# Sorry Evans



## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

Honestly, I do pity Cadel. 

Sure, he doesn't attack etc etc etc. But he sure as heck worked real hard this year at the very least and did what he could. 

Good Tour by him nonetheless.


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## Racer C (Jul 18, 2002)

It seems like the pressure really got to him.


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## slowdave (Nov 29, 2005)

The better man won as is always the case in the tour.


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

Indeed the better man won. Kudos to Sastre. Good time to attack. Great TT today. Great Tour this year. 

Wonderful rides by many more like Schleck (both), Kohl and Schumacher. Oh and Cavendish too. Wait, Christian Vande Velde was awesome as well. 

Good team effort by Voigt and Cancellera to pull the peloton on a few occasions.


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## moabbiker (Sep 11, 2002)

He did really well considering his team couldn't offer him much. Popo was quite a disappointment.


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## ECXkid04 (Jul 21, 2004)

I was pulling for Sastre to keep Yellow today... but I have to imagine that Cadel is an absolute wreck. It has to be so disheartening to come up short again knowing that AC is going to be back next year. This was his best shot to do it, not that he won't have other shots in the coming years. The guy was so emotional when he took the Jersey, and today must have been a nightmare... watching it slip away. GREAT ride today by Sastre. Seems like CSC did the right thing on the Alpe after all since F. Schleck had nothing left for today's effort. Great stage, great Tour... time to start looking forward to next year.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

I really think Cadel's a bit too high-strung for the yellow jersey. It really seemed to wear him out, the pressure etc. 

Factor in a weak team (but not totally worthless by any means; they kept him in position and he never had a bad day). 

But Sastre got stronger as the race went on; and Cadel got worn out. I think he may have started his peak a bit early, and the pressure wore him out.


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

Creakyknees said:


> I really think Cadel's a bit too high-strung for the yellow jersey. It really seemed to wear him out, the pressure etc.
> 
> Factor in a weak team (but not totally worthless by any means; they kept him in position and he never had a bad day).
> 
> But Sastre got stronger as the race went on; and Cadel got worn out. I think he may have started his peak a bit early, and the pressure wore him out.


Also, Cadel had to hold his place as best as he could with the frequent attacks etc whereas CSC had many guns to fire.


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## Guest (Jul 26, 2008)

Creakyknees said:


> I really think Cadel's a bit too high-strung for the yellow jersey. It really seemed to wear him out, the pressure etc.
> 
> Factor in a weak team (but not totally worthless by any means; they kept him in position and he never had a bad day).
> 
> But Sastre got stronger as the race went on; and Cadel got worn out. I think he may have started his peak a bit early, and the pressure wore him out.


Yeah, grabbing the Jersey early was probably a bad move. He did have one bad day (the one where he crashed, I wonder if that's part of the reason he had less energy today than last year).


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## Greggb (Apr 15, 2002)

I am glad Evans didnt win. Again he blames his team. What a dink. One thing you NEVER do is bash your team. Those guys turned themselves inside out for him. Evans got beat because Sastre climbed better. Enough said. 

"The Australian expressed his disappointment that his team, once more, was not there at his side when he needed them. "I would have like some more support in the high mountains. At least one team member to ride with me and help at the tough end of a climbing stage," he said. "I would also have expected a bit more help from some other key riders when the pressure was on in the big climbs."


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## shorelocal (Jan 12, 2007)

Greggb said:


> Evans got beat because Sastre climbed better.


I'd say Sastre won because of his team ... CSC were dominant when it counted. For all the individual glory that goes with the yellow jersey, I believe the team were the reason Sastre won this year.


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## stig (Sep 13, 2005)

Evans should have not allowed Sastre to get that gap on the Alpe. 

Such arrogance! 

Tsk Tsk!


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## OES (Jan 23, 2002)

I just read Evans' quote about his team on cyclingnews. I do feel sorry for the man, but what a jackass.



stig said:


> Evans should have not allowed Sastre to get that gap on the Alpe.
> 
> Such arrogance!
> 
> Tsk Tsk!


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## cheddarlove (Oct 17, 2005)

Maybe it's not complaining and b*tching as much as it is wishing.
Maybe it's true that he would have done better if he'd had a teammate able to stay with him. I don't know. I don't think Sastre could have done what he did alone.


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## OES (Jan 23, 2002)

No doubt it's true. But to SAY it -- Naw. He's done this before, blaming his team, and it's just tiresome. CSC whipped his ass -- end of story. Better men than Evans would have been plumb wore down against that team. No shame in it, and no need to cast blame. Everyone knows Popo failed him, so why sound like a whiner?



cheddarlove said:


> Maybe it's not complaining and b*tching as much as it is wishing.
> Maybe it's true that he would have done better if he'd had a teammate able to stay with him. I don't know. I don't think Sastre could have done what he did alone.


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## godot (Feb 3, 2004)

Evans seems to say some stupid things at times. He's not going make a lot of friends on the team or in the peloton, but it's not really the teammates fault as it is the team management that either brought the wrong team to the tour to support a GC contendor, or just don't have the right guys on the team to fill out a competitive tour squad

Lotto brought a knife to a gun fight. They had one guy, Popo, on the team to help in the mountains, and he didn't have a good race. What was McEwen doing on the team? He couldn't win a sprint, but did waste energy trying to. To win the tour these days you really need to be totally dedicated to winning the overall, and forget the other competitions.

Team CSC rode a beautiful race, Hide for 2 weeks and save energy, then move to the front and lay down the law.

Imagine if Cadel had one or two guys that could actually hang in the mountains and mark the CSC guys? Imagine if Cadel and Lotto didn't waste all that energy protecting the yellow jersey.

I have a lot of respect for how Cadel rode this tour, it was him vs 3 guys, and he acquitted himself well, but in the end he was worn down by fighting a well organized team that executed their plan to perfection.


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## CabDoctor (Jun 11, 2005)

Velonews said:


> Lotto party silenced
> Plans for an elaborate victory party for Silence-Lotto were shelved after Cadel Evans couldn’t close the deal against Spanish climber Carlos Sastre in Saturday’s time trial.
> 
> The team had rented out a Parisian discotheque and hired five white limousines to deliver the triumphant riders. Rather than yellow, the night’s theme was supposed to be white, with everyone dressed up in white tuxedos and dinner dresses.
> ...


Anyone that arrogant deserves to have their "butt" handed to them on a silver plater. But only after they get smashed in the face with humble pie. This was an awesome tour. Schumacher lost the jersey same way Hincape did. Ricco "Suave" has only his blonde locks and hair gel to keep him company in the police station. And Evans lose the tour. I can't wait to get this thing on DVD!


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

I guess the only thing he fell short of is say Popo was disappointing.


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

Evans wouldn't have been involved in the party organization - all the teams put on parties for sponsors etc. His comment don''t exactly sound arrogant. Maybe he shouldn't have said it, but in all fairness he's right that his team didn't provide much support for him in the mountains. All he would have needed is a teammate to pace him partway up Alpe D'huez. 

No one seems to remember the year Armstrong was isolated on one climb and everyone freaked out. CSC proved how much of a team event it is and used team tactics to wear down Evans perfectly.


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## CabDoctor (Jun 11, 2005)

Yeah but Evans has a reputation for airing his teams dirty laundry out in almost every team interview.


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## JM714 (Jan 22, 2004)

Evans sowed the seeds of his teams failure back at Paris-Nice. He said he was there to ride for Popo. Then when Popo seemed to struggle up Ventoux, Evans left him and wheelsucked Gesnik to the top where he outsprinted him to the finish. He got what he deserved at the tour.


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## Iwannapodiumgirl (Jun 26, 2002)

Cadel tried to win the Tour by himself, Sastre had it won for him by his team.

You have to admire Cadel for his conviction, determination and spirit.


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## CabDoctor (Jun 11, 2005)

Iwannapodiumgirl said:


> You have to admire Cadel for his conviction, determination and spirit.


No you really don't when someone consistently puts their individualism ahead of team


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## QQUIKM3 (Apr 20, 2008)

*Bla bla. . .*



uzziefly said:


> Honestly, I do pity Cadel.


I'm glad he lost. He even looks like an assho*l.:thumbsup:


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## ti-triodes (Aug 14, 2006)

I'm afraid I can't feel sorry for this wheel sucking, complaining, back stabbing a-hole.


Wah, my team screwed me again, Wah!


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## cheddarlove (Oct 17, 2005)

JM714 said:


> Evans sowed the seeds of his teams failure back at Paris-Nice. He said he was there to ride for Popo. Then when Popo seemed to struggle up Ventoux, Evans left him and wheelsucked Gesnik to the top where he outsprinted him to the finish. He got what he deserved at the tour.


That's right. I forgot about that. I'll bet he switches teams. But to who?? Rabobank? That might be a good choice!


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## Albob (Mar 16, 2002)

*Would Horner have helped?*

It seemed like Chris Horner was with Evans all the time in last year's tour. The team didn't want to pay him so they got Popovych instead.


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## cpark (Oct 13, 2004)

slowdave said:


> The better man won as is always the case in the tour.


+1. better man with a better team.
Also, Sastre was able to say upright and didn't have a bad day (I don't think).
It seems like being able to stay upright makes a GC contender's job much easier.
Indurain and Armstrong somehow always to stay out of trouble by staying upright....


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## ti-triodes (Aug 14, 2006)

cpark said:


> +1. better man with a better team.
> Also, Sastre was able to say upright and didn't have a bad day (I don't think).
> It seems like being able to stay upright makes a GC contender's job much easier.
> Indurain and Armstrong somehow always to stay out of trouble by staying upright....



...and by winning ITT's.


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2008)

Albob said:


> It seemed like Chris Horner was with Evans all the time in last year's tour. The team didn't want to pay him so they got Popovych instead.


Hmm, was Popo cheaper? That doesn't seem likely (in the Euro peleton).


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2008)

cpark said:


> +1. better man with a better team.
> Also, Sastre was able to say upright and didn't have a bad day (I don't think).
> It seems like being able to stay upright makes a GC contender's job much easier.
> Indurain and Armstrong somehow always to stay out of trouble by staying upright....


LA had a few problems, but say what you want about the man, his bike handling skills were first rate.


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## LeDomestique (Jan 17, 2007)

ti-triodes said:


> I'm afraid I can't feel sorry for this wheel sucking, complaining, back stabbing a-hole.
> 
> 
> Wah, my team screwed me again, Wah!


+1

Come on...would anyone have liked Evans as Tour Champion? A wheel-sucking, take no risks, winger ?

Thank God for SCS and Sastre


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## CabDoctor (Jun 11, 2005)

yeah you would think with all his mountain biking background Evans would be better to avoid falling


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## velomonkey (Jul 8, 2003)

LeDomestique said:


> +1
> 
> Come on...would anyone have liked Evans as Tour Champion? A wheel-sucking, take no risks, winger ?
> 
> Thank God for SCS and Sastre


Come on . . .I don't like Evans either, but Sastre? As an individual he is not better than Evans. As a team CSC is heads and shoulders above Lotto, but you did not even see Sastre till the last mountain stage and there was just no way Evens in his situation could respond. CSC won this one as Evans and Sastre were about equal as riders given Evans and his fall. Since CSC is such a stronger team they will win, every time with that situation.

As riders, they both bore me, I only wish Horner could have been there.


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

AJL said:


> Hmm, was Popo cheaper? That doesn't seem likely (in the Euro peleton).


Popo got paid quite a fair some whilst at Disco so I don't think he was cheaper or cheap by any means. They wanted him partly because he was younger is my guess. Also, he could be a GC guy for smaller races too so...


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## tdi-rick (Oct 2, 2007)

Evans fought team management tooth and nail to keep Horner, but they wouldn't pay what Horner was asking.

BTW, before the TT Cadel said that Sastre is a really nice bloke, and back in his first tour when he (Evans) was alone on the climbs, Sastre would wait back and give him Coke, etc, even though they were on different teams.


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## pedal2tahoe (Nov 10, 2006)

"Uh, Mr. Sastre, would you please pee in the bottle, sir..?"
Let's all remember a couple of years ago--
Shouldn't we all be waiting for the lab results?? Seems like when anyone has a "Lance-like" explosion off the front, we hear about them a few days later testing positive (i.e. the cobra..........)
Hope not, but just something to think about....


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## Racer C (Jul 18, 2002)

Eh, I dunno. Personally, I have a WTF rule of thumb. If the performance makes me say, "WTF?", then I'm really, really doubtful. Sastre's performances didn't trigger this for me. Looking back at Alpe d'Huez, lots of people sat around looking at each other, stop and go, making Sastre's climb totally doable. His TT, not anything special, it was Evans that was slow. WTF performances of the 08 Tour included: Riccardo Ricco's 2nd stage win, Schumacher's TT wins, JJ Cobo and Piepoli on Hautacam. Other stuff was impressive, but not WTF.


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## moabbiker (Sep 11, 2002)

pedal2tahoe said:


> "Uh, Mr. Sastre, would you please pee in the bottle, sir..?"
> Let's all remember a couple of years ago--
> Shouldn't we all be waiting for the lab results?? Seems like when anyone has a "Lance-like" explosion off the front, we hear about them a few days later testing positive (i.e. the cobra..........)
> Hope not, but just something to think about....


That's just it -- he wasn't a twin brother of Ricardo Ricco. The team did everything to spare his legs until that last climb and even when he took off, it wasn't that much ballistic, just that it was out of the league of Cadel and Menchov. 95% of everyone was saying that Sastre's gain on that climb wasn't even enough.


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## bramt (Jun 21, 2008)

velomonkey said:


> Come on . . .I don't like Evans either, but Sastre? As an individual he is not better than Evans.
> 
> +1
> 
> ...


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2008)

bramt said:


> +1
> 
> Everyone here seems to love calling Cadel a "wheelsucker" but what do you call Sastre?
> 
> He was wheelsucking his team until a great ride up the Alpe but it's his team that one if for him.


Uh oh, the Cadel haters are going to go nuts when they see this. The truth hurts!


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## LeDomestique (Jan 17, 2007)

*exactly*



bramt said:


> He was wheelsucking his team until a great ride up the Alpe but it's his team that one if for him.


Exactly...."until a great ride up the Alpe", when he attacked, rode like a man who wants to win and won the stage....

Need I say more?

However, granted, Cadel did everything on his own, with no team at all. Sastre had Jens, Stuwey, Fabian and others as well.


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

But Cadel's complaining is really just bad. To say it out the way he did. He might as well have said Popovych was not good enough.


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## cityeast (Sep 16, 2004)

I agree, Cadel's diplomacy is poor..criticsm of his team shouldn't be aired publicly. I get the impression Evans is an emotional kinda guy, cycling is as much a passion for him as it is a job. Unfortunately, its not doing his image any favours. 

But the TdF is not a popularity contest or judge of character...if so I doubt even LA would have been in yellow. Its an elite athletic contest, and I respect each and every participant for making this event a spectacle to watch.

With that said, when you've poured everything you've got into training and preparation, when you know you've got the goods to be in yellow in Paris, but you watch it slip through your hands because your team can't cut the mustard, it must be difficult not to say something. I am sure other GC contenders have been thinking the same thing, just more respectful to keep it in house.

Evans has another year to work on his own performance, his team, and hopefully, his image. I hope he can make it on all three.


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## Dumbod (Dec 31, 2004)

*Hamilton = Lepheimer = Evans*

All three of these guys were/are very good riders (ignoring Hamilton's pharmaceutical adventures) but none of them had what it takes to win a Grand Tour for the same reason. None of them are/were aggressive enough to take the race by the neck and shake it until it was dead. Say what you will about Armstrong; there was a time in every tour that he challenged all the contenders and dared them to beat him. The same was true last year of Contador, the year before it was true of Landis, etc.

Evans rode the entire race as if he were the presumptive champion. To the best of my recollection, Evans did not attack once. Good grief, even Vande Velde attacked a couple of times. Finally, it's true that Sastre rode the time trial of his life but it's not like Evans just blew people away.

All in all, he got what he deserved.


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2008)

Evans attacked on Hautacam - he didn't win the stage, but was able to limit his loses by doing so.


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## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

uzziefly said:


> But Cadel's complaining is really just bad. To say it out the way he did. He might as well have said Popovych was not good enough.


I heard Cadel praise his team in multiple interview, saying the team was performing 'well above expectations.' Funny how he can praise his team, but all that's remembered is him saying the team isn't very strong--stating the obvious, really.

I'm not a huge Cadel fan, but he did earn some respect from me for how well he performed given his (lack of) team support.


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## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

AJL said:


> Evans attacked on Hautacam - he didn't win the stage, but was able to limit his loses by doing so.


And got the yellow jersey by the slimmest of margins.


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## Jesse D Smith (Jun 11, 2005)

*Evans incapable of earning respect*



OES said:


> I just read Evans' quote about his team on cyclingnews. I do feel sorry for the man, but what a jackass.


Quality riders don't guarantee support. Even quality riders must WANT to support their leader. They must have faith in him, and feel their support will be rewarded. Put Evans on the BEST USPS/Disco/Astana/CSC team, and he still wouldn't be able to gain their full respect and support.


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## karatemom (Mar 21, 2008)

Yeah, you can say what you want about LA, but he rode the TdF very aggressively and always, always thinking of the win. Evans seemed to sort of, take a few stages off, like, "Well, this stage doesn't count too much, so I'll just wheelsuck and wait until a stage that counts more." Not that he attacked much even then, but this seemed to be his attitude.


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## bigmig19 (Jun 27, 2008)

So if Cadel's such a terrible climber, timid, and underconfident, what are the other 170 (odd)riders who couldnt keep up with him? Hey I want to like the guy but everytime they stick a mic in his face he comes off a little prickish, but geese, he is a better climber than ALMOST everyone on the planet and a top notch TT'er. I sense that if he had any energy left on D'euz he would have closed on Sastre. He didnt look too fresh at the top of that climb, roll it back and you will see he almost falls right off his bike at the finish. If he could attack he would. Among the clean riders he is one of the best.


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## moabbiker (Sep 11, 2002)

I like Cadel, I really hope he gets another chance. I think he's just quick to take offense and needs a bit of anger management counseling, but he's a good guy inside who works really hard.


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## mikeman (Sep 17, 2005)

moabbiker said:


> He did really well considering his team couldn't offer him much. Popo was quite a disappointment.


Without the benefit of the Bruyneel doping program, Popo appears to be just another rider.


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## karatemom (Mar 21, 2008)

Okay, realistically speaking, he is a far better cyclist than most riders in the pro peleton and 99% of people who ride. I just can't get the big painting of himself over his fireplace out of my head. I have a little sympathy for his frustration at having gotten so close but not having won, but still...blaming his team (in public) was just not the classiest move he could've made.


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## mikeman (Sep 17, 2005)

stevesbike said:


> Evans wouldn't have been involved in the party organization - all the teams put on parties for sponsors etc. His comment don''t exactly sound arrogant. Maybe he shouldn't have said it, but in all fairness he's right that his team didn't provide much support for him in the mountains. All he would have needed is a teammate to pace him partway up Alpe D'huez.
> 
> No one seems to remember the year Armstrong was isolated on one climb and everyone freaked out. CSC proved how much of a team event it is and used team tactics to wear down Evans perfectly.


LA did not have help in the high mountains (he was isolated) until 2001. They used to talk about it incessantly and then he had all of the guns (Rubiera, Heras, Acevedo, Popo, Beltran et al). In the beginning he had none (do not count Tyler as he was never there when it counted). That said with the Postal/Discovery doping program LA would have won anyway.


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