Cadel Evans

[jpembroke]

he's been bloody marvellous this season. What happened? He seems to have morphed into some kind of devil-may-care, never-say-die, velo-gladiator.

Brilliant!

 

[Ghost Donkey]

You can't fault his guts and determination. He's wearing the rainbow jersey well and his riding's impressed me all through the giro.

 

[raindog]

It's true, he does seem transformed doesn't he? He used to get alot of stick on forums as a wheelsucker, but I always quite liked the bloke. And I'd hazard a guess that the wheelsucking critisism was coming from people who rarely rode themselves. He's not a pure climber, and it seemed obvious that in the GTs he was simply hanging on in the mountains as best he could, which is hardly wheelsucking. But it's great to see him attacking and long may it continue.

 

[Noodley]

I have always wondered why he's been at an average team for so long....

 

[Crankarm]

It's true, he does seem transformed doesn't he? He used to get alot of stick on forums as a wheelsucker, but I always quite liked the bloke. And I'd hazard a guess that the wheelsucking critisism was coming from people who rarely rode themselves. He's not a pure climber, and it seemed obvious that in the GTs he was simply hanging on in the mountains as best he could, which is hardly wheelsucking. But it's great to see him attacking and long may it continue.

His performance seems to have significantly improved. Does this mean that questions will now be asked of how he has achieved this given he's been around for a few years and has not been quite so good? Or is he just eating more eggs and beans ?

 

[HLaB]

I think it was last year Giro, he showed the same gut's and determination; his team around him was nowhere to be seen however.

 

[Noodley]

His performance seems to have significantly improved.

He has always been good, if you know his background you'll know this. I reckon he's grown more determined over the years and has had to work a lot on his own due to not having a team which could support him. His wheelsucking reputation came about IMO as he had to use others to work for him rather than his team - he'd use people from other teams to do the work his own team should have been doing, and this included other GT contenders.

His ride in the Worlds last year was brilliant. He has grown better over many years, he's not an overnight sensation, and as I said earlier his talent was evident from an early age.

 

[Stephen-D]

Im new to watching the pro cycling tours and finding out which riders i really like etc etc and i gotta say i love watching Cadel Evans, i think he shows true guts and determination, he seems to be able to carry himself and pull himself out of a rut, ive actually been on the edge of my seat watching him cycle, one of my favourites to

watching the way david aruyo (sorry for spelling) cycled the other day really impressed me, its almost like those riders who dont have the strongest teams or support tend to stand out more because they do all the hard work for themselves (because they have no choice i think),

 

[hiltz]

Cadel, can ride a bike but lacks personality.....

He has always been a good rider, could've won a lot more had he had the team to enable him to do it......

But in the same grain I think his time has come and gone...

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Cadel, can ride a bike but lacks personality.....

Hardly. In fact, completely the opposite. He's someone who stands out amid a sea of drones. He's a gutsy rider, incredibly irritating and whiney when he loses, but a generous and cultured guy outside of cycling. Now whether you like his personality or not is another matter...

 

[Stephen-D]

i remember seeing him have a spat at another rider who kept purposely going ahead to slow down the peloton because someone in his team were in a breakaway! was funny to watch two guys on bikes slap and tickle each other.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

i remember seeing him have a spat at another rider who kept purposely going ahead to slow down the peloton because someone in his team were in a breakaway! was funny to watch two guys on bikes slap and tickle each other.

Oh yeah, he's certainly had a few on-bike fights. I think there were a few fisticuffs involving Cadel earlier in the Giro in fact...

 

[Stephen-D]

Oh yeah, he's certainly had a few on-bike fights. I think there were a few fisticuffs involving Cadel earlier in the Giro in fact...

This one:
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmm4Oo_g6EM

 

[davidg]

the commentators seem to treat him like he's british though...dont like that

 

[ColinJ]

i remember seeing him have a spat at another rider who kept purposely going ahead to slow down the peloton because someone in his team were in a breakaway! was funny to watch two guys on bikes slap and tickle each other.

It is quite common for riders to use blocking tactics when other members of their team are up the road in a break but apparently what incensed Evans in this case was that they were riding to the front and then braking! There is a big difference between not trying very hard and almost causing a pile-up!

Having said that, the slapping match was pretty dodgy and could itself have resulted in a big crash.