As this week progressed, the Australian cycling commentariat has been anticipating that by tomorrow night’s Tour de France penultimate 20th stage, the individual time trial, also known as “the race of truth”, Cadel Evans — via the unmissable SBS live coverage — would be delivering us an “America’s Cup moment”.
Hence, emanating from his adopted home town of Geelong and all over the continent and countless lounge rooms, pubs and clubs, wherever cycling fans and newly won converts gather to watch events unfold in the world’s toughest bike race for the final three nights, who won’t “yell for Cadel”?
Today’s Geelong Advertiser
Overnight, BMC Racing’s Evans, as nominal race favourite heading into the monumentally torturous 200.5-kilometre 18th alpine mountain stage, knew he needed to counter any attempt at a breakaway by his handful of rivals or all could be lost.
Today, on the face of it, his refusal to respond to Leopard Trek’s Andy Schleck’s daring break 60 kilometres from the finish to the summit of the Galibier (the highest tour finish in its history), delivered the perfect ambush as Evans slipped from second to fourth overall in the general classification.
Andy Schleck, the younger brother of Frank, came within 15 seconds of overtaking constantly surprising French race leader, Eurocar’s Thomas Voeckler. Frank is now third, just four seconds ahead of Evans who stands 1 minute 8 seconds behind Voeckler, yet Evans also managed to claw six seconds off the leader, while Andy gained 2 minutes 15 seconds on Evans to be ahead of him by 57 seconds.
When Evans was given no help by anyone else to chase down Andy, he finally he had no choice but to set out after the break and pretty much do it on his own and did manage to convincingly take more than a minute back from the stage winner towards the end of the gruelling final ascent. That Luxembourg’s Schleck brothers’ Machiavellian double act has sought to assiduously work over Evans in all the mountain stages was entirely predictable.
What was less so, was finally seeing off any threat from a now faltering and forlorn Alberto Contador (Saxobank), who being closer to five minutes down in seventh place can’t win. Evans was heroic in defeat where he boxed clever to limit the damage by not trying to outdo both brothers, so there was no disgrace in his drop to fourth and the gap to Andy is still very manageable.
Tonight it could be Frank’s turn to play the lure on the final assault on the tour’s most famous climb up Alpe-d’Huez to sap Evans, or anyone else, while Andy hangs back and sticks to Evans’ wheel. It’s clear that Voeckler, even if he stays where he is until tomorrow, which seems highly improbable, can’t win as he can’t time trial.
Unless either brother can put upwards of two minutes or more into Evans tonight, as the superior time trialer, Saturday’s 41-kilometre stage really is the race of truth. Unless he is overcooked tonight to keep any deficit down, Evans has a better than 50-50 chance to make that processional ride into Paris on Sunday proudly wearing the famous Maillot Jaune along with a nation’s pride.
It will also catapult him into the absolute top 10 of our greatest ever sporting legends whether man, beast or boat; and he can take that to the bank for the rest of his life.
*Need a Tour de France refresher? Find out how the Tour de France works here.
The Schleck 1-2 play was always going to be effective. What no-one seems to know, however, is how to beat it. Cadel certainly needs the support of a couple of the other GC riders to pull them back. The climbs last night and tonight are brutal. Tonight’s stage with almost 7000 metres of climbing in only 105 km is really an unknown quantity. I think the race will be won and lost tonight and the Schleck’s will score first and second in Paris. The TT on Saturday will give Cadel 3rd.
Hope I’m wrong.
Go Cadel!
I agree Frank is a certainty to attack tonight and between the 2 brothers they will try and distance Cadel.
The final TT will be extremely interesting. Voeckler is considered a weak time trialist however he rarely has a reason to ride hard in a TT. Imagine if he’s still in yellow or close enough to have a chance on Sat morn? He’d have the chance to be the 1st french winner in 20+ years. Given how well he’s climbing he would probably pull out the ride of his life.
Next 2 days will be extremely interesting . . .
I’m only a bonn vivant enjoyuer of le tour, certainly no expert in tactics, so am wondering what people think the chance are of Cadel saying to Contador:
“For you, my friend, le tour is over, but you still have the chance to finish with one stage win on the final mountain stage. I know you’re crook, but I need time and you need a win, get me to the top of the mountain and I’ll let you cross the line first.”
Or words to that effect.
I have been following the TdF for years (and of course watched the riders below from one of Paris’ bridges when I lived there) but still do not understand how these things happen. Alas, last night I missed Andy Schleck’s critical breakaway move due to watching Lateline & LB–and not expecting anything much to happen in that part of the race.
Ross Stapleton says “When Evans was given no help by anyone else to chase down Andy, he finally he had no choice but to set out after the break and pretty much do it on his own..’ I kinda think, Doh, yeah. Andy himself was way out on his own, not relying on anyone helping him (Franck was behind the yellow jersey group most of the time). Surely the point at these critical last stages is that anyone with any expectation of winning must never allow any of the other contenders get any distance ahead. They must be chased down and chased down immediately. With modern communications what the hell were his team saying in his ear as Andy’s lead became >3 minutes?!! By definition you don’t gain a 3 minute lead in a short time. The final pullback was brave but way, way too late.
If I remember this is what happened in either last year’s or the year before. And we watched helplessly as Cadel seemingly was incapable of abandoning the peleton or the second group to set out after the breakout leader (and the Spanish supporting Contador kept doing breakaways only to fall back–and what happened? Cadel fell back with them?!!!). Expecting someone else to do the leading, or somehow not realizing this, or not acting on it, is why I have thought sadly that Cadel does not seem to quite have that extra bit that makes a TdF champion. I hope otherwise but it seems quite possibly that this was the stage that he lost the race. Clearly (in post-race interview) Andy Schleck has a massive confidence boost and seriously expects to win the race overall.
“Clearly (in post-race interview) Andy Schleck has a massive confidence boost and seriously expects to win the race overall.”
Andy Shleck has a massive confidence boost whenever he finds himself in front of a mirror!