Tour favourite Evans unfazed by Contador’s absence

03Jul08

Leading 2008 Tour de France favourite Cadel Evans of Australia believes victory this year in cycling’s blue riband event would have equal worth despite the absence of last year’s winner Alberto Contador of Spain.

Asked if the victory would be devalued with no Contador racing, Evans stated flatly: “Not really.
“A lot of people have asked me about this and I’m not annoyed about it, but not really, no.
“I don’t make the rules, I just abide by them,” the 31-year-old Silence-Lotto team leader added.
Contador’s Astana squad have been barred following the doping scandals that rocked last year’s race prior to Contador riding for the team.

Evans, who finished runner-up last year a mere 23 seconds behind the Spaniard after 3,547 kilometres of racing, assumed the role of top contender.
 

“In my first Tour (in 2005) I didn’t know what I could achieve and neither did the team,” he said. “I thought maybe the top ten was possible, but I finished eighth and took it from there.
“I still wasn’t convinced I could win the Tour after the 2006 race, either (when he took fourth place). But after 2007, I think winning is possible. And when they call me favourite, I take it as a compliment.
“Last year I felt proud of my achievements. My Tour had a huge impact in Australia in the media. My mother was interviewed on mainstream TV every night in the second part of the Tour,” he added.
Frequently slated for his failure to attack in previous years, this spring Evans has silenced his critics with four solid wins.

TIME TRIALS
The second during the Paris-Nice race in March was a summit finish on Mont Ventoux, a climb rated “the toughest in France” by seven-times Tour winner Lance Armstrong.
But it is in the Tour’s time trials, not the Alps or Pyrenees, that former MTB World Cup winner Evans feels he will make the difference in the 2008 race.

“Logically, the time trials are where I should do best, and where I should be able to win the Tour.”
Evans has led a major Tour on one occasion, when he was leader of the Giro d’Italia in 2002 during the third week, but then cracked badly on the last climb of the last mountain stage, the Folgaria, losing 15 minutes to eventual winner Paolo Savoldelli of Italy.
“I’m still kicking myself for losing that race.” he said with a rueful grin. “But I can still remember the pressure you have when you’re leading a big race as well.”

Perhaps hinting that he would like to take the lead in the final time trial, Evans said: “The lead (of a major stage race) is a very heavy load to bear and it’s something I’ll remember during this year’s Tour.”

Cycling’s image has been blighted by suspicion after repeated drugs scandals, the latest in the 2007 Tour when race leader Michael Rasmussen of Denmark was expelled for allegedly lying to his team.
But Evans said the sport is doing everything it can. “We (cyclists) must be the most drug-tested individuals on the planet.”

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