Farewell Cadel

epc06
epc06 Posts: 214
edited February 2015 in Pro race
Difficult to gauge his popularity on here but as Evans approaches retirement its fair to say he's had a tremendous career and I for one will miss seeing him race.
My favorite memory would be his solo effort up the Lautaret and Galibier in chase of Andy and the Tour overall, dropping each of his rivals as they struggled to hold on.

Chapeau
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Comments

  • salsiccia1
    salsiccia1 Posts: 3,725
    +1

    A real gutsy rider, transformed by his Worlds win. Wore the bands better than most of recent times, topped by THAT stage in the 2010 Giro. The best GT stage for many years.

    cadel_evans1-420x0.jpg
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • smithy21
    smithy21 Posts: 2,204
    ^ this really. Incredible stuff that stage.
  • shinyhelmut
    shinyhelmut Posts: 1,364
    True class that stage, wiping the mud off the rainbow bands as he approached the finish line.
  • Longest fairwell tour since Status Quo...
  • salsiccia1
    salsiccia1 Posts: 3,725
    Longest fairwell tour since Status Quo...

    Possibly, but I think he of all people has earnt it :wink:
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • If he is clean, he is one of the riders of his generation.

    But this isn't the thread for dubious chat.


    His worlds win and the White Roads Giro stage were amazing racing.
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    Longest fairwell tour since Status Quo...

    I think Jens and Millar could contest that...It does seem that there is an awful amount of luvvee-dom in cycling these days with endless curtain calls. Ironically I don't begrudge the Post World Champs win Evans any of this but the rider he was before was highly unlikeable. Truly an Epiphany, I'll miss his gutsy riding
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • joelsim
    joelsim Posts: 7,552
    Reading this thread, for just a fleeting moment I didn't dislike the bloke.

    Back to normal now thankfully.
  • He is widely regarded as a clean Tour De France winner. That makes him a member of a very exclusive club. The fact that he competed cleanly against the EPO Generation for much of his career makes his Tour and Worlds win very special. A gutsy rider and I'm sad to see him go. I hope he enjoys his retirement.

    DD.
  • Longest fairwell tour since Status Quo...

    I think Jens and Millar could contest that...It does seem that there is an awful amount of luvvee-dom in cycling these days with endless curtain calls. Ironically I don't begrudge the Post World Champs win Evans any of this but the rider he was before was highly unlikeable. Truly an Epiphany, I'll miss his gutsy riding


    I was always of the same opinion, but when you look back at the guys he was consistently getting beaten by, the total lack of support within his team prior to BMC and his struggles to even get picked for grand tours by T Mobile he must have had the patience of a saint not to blow his stack every single day.

    Having a reputation for being a dull wheelsucker can't be pleasant when vintage Berto, Armstrong, Schlecks, Ras, Menchov etc are your peers
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • Certainly popular with me anyway.

    But I agree, he has become more palatable to some as of late, as he was not everyones cup of tea. But hey ho, he probably worried more about riding than being liked.
    Trek,,,, too cool for school ,, apparently
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,200
    For all that he's done, I should have mountains of respect and admiration for him. But I somehow just can't warm to him. And that's not because of the various outbursts during interviews etc, I just don't like him on the bike. I should do, but I don't.

    Probably the elbows.
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  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    For all that he's done, I should have mountains of respect and admiration for him. But I somehow just can't warm to him. And that's not because of the various outbursts during interviews etc, I just don't like him on the bike. I should do, but I don't.

    Probably the elbows.

    Nonsense. Can you just stop lying to us and lying to yourself

    You don't like him because a horse kicked him and you think if a horse had a problem with him, you've got a problem with him too.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • joelsim
    joelsim Posts: 7,552
    iainf72 wrote:
    For all that he's done, I should have mountains of respect and admiration for him. But I somehow just can't warm to him. And that's not because of the various outbursts during interviews etc, I just don't like him on the bike. I should do, but I don't.

    Probably the elbows.

    Nonsense. Can you just stop lying to us and lying to yourself

    You don't like him because a horse kicked him and you think if a horse had a problem with him, you've got a problem with him too.

    I find myself shouting at the TV when he's on it. And not in a good way. His bike riding style isn't the easiest on the eyes either. No other rider does that to me, even Valverde.

    #gohorse
  • andyrac
    andyrac Posts: 1,123
    Like others said, the World Championship seemed to be the making of him; a TdF win, that stage in the Giro, plus winning Wallone. And, to prove how versatile he was 2 MTB XC World Cup Titles....

    Riders who can win in more than 1 discipline always score highly for me.
    All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,200
    iainf72 wrote:
    For all that he's done, I should have mountains of respect and admiration for him. But I somehow just can't warm to him. And that's not because of the various outbursts during interviews etc, I just don't like him on the bike. I should do, but I don't.

    Probably the elbows.

    Nonsense. Can you just stop lying to us and lying to yourself

    You don't like him because a horse kicked him and you think if a horse had a problem with him, you've got a problem with him too.

    I didn't even know about the horse thing!

    Horses are mental bastards, so I've maybe got a bit more time for him now.

    Note: my avatar is a pony. Far more well balanced, psychologically. Possibly.
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  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 18,878
    If he didn't dope he must have been the greatest rider of the last 30 years.
    And an incredibly pragmatic personality.
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • philbar72
    philbar72 Posts: 2,229
    Face for radio, riding uphill like he had burst a boil on his bum, and the descending ability of someone who knew what they were doing. Not much of a personality, but a gutsy competitor and a strong bike rider. Great TDF win.

    I'll miss him a bit.
  • I'll miss him. Rode with grit and twas a terrible era in which he peaked.
  • Also does a ton of work for good causes.
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • milton50
    milton50 Posts: 3,856
    I never warmed to him personally. He always seemed quite an awkward, bitter person.

    But you have to admire what he achieved on the bike. He was so tenacious. I'll always remember that stage to the summit of the Galibier where he slowly reeled in Andy Schleck for mile after mile.
  • jordan_217
    jordan_217 Posts: 2,580
    I didn't ever have a pint with the bloke so I don't know whether I liked him or not...

    As a rider though, he was solid. Didn't quite have the panache as other GT winners and contenders but he's there to ride a bike and get the job done, which he did and he did it consistently. I bet a few GC contenders will be glad to know he's no longer going to be on their wheel.
    “Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”
  • shinyhelmut
    shinyhelmut Posts: 1,364
    Milton50 wrote:
    I never warmed to him personally. He always seemed quite an awkward, bitter person.

    But you have to admire what he achieved on the bike. He was so tenacious. I'll always remember that stage to the summit of the Galibier where he slowly reeled in Andy Schleck for mile after mile.

    If he was clean then he has every reason to be bitter.
  • milton50
    milton50 Posts: 3,856
    To a certain extent, I suppose.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,244
    Uglier riding style than Voeckler.


    There I said it.
  • debeli
    debeli Posts: 583
    I think the pro-peloton will be a duller place without him.

    I sort of preferred him as a perpetual bridesmaid than once he won the TdF.... I'm not sure why, but I like the eternal nearly-man.

    He was certainly made of guts and his descending showed his MTB heritage. A very exciting rider to watch.

    It surprises me a little that his connections with Ferrari, Rominger et al do not lead to more finger-pointing. I think people just like him, so they'd rather not think he juiced.

    I like him too, but I do think he juiced. Or... he is way, way better than he appeared. Which I think he is not.

    Nonetheless, he will be a loss to cycling and in juicing he was just keeping up with the Jenses.
  • epc06
    epc06 Posts: 214
    Debeli wrote:
    I think the pro-peloton will be a duller place without him.

    I sort of preferred him as a perpetual bridesmaid than once he won the TdF.... I'm not sure why, but I like the eternal nearly-man.

    He was certainly made of guts and his descending showed his MTB heritage. A very exciting rider to watch.

    It surprises me a little that his connections with Ferrari, Rominger et al do not lead to more finger-pointing. I think people just like him, so they'd rather not think he juiced.

    I like him too, but I do think he juiced. Or... he is way, way better than he appeared. Which I think he is not.

    Nonetheless, he will be a loss to cycling and in juicing he was just keeping up with the Jenses.

    Dont agree on the appeared to be juiced. Always looked to me like he was on the rivet everytime he went up a mountain and I never saw him once dance away from anyone...hence all the references to wheel sucking.
  • The_Boy
    The_Boy Posts: 3,099
    Or the 'reverse clinic', as we call it.

    I was never a fan of Cadel's until *that* stage chasing after Andy. Was the sort of ride that defines a race and well worthy of his yellow jumper.
    Team My Man 2018: David gaudu, Pierre Latour, Romain Bardet, Thibaut pinot, Alexandre Geniez, Florian Senechal, Warren Barguil, Benoit Cosnefroy
  • Macaloon
    Macaloon Posts: 5,545
    I like to imagine Cadel accumulating grievances: unfair competition, dogs abuse, and the final indignity of 'competing' with van Gardening Accident for team leadership. It should make for a fantastic memoir.
    ...a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 18,878
    B8Yy64YIQAAoWsb.jpg:large
    Casquetteurs ‏@casquetteurs · 17m17 minutes ago
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!