{"id":3626,"date":"2014-01-24T04:10:41","date_gmt":"2014-01-24T04:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crankpunk.com\/?p=3626"},"modified":"2014-01-24T04:12:16","modified_gmt":"2014-01-24T04:12:16","slug":"3626","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2014\/01\/24\/3626\/","title":{"rendered":"Old Man Evans steals the show"},"content":{"rendered":"

by crankpunk. this article originally appeared on The Roar.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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Sometimes as a journalist you have to admit that you got it wrong and take off the hat (it\u2019s an English flat cap, grey tweed) and shove it in your mouth. I think that\u2019s part of the reason for the expression \u201c\u2026I\u2019ll eat my hat\u201d, as the process means there\u2019s far less chance of more ill-advised thoughts escaping the perpetrator\u2019s lips.<\/p>\n

This situation was brought about by a certain Cadel Evans, a gentleman that you may have heard of before, just possibly. Just seven days after I wrote \u2018he can\u2019t win the Tour Down Under\u2019 he goes and destroys a field full of extremely good bicycle riders, making grown men with hair on their legs (well, they could if they wanted) look like juniors. I\u2019d like to claim that Cadel reads The Roar and was irked by my dismissal of his chances, but there\u2019s little chance of that (not him reading The Roar, just that there\u2019s no chance of him giving a toss what a journo says), but it was all about him just being never less than real, proper class.<\/p>\n

\"the<\/a>
the day he made Vino cry, Stage 10, Giro ’10<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seeing him gasping and gaping for air in the last kilometers as the chasing group tried to reel him in showed just how much he wants this 2014 Tour Down Under General Classification.<\/p>\n

He said at the end whilst talking to the taller half of the Liggett and Sherwin comedy duo that \u201cwe\u2019re only really here for the GC, that\u2019s what I\u2019m all about\u201d, and his muted celebration proved just that. You\u2019ve got very good and very experienced riders in there in the form of Gerrans, Porte and a raft of other guys, but no one\u2019s got what Cadel Evans has: the experience of challenging for and then winning one of the three Grande Tours, and,indeed, the biggest one of all, the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

Orica-GreenEdge were going for it, wanting to keep Gerrans in the leader\u2019s jersey , but there was no holding Evans on the climb and once he opened up on the descent \u2013 another sign of his huge wealth of experience and of his MTB background \u2013 he was\u00a0 gone.<\/p>\n

He hasn\u2019t given up though, despite now being 12 seconds behind, and was bullish (and a little brusque, truth be told) after the race when he said “I don’t think we’ve ever seen the leader, in the last couple of years, who has the leader’s jersey early manages to win it. It’s not going to be easy for Cadel. We’re going to throw everything at him, that’s for sure.”<\/p>\n

Richie Porte of Sky, who\u2019s now 33 seconds down in 11th<\/sup>, sounded, to just about anyone who watched Evans rip the race open and with it take the lead, much more realistic, happy now it seems to just be targeting the podium. “Cadel was absolutely flying, I tried to go with him. In those hairpins, I couldn’t stay with him, and he got away. It’s a little disappointing, but Saturday is another hilltop finish, I am quite hopeful we have the team to at least get up there on the podium,” said Porte.<\/p>\n

Robert Gesink too has accepted the superiority of the Aussies and in particular Evans.<\/p>\n

“In the end, Cadel remained just a bit too far for us\u201d said the Belkin GC rider. \u201cIt was a difficult day. We are still up in the front. That’s how cycling works, you keep trying to win something, so you look forward to the next opportunity. Cadel was impressive, he’s in the best shape now, and so are the other Aussie guys.”<\/p>\n

Evans didn\u2019t win here because of a bit of luck. It was a stone cold killer move, executed with the wise old poker player\u2019s hand, and played to perfection. It showed that he is the strongest here, and, barring calamity, I\u2019ll bet you a hat he\u2019s gonna take the GC home\u2026<\/p>\n

But then, what do I know?<\/p>\n