Cadel Evans Interview

Davitamon-Lotto’s Cadel Evans has been a major talking point this season, a season which he is basing around the Tour de France in July. After a disappointing Fleche Wallone and Liege Bastogne Liege, Cadel underwent tests to root out the cause of his lack of form. Soon afterwards he was back on track, winning the final time trial and taking with it the overall classification at the Tour of Romandie.

With specific training camps in the mountains to recon the more difficult stages, Cadel is prioritising. Just as Lance Armstrong has done for the past number of seasons, Cadel is basing his season around France in July, and a race he hopes to challenge in.

We recently caught up with the 29 year old Australian at the end of the Tour of Switzerland to see how his preparation has went, and what he was hoping for in France.

Hi Cadel, thanks for taking the time to talk to ProCycleNews. We understand how busy you must be with your preparation for the Tour de France.

ProCycleNews: You recently won the Tour of Romandie, congratulations on your win there. Prior to that though many people had almost written you off after the early part of the season. Was the Tour of Romandie important for you?

Cadel Evans: I’d been written off? I think our whole team had been written off. We won four ProTour races in one week at Romandie. That got the ball rolling for the team. For me personally, the win at Romandie confirmed what we knew was possible, but this time it all came together.

PCN: With Davitamon Lotto you seem to have a lot more freedom, more so than when you were with T-Mobile. Do you think this has added to your confidence in the major races?

CE: I didn’t do many major races when I was at T-Mobile. At Davitamon Lotto, I do all the major races that want. This year Cadel has based his season around the Tour de France, a race he sees himself as a contender for in the future.

PCN: This year you’re basing your season around the Tour de France, how do you think you will perform there?

CE: Yes. To do a good tour you have to prioritise. So far, things have been much better for me this year. So, if I can perform a little better than last year. That will be a good start.

PCN: And has your preparation been as you had planned for the Tour?

CE: Yes, so far it has been much better. Results and training have been better this year. Problems and setbacks have been a lot fewer.

PCN: And have you checked out many of the mountain stages in training?

CE: Yes, Mario Aerts and I had a mini training camp in the Alps and Pyrenees. There are some big stages in this year’s tour!

PCN: You’re only after finishing the Tour of Switzerland; will that be your final race prior to the Tour de France?

CE: Yes, Tour de Suisse was my last race, and, since our [Australian] national championships are in January, there are not any races this weekend. That is fine for me. Switzerland was hard, I am happy to spend some valuable time relaxing and recovering at home with my wife.

PCN: In Switzerland you were up against your former team mates at T-Mobile, and in particular Jan Ullrich. Is it important for you to measure your form against the likes of Jan, one of the major contenders for this years Tour de France?

CE: I am always interested to see how I am going against all of my competitors. Jan and T - mobile had different priorities in Switzerland than I did. They were racing to win; I was racing to improve looking towards the Tour. Loosing 22 seconds to Jan in the final Time trial [finishing 2nd in the process] was promising for me. I always consider myself a climber, even though I was a bit off in the Swiss mountain stages.

PCN: How important was the Tour of Switzerland for your preparation?

CE: Tour of Switzerland was my final fine tune for the Tour. My results showed that in the last two stages. All in all, I am satisfied with how it went.

PCN: For the first July in many years there will be no Lance and his faithful domestiques in France controlling the race. Do you think this will make the race more aggressive, especially since it will be a lot more open with a number of rider’s who could possibly win overall?

CE: Yes, absolutely. I feel it will be a lot more open this year. It will also be a bit harder to read the race. Exciting for you guys watching.

PCN: So who do you see as the main challengers for the final yellow jersey in Paris, Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso, and who else?

CE: I also think Valverde, Leipheimer, Landis, Vinokourov (pending the UCI’s decision [whether to renew the licence of the team with the new sponsor in the wake of Operation Puerto in Spain]) and Popovych will have an impact on the race. Then there are always one or two surprises.

PCN: Ivan Basso recently showed tremendous form in winning the Giro d’Italia, but can he carry that form all the way to France in July? Then when you look at Ullrich who has gradually built his form, putting your neck out, who do you think will win?

CE: I don’t think Basso was on top form to win the Giro, he is capable of more. But the timing of the efforts, giro and tour, is a tricky thing to plan. If I were a betting man, hmmm…. I’m not!

PCN: And what about your chances for the Tour? What do you hope for at the finish in Paris?

CE: Like I said previously, I hope to improve on last year’s performance. How much I can improve on that, we’ll see in July.

PCN: Last year you said that you were going to go and attack which you done on the stage to Pau. This year will you approach the Tour de France with a more attacking mentality?

CE: It takes a bit more than just attacking to go on the ‘attack’ at the Tour. If I have the legs and the opportunity, of course I will attack. But I don’t think the others will let me get away like they did last year. Not if I am anywhere on GC at least.

PCN: Would you consider yourself a challenger for the Grand Tours in the future?

CE: Yes.

PCN: And what about Robbie for the Tour, another green jersey and more stage wins on the way to Paris?

CE: That is the plan. He is one of the best in the World at what he does. I think he will be unlucky to not win at least one stage.

PCN: Is he [McEwen] targeting the Points competition this year?

CE: If he can win it he’ll go for it, but watching Boonen in the Swiss mountains, it will be very hard for Robbie towards the end of the Tour.

PCN: So what about after the Tour, have you discussed the remainder of your season with the directors at Davitamon? Will you ride the World Championships?

CE: I will probably ride Tour of Germany and San Sebastian after the Tour. My results there will depend on how I come out of the Tour. We’ve pencilled in Tour of Britain at this stage as well. Worlds? Not for me, not this year.

PCN: Finally, Australia has produced a high number of top class professional riders in recent years. Do you see many more young Australian riders making their way to the Professional ranks in Europe in the future following in your footsteps?

CE: Look out, we have a heap of young talent coming through. The most notable at the moment are Matt Goss and Matt Lloyd. Both have been winning hard races in Italy this year. If they keep progressing, they could be good.

PCN: Well Cadel, once again thanks for taking the time to talk to ProCycleNews. We look forward to watching you in action on the roads of France in July. Best of luck there, and wish Robbie and the rest of your team the same from us.

CE: No worries, I think cycling could do with another English website at this stage. Hope this is helpful.