Originally Posted by
FriendlyFred
Sastre may have sat in until Alp D'Huez but, and it's a big but, he DID do something on the climb, he did attack, and that's where he won the race. Evans never attacks. At some point in the three weeks you HAVE to put yourself out there and attack for the win. He never did that. The one point where he could attack and perhaps win, the final TT, he didn't have it. He never put himself out there to 'earn' the win. Coming in 2nd two years in a row is great, but personally, I'm glad he didn't win.
This is a true and strong point. You can ride a conservative race for most of the race but eventually you have to attack in one or two of the final mountain stages to put a couple of minutes into the top GC guys. Evan's has never done this nor do I think he had the energy to do it. These last couple of mountain stages really show who among the GC guys still has some energy and will power left at this point in the race.