# Evans leaves Silence Lotto



## harlond (May 30, 2005)

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-to-leave-silence-lotto

Not that I thought they were great for his GT ambitions, but still I'm surprised he's leaving. Wonder where's he going?


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Maybe he likes Argyll



harlond said:


> http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-to-leave-silence-lotto
> 
> Not that I thought they were great for his GT ambitions, but still I'm surprised he's leaving. Wonder where's he going?


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## tschramm (May 13, 2007)

Anywhere but Astana. Please!!!


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## Topher (Jun 5, 2005)

Hopefully somewhere with some support!!


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## ping771 (Apr 10, 2006)

Based on teams that I think that need more grand tour overall contenders (esp tdf), I'd say maybe Quickstep, Fuji-Servetto (or whatever it's called now), and Highroad. I'm sure alot of people will say Garmin, but my gut says no.


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## NextTime (Oct 13, 2007)

BMC? I'm not aware of the team having a GC contender.


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

I'm thinking this is the first step in the Contador shuffle.

JSR


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## ping771 (Apr 10, 2006)

NextTime said:


> BMC? I'm not aware of the team having a GC contender.


Good call. However, with Hincapie to BMC and Kim Kirchen to Katusha, I thought that Highroad might be more of a fit.


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

Highroad might be a possibility, but they have always seemed content to focus on stage wins. BMC is really looking like a classics team; they might have GC ambitions. I vote . . . . . . . Quick Step.


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

I doubt Evans will leave a team with crappy GC support (silence-lotto) for one with even less GC support (Columbia).

Quickstep, BMC. He won't touch Astana...I don't think he is that stupid.


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## Travis (Oct 14, 2005)

my bet is QuickStep as well. Get him on the program and he might turn up on the podium again


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## ultimobici (Jul 16, 2005)

Quickstep would be the logical move as Lefevere was Evans' DS at Mapei. 2002 was a better year under his directorship.


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## haydos (Sep 17, 2007)

He'll go where the most $$ are...


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

iliveonnitro said:


> I doubt Evans will leave a team with crappy GC support (silence-lotto) for one with even less GC support (Columbia).
> 
> Quickstep, BMC. He won't touch Astana...I don't think he is that stupid.


He should go to radioshack. They have a nice collection of riders aiming for 3rd place in GC.


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## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

Colavita Sutter Home. A whiner for a team sponsored by wine.


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## chase196126 (Jan 4, 2008)

I actually wouldnt be surprised if Evans ended up at BMC. A local shop owner was talking to some insiders on the team and said there were rumors of a "big GC rider" signing in the near future. Maybe this is it?


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## Frith (Oct 3, 2002)

Surprised no one's mentioned Sky... That's my bet


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## Guest (Nov 1, 2009)

It will be interesting to see where he goes, also to see what Silence does next year. They did finally come around at the end of the year but it was pretty rocky till then.


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## WeakMite (Feb 20, 2005)

Hincapie left the impression in an interbike interview that he wasn't expecting BMC to get a tour invite in 2010, but he mentioned maybe 2011. 

I would think Evans wouldn't sign for a team that didn't have a clear shot at a tour invite.


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

Radio Shack.


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## deadlegs2 (Oct 3, 2009)

Bummer...just when I was all ready to buy a CANYON....not


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

Frith said:


> Surprised no one's mentioned Sky... That's my bet


 Sky and Quickstep are the leading contenders. Sky wants to quickly be a contender in the Tour and they've got some riders that could help Evans, like Lovkist, Gerrans, and Boasson Hagen (yes, he can climb). I'll go with Sky.


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## brentster (Jul 12, 2007)

Surprised no one's mentioned Rock Racing... That's my bet.


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## albragi (May 11, 2007)

It might very well be Cervelo. Evans wants to win the Tour, and Sastre already hinted he could concentrate on Giro and/or Vuelta. I do not think he is able to succed in the Tour again. Plus, two unsefish riders will allow for a play a la Rijs (CSC) with Schlecks and Sastre, and not only in the Tour. Evans has just shown very good domestique qualities, might help Haussler in spring. Hushovd never really had any special support, so it will not affect him in his fight for the green jersey.

On the side note, I believe Evans is clean, and Cervelo is a clean team as well. I would not say the same about Quick Step, I do not think Evans will compromise.


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## brblue (Jan 28, 2003)

iliveonnitro said:


> I doubt Evans will leave a team with crappy GC support (silence-lotto) for one with even less GC support (Columbia).
> 
> Quickstep, BMC. He won't touch Astana...I don't think he is that stupid.


I agree QuickStep don't have a GC contender, but what more support can they provide, that Lotto couldn't ? I think QS would be exactly the same for Evans.. 
I'd say 
- cervelo or lampre
- sky?


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## tdi-rick (Oct 2, 2007)

The news services here are saying Sky, maybe....


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

Sky makes sense seeing he is an Aussie. Highroad does need a GC guy though. 

The offseason just got a bit more interesting.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Both Sky and Garmin say Evans is not with them.


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## B2 (Mar 12, 2002)

NextTime said:


> BMC? I'm not aware of the team having a GC contender.


Sounds like BMC may have just received a Tour Invite for 2010 afterall.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-to-bmc-contador-to-lotto-for-2010 

Aren't they looking more like a classics team though?? Would be an odd place for Evans to go. Support kind of similar to Lotto....


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## Bry03cobra (Oct 31, 2006)

Velonews is saying BMC


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## ping771 (Apr 10, 2006)

Update: Evans is giving a press conference today clearing up rumors, but the rumors are saying it's Garmin.


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## zosocane (Aug 29, 2004)

Garmin would make sense because Wiggo will hit for Sky after his contract is up in 2010. JV wants a real GC contender for the Tour for the next 2 to 3 years.

Cervelo also makes a lot of sense because (i) they will give him excellent support in L-B-L, Amstel and Fleche as well as the TdF, and (ii) i think they're not resigning Sastre past 2010 (I think Sastre's contract expires after 2010 season). 

BMC seems to have a lot of cash, so who knows.

QuickStep would be no better than Silence, and Cadel is no dummy.

Lampre is a real possibility because they have cash -- they lost Ballan and have a new co-sponsor (some wine company). Also Cadel lives in the Lombardia area and is well-liked by the _tifosi_. Lampre has no TdF rider (Cunego clearly can't do it). But their GC support is awful. They lost Paolo Tiralongo and they were one of the worst teams in the 2009 TdF. That might be another Silence situation for Cadel in terms of support.

RadioShack ... you never know. I could see it, especially with Lance not being on the team after 2010 (I doubt it). Johan and Lance would build a stacked GC team around Cadel.

Columbia-HTC would be unwise. That team is built around Cavendish and now Greipel. With Hincapie out of the mix I don't see Cadel on a team like that which wouldn't be fully committed to the TdF GC. Bob Stapleton thinks he has the greatest cycling team out there based solely on wins, but I think fans on balance prefer to see the big GC battles. At the end of the day, Cav and Greipel winning a gizzillion sprint stages in the GTs gets a little redundant.


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

WeakMite said:


> Hincapie left the impression in an interbike interview that he wasn't expecting BMC to get a tour invite in 2010, but he mentioned maybe 2011.
> 
> I would think Evans wouldn't sign for a team that didn't have a clear shot at a tour invite.



I think you could take it to the bank that if BMC signed Evans they would get the invite to the Tour in 2010.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

not Garmin

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-not-heading-to-garmin-in-2010


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

BMC..


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## Don Duende (Sep 13, 2007)

Team Skye
The Shack
Saxo Bank
BMC

Those are my best guesses


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## Don Duende (Sep 13, 2007)

Duplicate post.


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

deleted... this site is acting strange.


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## ragweed (Jan 2, 2009)

*BMC confirms Evans signing*

So it is BMC -- http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bmc-confirms-evans-signing


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## dwestov (Aug 1, 2007)

Seems confirmed that Evans is now with BMC. He left a team with no mountain support for team with even worse mountain support, but they do have a very interesting team in place.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*Evans should aim his calendar*

at the 3-4 day to one week mini tours
he reminds me alot of Leipheimer
both riders seem better suited for shorter tours
as do their teams
w/no invite it is not a bad plan
Paris Nice, Dauphine, etc....
he could get some great Palmares in his rainbow
hard for the tour to not invite the WC


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## WeakMite (Feb 20, 2005)

rocco said:


> I think you could take it to the bank that if BMC signed Evans they would get the invite to the Tour in 2010.


Yeah that's what I was wondering, if you *added* Evans to a team that already signed last year's WC and Hincapie... would that get a tour spot? I'd guess it's likely.
:thumbsup:


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

I'm not sure this totally accurate, but the Cycnlingnews transfer summary afticle lists the BMC roster as follows: Add Evans for 12 confirmed riders. Pro Conti teams must carrry 16 riders, leaving some room for climbing help for Cadel.

*BMC Racing*
_In_
George Hincapie (Columbia-HTC)
Alessandro Ballan (Lampre)
Karsten Kroon (Saxo Bank)
Marcus Burghardt (Columbia-HTC)
Steve Morabito (Astana)
Mauro Santambrogio (Lampre)
Alexander Kristoff (Joker)
John Murphy (OUCH)
Chris Barton (BMC development team)
Michael Schär (Astana)
Simon Zahner
_Out_
Chad Hartley (Kenda)
Tony Cruz (Rock Racing)
Marcus Zberg (Retired)


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## Jokull (Aug 13, 2007)

That list is incomplete. The cqranking rider transfer list is better:

STAY 
FRANK Mathias 
FREI Thomas 
LOUDER Jeff 
STALDER Florian 
WYSS Danilo 
MOOS Alexandre probably 

IN 
BALLAN Alessandro < Lampre - NGC 
BARTON Chris < Elite-2 
BURGHARDT Marcus < Team Columbia - HTC 
CLERC Aurélien < Ag2r - La Mondiale 
EVANS Cadel < Silence - Lotto 
HINCAPIE George < Team Columbia - HTC 
KRISTOFF Alexander < Joker - Bianchi 
KROON Karsten < Team Saxo Bank 
MORABITO Steve < Astana 
MURPHY John < OUCH presented by Maxxis 
SANTAMBROGIO Mauro < Lampre - NGC 
SCHÄR Michael < Astana 
ZAHNER Simon < Elite-2 
CARROLL Austin ??? < Elite-2 
CHICCHI Francesco ??? < Liquigas 
HOUSE Cole ??? < Elite-2 
SCHWAB Hubert ??? < Quick Step 

OUT 
BOVAY Steve > ??? 
CRUZ Antonio > Rock Racing 
ZBERG Marcus > Retires 

STAY or OUT ? 
BEYER Chad 
BOOKWALTER Brent 
GARCIA Jonathan 
KOHLER Martin 
MCKISSICK Ian 
NYDAM Scott 
STEWART Jackson 
TOLLESON Taylor


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## Spunout (Aug 12, 2002)

Good team for the early classics, small spring tours, and the TdF. Great thing about being NOT a PT team is that they can skip the Giro, etc.


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## The Weasel (Jul 20, 2006)

Spunout said:


> Good team for the early classics, small spring tours, and the TdF. Great thing about being NOT a PT team is that they can skip the Giro, etc.


According to Evans himself, they are guarenteed a spot in the Giro, and hope to use it as a springboard to Le Tour


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

Interesting move by Cadel but the roster as it shapes up at BMC will not give him much more support in the mountains, if even as much as he had at Lotto. Hincapie can tow the line for a while and Santambrogio is a decent climber but that's about it. I wonder if guys like Matt Lloyd and Charly Wegelius can escape Lotto? Then again reading between the lines they might not have been the biggest Cadel supporters anyway.

I think his move from Lotto is probably more driven by trying to be in a team where he is respected by the riders. I have always had the feeling that Evans is not that well-liked by his teammates. Plus Belgian teams can be bad for politics, look at Jurgen Van Den Broeck running his mouth during last year's Tour wanting co-leadership. Good luck to him in Cadel's absence, any recent Belgian rider who has shown any potential for GC ambitions in Grand Tours has been crushed by the weight of expectation from the Belgian press (Rik Verbrugghe, Mario Aerts, Wim Van Huffel, VdB, Axel Merckx to name a few).


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## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

Eric_H said:


> Interesting move by Cadel but the roster as it shapes up at BMC will not give him much more support in the mountains, if even as much as he had at Lotto. Hincapie can tow the line for a while and Santambrogio is a decent climber but that's about it. I wonder if guys like Matt Lloyd and Charly Wegelius can escape Lotto? Then again reading between the lines they might not have been the biggest Cadel supporters anyway.
> 
> I think his move from Lotto is probably more driven by trying to be in a team where he is respected by the riders. I have always had the feeling that Evans is not that well-liked by his teammates. Plus Belgian teams can be bad for politics, look at Jurgen Van Den Broeck running his mouth during last year's Tour wanting co-leadership. Good luck to him in Cadel's absence, any recent Belgian rider who has shown any potential for GC ambitions in Grand Tours has been crushed by the weight of expectation from the Belgian press (Rik Verbrugghe, Mario Aerts, Wim Van Huffel, VdB, Axel Merckx to name a few).


I'm not a big Cadel fan, but I'm not a hater, either. I think he was treated badly by the team during/after the TdF. I frankly hope Van Den Broeck flames out of the TdF next year.


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## awesometown (May 23, 2005)

I don't want to sound like a Cadel hater (because I'm not) but can someone PLEASE show me an example of him not getting the support he says he's totally lacking? If you go by the ends of all the big mountain stages it seems to always come down to just the GC contenders on their own and at the end of the day its just your ability that's going to get you over the line first. Is he mad that he didn't have enough people to grab bottles from the team car?

Also if he can't get proper support on a big budget team like S-L how is he going to get it from BMC?


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## Guest (Nov 3, 2009)

awesometown said:


> I don't want to sound like a Cadel hater (because I'm not) but can someone PLEASE show me an example of him not getting the support he says he's totally lacking? If you go by the ends of all the big mountain stages it seems to always come down to just the GC contenders on their own and at the end of the day its just your ability that's going to get you over the line first. Is he mad that he didn't have enough people to grab bottles from the team car?
> 
> Also if he can't get proper support on a big budget team like S-L how is he going to get it from BMC?


He did have Horner there with him for a bit, and he's been a good lieutenant for some time.


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## pdh777 (Oct 7, 2005)

SL couldn't give him any support in the TTT - that cost him minutes right there.

Also seldom were any of his teamates able to hold tempo - it always seemed Cadel was without teamates at the front end of the pack. Don't think you will see too many GC guys wanting to fill Evan's vacancy at SL.

I beleive SL will really struggle next year.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

pdh777 said:


> I beleive SL will really struggle next year.


Their focus is really the spring classics so that is where their success is measured


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## bdaghisallo1 (Sep 25, 2007)

awesometown said:


> I don't want to sound like a Cadel hater (because I'm not) but can someone PLEASE show me an example of him not getting the support he says he's totally lacking? If you go by the ends of all the big mountain stages it seems to always come down to just the GC contenders on their own and at the end of the day its just your ability that's going to get you over the line first. Is he mad that he didn't have enough people to grab bottles from the team car?
> 
> Also if he can't get proper support on a big budget team like S-L how is he going to get it from BMC?


Well, not resigning Horner when Evans all but begged for it was one instance. The lack of support was bigger than what happened in the races. The lack of any serious effort to sign a coterie of riders who could consistently support him in the mountains and the diluted focus with having McEwen on there chasing stage wins all detracted from his chances. I say this, not as an Evans fan, but as an observer of what's happened over the last few years.

If you build up your star as a TdF contender but don't do anything but the bare minimum to support that notion you're not really doing your part.


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

den bakker said:


> Their focus is really the spring classics so that is where their success is measured


And look where that got them this year.


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## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

awesometown said:


> I don't want to sound like a Cadel hater (because I'm not) but can someone PLEASE show me an example of him not getting the support he says he's totally lacking? If you go by the ends of all the big mountain stages it seems to always come down to just the GC contenders on their own and at the end of the day its just your ability that's going to get you over the line first. Is he mad that he didn't have enough people to grab bottles from the team car?
> 
> Also if he can't get proper support on a big budget team like S-L how is he going to get it from BMC?


Well, last year in the middle of the tour--before he had really dropped off the pace--Silence's management was already stating that for next year Evans would have to share leadership with Van Den Broeck. And Van Den Broeck is just starting to show what _might_ be possible with him, while Evans is a proven and known entity. A known entity with two seconds at the TdF in the past two years (top of his game and at the top of pro cycling) and some earlier strong performances, including the Giro when he was with Mapei.

I can tell you if I got "support" like that in my job I'd be pretty pissed off.


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## Guest (Nov 3, 2009)

iliveonnitro said:


> And look where that got them this year.



Yep, they were a disaster in the spring.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

kytyree said:


> Yep, they were a disaster in the spring.


I don't know if it was a disaster. They were in position in every important race, just couldn't finish.


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## Guest (Nov 3, 2009)

kbiker3111 said:


> I don't know if it was a disaster. They were in position in every important race, just couldn't finish.



For a Belgian classics team like Silence Lotto that is disaster.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

jorgy said:


> Well, last year in the middle of the tour--before he had really dropped off the pace--Silence's management was already stating that for next year Evans would have to share leadership with Van Den Broeck. And Van Den Broeck is just starting to show what _might_ be possible with him, while Evans is a proven and known entity. A known entity with two seconds at the TdF in the past two years (top of his game and at the top of pro cycling) and some earlier strong performances, including the Giro when he was with Mapei.
> 
> I can tell you if I got "support" like that in my job I'd be pretty pissed off.


Exactly. Evans would have won Vuelta (or at least had a very good shot at it) if he had better team support there. De Greef (?) did not come back or wait, there was no team car next to him when he flatted, it was plain weird to watch.


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## Guest (Nov 4, 2009)

55x11 said:


> Evans would have...



There are a lot of those "Evans would have" stories.

Still tip of the cap to him for winning worlds.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

kytyree said:


> There are a lot of those "Evans would have" stories.
> 
> Still tip of the cap to him for winning worlds.


Let's put it differently - I simply cannot imagine Schleck, Contador, Armstrong, Basso or any other top GC rider losing more than a minute due to incompetent wheel change, a teammate up the road not even slowing down to help, and the team acting as if nothing unusual happened.

I used to think Evans was a whiny underachiever who wheelsucks and then complains when he gets second (and in 2008 Tour his defensive riding may have cost him top spot), but in Vuelta 2009 lack of team support was really key. But even in 2008 Tour, it would be superhuman to expect Evans to counter Schleck brothers AND Sastre in the mountains with no teammates. Where were his teammates then?


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## ultimobici (Jul 16, 2005)

55x11 said:


> Let's put it differently - I simply cannot imagine Schleck, Contador, Armstrong, Basso or any other top GC rider losing more than a minute due to incompetent wheel change, a teammate up the road not even slowing down to help, and the team acting as if nothing unusual happened.


Can't lay that at SL's door as it was neutral service who fluffed the wheel change. The rest of it is fair enough though.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

ultimobici said:


> Can't lay that at SL's door as it was neutral service who fluffed the wheel change. The rest of it is fair enough though.


We rarely see the neutral service wheel change - usually the team car (or the teammate) is right there. Evans was isolated - and it's not the only time, he was isolated most of the time in the mountains. Somehow this just doesn't happen with competent team management.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

yup. evans = levi + loud mouth 



55x11 said:


> I used to think Evans was a whiny underachiever who wheelsucks and then complains when he gets second (and in 2008 Tour his defensive riding may have cost him top spot), but in Vuelta 2009 lack of team support was really key. But even in 2008 Tour, it would be superhuman to expect Evans to counter Schleck brothers AND Sastre in the mountains with no teammates. Where were his teammates then?


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## Squeegy200 (Dec 1, 2005)

What I found amusing is that Cadel was so anxious to get out the door at Silence Lotto that his migration to BMC may have jeopardized any chances of competing in the TDF in 2010. 

BMC is not guaranteed a spot. There is one remaining position and 3 viable candidates.

One only needs to look at Astana's exclusion from the 2007 TDF to realize BMC is not a shoe-in. ASO is totally subjective regarding team selections. And they have been known to exclude qualified teams because of past history. Keep in mind the new BMC team was at one time known as Phonak. That was the team that embarrassed ASO in the 2006 TDF with Floyd Landis' positive results for testosterone. That same ownership/management staff from Phonak is still alive and well under the new BMC continental flag.


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

Squeegy200 said:


> What I found amusing is that Cadel was so anxious to get out the door at Silence Lotto that his migration to BMC may have jeopardized any chances of competing in the TDF in 2010.
> 
> BMC is not guaranteed a spot. There is one remaining position and 3 viable candidates.
> 
> One only needs to look at Astana's exclusion from the 2007 TDF to realize BMC is not a shoe-in. ASO is totally subjective regarding team selections. And they have been known to exclude qualified teams because of past history. Keep in mind the new BMC team was at one time known as Phonak. That was the team that embarrassed ASO in the 2006 TDF with Floyd Landis' positive results for testosterone. That same ownership/management staff from Phonak is still alive and well under the new BMC continental flag.


Yes and no. John Lelangue, the general manager/head DS for BMC was at Phonak in 2006 but it is also important to remember he is a former high-level employee of the ASO and has deep ties to many of the people who call the shots. I would say having the World Champion who has finished on the podium twice, plus the connections to the ASO will likely get BMC an invite to the dance. 

Given that the Tour does not have invite every Pro Tour team, look for possibly teams like Euskatel and even Lampre to get the shaft from the ASO. Euskatel had a positive drug test stage winner last year, not good for business. And the ASO is still not a big fan of Petacchi and his transgressions of days gone by. Also, they could potentially dump a team like Milram just because they are not results producers.


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

For some reason, the wheelsucker label is starting to get to me a bit. It seems to be applied, from my perspective, to riders (often the ones considered by many to be clean) who try to race intelligently and tend to finish high in the GC of the biggest races in the world. I don't really see what they are doing wrong; kinda sounds like sour grapes from people (and their fans) that lose to them in the end...

Anyway,

Cadel is racing differently than he used to, and it payed off for him for the first time in the World Championships. He was very emotional after this win, contradicting the accusation that he is emotionless. I am in the camp of those that found him annoying in the past, with his constant complaints against his team. However, recent observations have confirmed to me that, regardless of his attitude, he was absolutely right. His two podiums in the TDF were earned by his effort alone, and Lotto looked like a mess in the 09 TDF. They looked disorganized through the mountains, dealt Evans a psychological blow at the beginning with a crappy TTT, and Van Den Broeck seemed to be doing his own thing the whole time. It is interesting to me that Evans achieved his greatest victory in 09 racing for Australia, not Lotto. His isolation in the Vuelta was an absolute disgrace, and the treatment he received during his wheel change was literally painful to watch. My dislike of Cadel has been temporarily suspended, and I am really interested to see what it will look like to have a decent team working hard to support him. BMC has been signing some of my favorite riders.


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## swuzzlebubble (Aug 4, 2008)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/05/2733666.htm



> World road race champion Cadel Evans has confirmed he will take on seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong in January's Tour Down Under in Adelaide.
> South Australian Premier Mike Rann says Evans and his new BMC Racing Team have verbally agreed with Tour officials to accept a wild card invitation.


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

thechriswebb said:


> For some reason, the wheelsucker label is starting to get to me a bit. It seems to be applied, from my perspective, to riders (often the ones considered by many to be clean) who try to race intelligently and tend to finish high in the GC of the biggest races in the world. I don't really see what they are doing wrong; kinda sounds like sour grapes from people (and their fans) that lose to them in the end...


Wheelsucking doesn't win you races. Although Cadel actually will attack in either 1-day or unimportant (to him) races, he never attacks at the TdF, which is his outspoken main objective.

Basically, he sucks wheel right to 2nd place. You can't win like that. There's also no panache. What is there to love about that?


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