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Evans, Rogers lead Aussie charge at Tour
Predictor-Lotto’s Cadel Evans and T-Mobile's Michael Rogers are leading a two-pronged Aussie bid for top finishes in the race's general classification, with Evans considered the best bet for success.
The soft-spoken former mountain biker last year became Australia's highest-ever overall finisher when he came in fifth overall. Rogers placed a respectable 10th - although both he and Evans could be moved up a notch if American champion Floyd Landis is eventually disqualified for doping following his positive test for a skewed testosterone-epitestosterone ratio.
In the meantime, Evans will have the same calm and philosophical approach that befits any top contender who has to survive three grueling weeks of racing.
One wrong move can be fatal, Evans admits. And this year the 30-year-old from the Northern Territory believes the absence of a single dominant force will make the Tour even trickier.
"I'm going to take it day by day and see what happens," he told AFP Thursday. "But it's a different kind of race. Withough having a (rider like) (Jan) Ullrich and a team that's going to ride for him or having a Lance (Armstrong), it makes the race a bit difficult to read.
"In that respect you've really got to be a bit more open. All sorts of things can happen.”
Last year, Caisse d’Epargne’s Oscar Pereiro took advantage of some slack marking by Landis's Phonak team to finish with a group more than 30 minutes ahead of the American, and the Spaniard eventually finished second overall.
"You've got to keep that in mind," added Evans.
After a progressive build-up to the Tour, which included visits to some key mountain stages and a second place finish overall in the respected Dauphiné Libéré stage race, Evans hopes to hit top form in the Pyrenees.
"I've seen a couple of the stages. Seeing them's one thing, but when you get there all that matters is how you get up there on the day,” he said. “I'd prefer any hilltop finish, being a climber. But it all depends on how you get there. You could have great legs and get there and get up the hill faster than anyone, but if there's a break of 20 up the road, you're not going to win are you?"
Evans knows that to win the Tour this year - which is perhaps his best opportunity thus far - he will have to take the kind of risks that could, in the end, damage his bid for a top place in the general classification.
And he admits that since he managed to sneak into a breakaway two years ago, it has been almost impossible to pull ahead of any of his rivals.
"If I see an opportunity I take it, but also I'm a GC rider so I don't like to risk my GC for the sake of trying to take a stage win," he said.
"If an opportunity arises I'm there with it, but I'm also a very controlled rider in the peloton and no one lets me go anywhere. Since I was in that breakaway to Pau two years ago people have thought, 'Oh, why don't you go in a breakaway?' There's the five strongest teams in the race and every single rider in that team is watching me and not letting me go. Makes it a bit hard to go anywhere."
Nevertheless, judging by the messages of support on his website, people are expecting big things from Evans, who does not enjoy the full team support of some of his big rivals.
"I feel like I can do something big, and I like the fact that there's all these Australians sitting up till one or two in the morning apparently jumping up and down on their couch and waiting for me to do something.
"I really like it, actually. I feel like I'm flying the Aussie flag when we're out in the mountains."
Rogers believes Evans' team set-up, which is also committed to setting Robbie McEwen up for stage wins and the green jersey, could handicap his bid.
"He hasn't got the team, no way," he told AFP. "But that doesn't mean he can't win it."
The 27-year-old Canberran is still suffering slightly from a microfracture in his knee, but he is hoping T-Mobile's youth-filled squad can give him the support he requires.
But Rogers, who, like Evans, has yet to win a stage at the Tour, hinted that this year the yellow jersey may not be his main aim.
"I'm expecting some good performances all round. Kim Kirchen and Patrik Sinkewitz are really experienced guys, but we've got a mixed team and we're not all focused on the general classification.
"I'd rather finish 100th and win a stage than miss out on the yellow jersey by a couple of minutes."
