of being a t**t and if you want harmony in your team he's never going to be first choice. Look at how quick he was to blame Gesink at La Vuelta for what in fact was his own mistake. Shouting and screaming at the cameras etc. etc.

Like footballers, golfers tennis players etc. he lives his life in the spotlight and should by now have learned how to deal with it. It comes with the territory and he is paid big bucks by teams and sponsors in compensation for the little hassles that go along with the riding.

He wasn't under any more pressure than any of the other riders to perform well - including Valverde. Cancellera and Miller were at La Vuelta solely for the TT stages yet they could at least interact with the small number of the public milling about.

If at the end of the day you want to support him for being a good cyclist, fair enough - your choice. I just answered a little bit of the question as to why I think other teams have not been desperate to sign him.

Firecrakka - as you are from Oz you want to defend your best cyclist, understandable. A lot of people, including teams and sponsors, expect certain standards of behaviour from their cyclists, not just results. If results are all that matter to you fair enough, he is a good cyclist and gets some great results.

IIf he was a footballer, his many episodes of boorish behaviour towards the media would be slammed as that of a spoiled, overpaid brat throwing his toys out of the pram when things don't go his own way. Managers and players don't like it when players speak out against their own, they say it upsets the dressing room atmophere.

Let's turn it around. You disagree with my observations so why do you think Cadel has such a negative public image and why do the elite teams not want him as a team leader? Why is such a good rider not with Saxo Bank, Astana, Caisse etc. etc.

For the record, I think he is a gutsy rider who gives his all on the road. I think he may be one of the few elite riders who is not doped up and I think his race at the Worlds was brilliant. But I also think he has a major attitude problem to the world around him and that could have cost him any chance of a Grand Tour win.

All just my opinion based on observation, reports and hear say. Maybe he's just misunderstood. They say that about most wayward stars.

afx237vi wrote:

alanmcn1 wrote:

Procycling interview suggested he really likes Belguim too?

If he likes it that much, why does he live in Switzerland?

Err..... Tax reasons?
Can't fault him if it's saving him cash
Also,I'd wager he won't get bothered by the general public,as he surely would in a mainstream cycling obsessed country.

Still think a factor is the reserved nature of the swiss,meaning he doesn't attract much unwanted attention from the general public

dennisn wrote:

Could be that he likes his job, likes who he works for, and with, likes the money they pay him, and likes where he lives. Why go to another team just because, well, "everyone else does"? There are more than a few sports "stars" who play for the same team, year after year, through good and bad.

The argument is that Omega-Pharmacy-Lotto are not providing him with a team good enough to get him to the top step of a grand tour. It's a valid question but I'm sure he has his reasons.

iainf72 wrote:

dennisn wrote:

Could be that he likes his job, likes who he works for, and with, likes the money they pay him, and likes where he lives. Why go to another team just because, well, "everyone else does"? There are more than a few sports "stars" who play for the same team, year after year, through good and bad.

The argument is that Omega-Pharmacy-Lotto are not providing him with a team good enough to get him to the top step of a grand tour. It's a valid question but I'm sure he has his reasons.

That may be yours, and some others, argument, but it doesn't necessarily mean Cadel subscribes to it. I mean, the guy is on a pro team, well paid, living well, racing bicycles,
traveling all over the world, doing very well with the team he's on(MAYBE another team
might get him a tour win, MAYBE), living in Switzerland. Geez, what's not to like. Could be he doesn't like the idea of bouncing around from team to team all the time. There are no
guarantees that he'll do better with anyone else.

Why did Ullrich stay for so long at Telekom? It's a similar, if not identical situation in that Evans isn't racing one dominant rider, just several riders who are better than him. As mentioned before, I just think he's happy at Silence and he's gets enough results in a season to justify not moving. Who knows, maybe if he moved at the ned of the season he'd be on a team that did worse next year?

Any information on who they've signed so far? They were unlucky with Kohl last year, that showed aspirations to do well in the Tour, and by the time it emerged about him it was too lat to find a suitable replacement