FlashBazbo

Cadel went on an "excuse / reason for defeat" tear at the Giro. Depending on the interview, he either lost due to (1) a malfunction in his Campy shifting, (2) a malfunction in his own shifting, (3) previously-undisclosed illness, or (4) the fact that his team isn't very strong.

Now, will Cadel come up with new excuses for the TdF? Or will he rely on some tried and true classics?

Any ideas of which excuse(s) Cadel will use this time?

bratton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FikzgWE3t0A

Sea Green Sky

This and the rest of the 2010 Giro changed my mind about Cadel.

deep_sky

I don't think anyone can deny that he does have talent, but he is such a whiny drama queen at times. He has a better team this year, but there are so many contenders that I have my doubts he will be able to overcome all of them, and I do fully expect him to have a bevy of excuses as to why. He seems to trot that out every time he doesn't win.

colombo357

Sounds like he lacks a lot of skill in terms of shifting WITHOUT breaking something. Maybe he received sponsorship at too early of an age and never learned what it's like to break parts and have to replace them yourself with money from your own pocket?

daytonian

what the ***** is that a chin pump he does at 15-16 seconds?

LynnH

I'm thinking George is a really good influence on him, and he will do well this year.

OrionKhan

Evans has really been a different rider since last years Vuelta. He rode like a beast at the Giro with almost no team support. The guy is the reigning world champion. The grand tours generally come down to the best all around climber/tt guy. Mountain top finishes generally decide the races. Evans just doesn't have the brutal climbing ability as someone like Contador, Valverde, or Basso. Losing to those guys isn't a bad thing. I could see him on the podium again. Now if someone like Leipheimer wins the TdF, Cadel has no excuse.

ultraman6970

He has psychological problems or something? HE is well known for his bad temper but i never imagine his reactions to touches or even because somebody is looking at his darm pet? Yes he has talent and he is climbing better than ever in my opinion but this year will be a weird TDF, vino is coming back, lance apparently is ready to go again?, besides these 3 guys and the Spanish kid and Basso who else can go for the GC? sincerely who else?

OrionKhan

People dog Evans like he should have won the TdF last year instead of Contador. Seriously? The guy is the reigning world champion. Evans hasn't shown those problems this season. He rode like a beast in the Giro. Vino did as well. But as well as Evans has been riding this season, he still hasn't shown the ability to attack on the big climbs and drop other great climbers. He attacked during the Giro, but just doesn't have that type of climbing ability. I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the podium again. But Contador, A. Schleck, Basso, Nibali, are all guys that can put in big climb efforts. AC and Basso TT well too. A top 5 finish in a grand tour is not shameful.

chasm54

he's the world champion, does he need excuses? He probably just isn't quite good enough in all departments to win a TdF. But watching him in the Giro, especially on the strade bianche in the wet, it was difficult to be unimpressed.

And, of course, his team isn't very strong.

ultraman6970

His team sucks again, and with that temper pretty much he deserve the bunch of younger's that would anything as long as they are riding in a team. Vino is my fav for this year's tour, but darn if lance does something ...

Laggard

What excuse do you use for being such an idiot?

FlashBazbo

It's always great to have George Castanza visit the forum. Welcome back!

ultraman6970

hahaha

C_Heath

his voice never changed from a teen. Somtimes I feel sorry for him but his team does suck this year.

Pedal Dancer

Simple - his team is not deep enough to protect him, mark others and counter attacks at critical moments. Big George is the key and Ballan will be of help but he lost several team members in the first week of the Giro. Top 10 if he rides the way he has been without major issues but his team will not be able to get him on the podium and as someone said before he is not the mountain goat that others are for the way this TdF is designed.

lukasz

How do some of you figure his team is weak this year? Have you seen his Silence-Lotto squads? Hincapie and Ballan were not at the Giro.

FlashBazbo

Well . . . Cadel keeps saying that it's weak. I figured he must know.

Pedal Dancer

Silence-Lotto was much weaker! BMC does not have a deep bench of grand tour riders. I'd rather see Hincapie win a stage more than anything.

Hopefully no one steps on Cadel's dog this year or heads could roll.

Namenda

Primarily because, when compared to the other Tour teams...it is. Hincapie isn't going to be pulling Evans up the climbs, or covering attacks in the mountains. Who will they depend on to do that? Brookwalter? Steve Morabito? And if anybody says that Ballan is a great climber, I may just lose my breakfast.

lukasz

Oh, ok. What else has he told you?

FlashBazbo

What's up? Are you a non-reader? I would refer you to all the popular cycling media outlets. They are quite informative.

And, by the way, as much as I really, truly like Hincapie, I'm not sure you can cite him as proof of team strength anymore. George seems to be a great guy and he was Superman during the prime Armstrong years, but age is kryptonite to us all. I don't see him winning any stages anymore. And he's not going to lead Evans up the climbs the way he did Armstrong. Those stages were many years ago now.

lukasz

I've been bored out of my mind for a few weeks and have read just about every story on velonews, bikeradar, cyclingnews, and various blogs. I'd like you to point me to one story where Evans disparages his TdF team.

You and I both know that you will have trouble: TdF lineups have only been announced in the past few days, and you'd have to be an idiot to insult your team on the eve of the biggest stage race of the year.

Hincapie ain't much but remember who was leading Cavendish out in Paris last year.

Racer Ex 

Aren't you the asshat who called out the guy (a real racer BTW) who had his Di2 fail at Gila as a fake and asked for his team and number? Then BrianAppleby vouched for him as real? Because he was there and saw it?

I'd refer you to that thread. It's quite informative.

Actually you ought to apologize to the guy, then you can get back to running down Cadel. You about as right on this as you were on that.