kimconyc

Hmm, where was "team" BMC today on Stage 18? Cadel did a solo hero pull out of desperation.

I really feel sorry for him a lot of times.

Cadel would have made Gilbert look like a Cat-5 racer had he concentrated on Classics races with a stacked Lotto squad but their management in their brilliance obviously felt he could solo the TdF.

kimconyc

Hopefully Cadel can pull off the win in the TdF.

He really needs a better team. We will see if he has anyone there tomorrow.

ultraman6970

Hope he wins, If nothing happens tomorrow and everything stays as todays in the GC, cadel has finally won the tdf.

globecanvas

Cadel earned a lot of my respect today -- though he'd have earned even more if he'd had his "screw you guys, I'll chase him myself" moment about 30 km earlier.

LBCARider

Who really cares about what some radio presenter thinks about Cadel? Cadel's head is in a better place this year and his legs will do the talking on Saturday. I hope he wins. He's a class rider. He's a fantastic athlete and I yell for Cadel. Here's to you Mr. Evans.

Rotten Bastard

I started to like him after seeing him honor the rainbow jersey last year by racing pretty much everything. It's good to see how things turned out for him this year.

Kind of Blued

Did anybody else get creeped out when he kissed the stuffed lion on the lips on the podium? I still think he's a really weird dude, but I'm happy for him. He kept a level head, rode smart, strong, and earned this one.

Bacciagalupe

Ehh, I'm not a huge fan. I agree he rode very well in this tour, he earned his victory, and went above and beyond last year riding with a busted arm.

He just doesn't seem to take a lot of risks. He didn't launch big attacks, and all he and BMC did in the last week was respond. It seems like attacking isn't his forte so tactically it was good that it played to his strengths, but it's not as much fun to watch.

Caretaker

Great to see a fellow psycho winning the TdF.

Bacciagalupe

Uh, dude... It's a stuffed animal.

Oh, and it's part of the podium ritual, it represents Credit Lyonnais (a major Tour sponsor). Not as much fun as kissing the podium girls but perfectly normal, cf

Kind of Blued

Agreed, but I don't think he actually has the physical ability to hit the turbo on a 12% grade like Contador and Andy can. His brain sends the same signal to the muscles, but they respond differently. He just has the brute force to reel people back in, while still being well rounded enough to climb with the best of them, and TT with the best of them. I still enjoy watching Contador race more than anyone else, because he can do everything well, and he animates races with beautiful attacks, but Cadel had the right combination of skill, suffering, and luck this time around.

Jed19

Well, I for one did not think Cadel could win this Tour in the beginning. I started to believe he could do it when I started appreciating his strategy, tactics and steadiness. He just showed again that experience and guile trumps strength. He understood very clearly who he had to mark on the climbs, and he did that very well.

He just took the Schlecks to school on tactics.

Kind of Blued

What was your point? I find it weird that grown men are awarded stuffed animals for winning porting events in the first place, regardless of what they do with them afterwards.

sykerocker 

I think he'd have found himself in some form of legal trouble if he tried kissing the podium girls in the same manner . . . . . even in France. After being runner-up twice, I admire his restraint towards the toy.

Bacciagalupe

Yeah, I guess that other than the stuffed lion, there's nothing weird or unserious about the sport of cycling....














I'm thinking that getting a stuffed lion on the podium is probably the least weird thing about this sport.


P.S. just be glad I didn't post the pick of a bunch of cycling fans in mankinis.... (shudder)

sykerocker 

Keep in mind, cycling is televised. As long as there's a chance that the television cameras will be around, the attention-grabbers will definitely be in attendance. You want to get rid of the weird, disgusting types on the sidelines? Get rid of the TV cameras. I'll happily put up with the drunk *******s momentary flash on the screen, just so I can watch the races.

As to the devil: Didi's been around for so long, and has been such a fixture on the European Pro Tour that, if there's any justice in the world, once he's gone I should hope that the teams send representatives to his funeral. He's as much a part of professional cycling as the cobblestone trophy, the stuffed lion, and the teams themselves. And he's always handled his presence with a certain amount of class - which is more than can be said for a lot of the repeat 'characters'.

By the way, you forgot the Specialized Angel <grumble>.

Farby

I was 1/2 wrong.

Gotte

I always liked him. He's not an automaton - he fails and gets frustrated, he lashes out when someone hits his injured arm. He gets tongue tied in front of the cameras, he doesn't talk like a PR machine. he needs a good group around him to prosper. He's driven and probably lives on his nerves and stuff sometimes gets the better of him. All in all, he's like most of us. He's human, with all the good and bad that goes with it. And that's why I always liked him. And if he's he's got a chin that differs somewhat from a certain percentage of the population, so what?

bobvonb

dude, lighten up.

Flaneur

+1

Evans' self-belief really improved after he won the Worlds- and he rode like a true champion all last year. This july, he has accepted the responsibilities of favouritism throughout- when others couldn't or wouldn't. He's been smart, alert and aggressive- without a lot of support, in the high mountains.

Kind of Blued

Dude, that's why I started riding in the first place.

Wardj

Cadel proved that Contador without the juice was no match. Not in the mountains and not in the TT.

Nick Bain

lets make a deal, You step on my dog and I cut your head off. That's even, no?

Nick Bain

+1

chasm54

Who really knows what Evans is like in real life? And however he is, do I have to like him as a person in order to respect him as a cyclist? I don't think so.

He's been one of the best for several years and his performances in the last couple of years, especially the worlds and this Tour, have been excellent. I also remember with some admiration his win in a really tough stage of the Giro last year over the "White roads". He's no stylist, looks terrible on a TT bike - even I can get more aero than that - and so must have a terrific engine to perform as he does in the TTs and mountain stages. Tough guy.