When will Aussies open their arms to Evans?
Columnist By Adrian Musolino, 24 Jan 2010 Adrian Musolino is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- cadel evan, Cycling, Mark Webber, Tour de France, Tour Down Under
On Saturday’s decisive stage of the Tour Down Under on Willunga Hill, Cadel Evans attacked. In his rainbow jersey, representing his world champion status, Evans went some way to repairing the unjust persona that the Australian public has formed of the Tour de France runner-up.
Although it wasn’t enough to snare the lead, Evans’ attack was an early indication of the hunger that is driving him in 2010 – a hunger to continue to prove the doubters who weren’t silenced by his road racing world championship victory in Switzerland last year wrong.
Evans, for all his successes and Tour de France podiums, remains an enigma to many Australians, and even disliked by some.
It is a public perception that even he acknowledges exists.
The run-ins with the media during the 2008 Tour de France certainly didn’t help Evans’ persona at a time when his profile was rising in Australia, but the perception seem to have developed over that time through ignorance.
Evans, in my mind, shares the same misfortune as Mark Webber – Aussie athletes trying to breakthrough in highly competitive international sports that are not well followed or understood by mainstream Australia.
As Evans told WWOS: “Cycling’s a great sport and if you understand it, it really is interesting, but if you’ve ever tried to explain cricket to an American you’d understand that it’s kind of difficult to explain to someone. Because we don’t have the culture and the history as they do in Europe, [here in Australia] people watch it, they like it but they don’t fully understand.”
When combined with the sheer difficulty of reaching the highest echelon of their respective sports, their results and lack of wins are too often used as fodder in the arguments about their ability, adding to their negative perceptions in a success-driven sporting culture.
And even more than Webber, Evans doesn’t fit the Australian sportsman stereotype.
He has been a vocal supporter of the “Free Tibet” campaign, even meeting the Dalai Lama recently.
Living and mainly playing in Europe with a non-Australian partner, like Webber, there are few opportunities for either to connect with Australia and little reason for the media to pay much attention to them, particularly with their records in Australia – Evans hasn’t competed at the Tour Down Under in recent years and Webber’s record in the Australian GP is awful, aside from his debut 5th place.
But Evans’ attack at the Tour Down Under was a great occasion for he and Australian cycling – our first road racing world champion at the pro level doing what he does best on home soil; a critical ingredient in what is being described as the day the Tour Down Under came of age.
In the rainbow colours, 2010 will be a crucial year for Evans, with all eyes on his performance at the Tour de France. His new BMC Racing Team may be new (not even guaranteed Tour de France entry as yet – although that should be a formality), but in the likes of George Hincapie he has the type of domestique that he lacked in his previous Tours.
His season will end with his world championship defence on the roads of Geelong in what could be a defining moment in his attempts to change the public perception of him – an unjust perception that must change.
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- Explore:
- cadel evan, Cycling, Mark Webber, Tour de France, Tour Down Under
January 24th 2010 @ 7:25am
Ray Walker said | January 24th 2010 @ 7:25am | Report comment
I don’t agree with you at all. Cycling has been the boom sport in Australia for the past few years and will continue to grow. Just look at the crowds at the TDU, the cyclists on the roads today. To me it has been a direct result of the popularity of the Tour De France here and the performances of the Aussies particularly Cadel Evans, with an 8th, 5th. 2nd and 2nd and now the worlds. We love Aussies who punch above their weight, who stand up to anybody and also have a bit of fire. He has proved himself without having any team support at crucial stages in races.
The mainstream media always look for a story, an angle, usually negative like Warnie , Hewitt etc., but we the sporting public we like our heroes to have a bit of character. To finish, the crowds in cycling in Australia are growing all the time, the local talent we have coming through is awesome and at the Worlds this year on Geelong this year the crowds will be massive. They will be there to support our team and Cadel the defending WC on his home turf. Watch this space.
January 24th 2010 @ 7:28am
Punter said | January 24th 2010 @ 7:28am | Report comment
Then there are some like myself, who follow sport on the int’l basis as well as local, who thinks that this guy is a LEGEND. 2 runners up in the Tour de France & only beaten by seconds over event that runs for 15 days. Both times beaten by the guy who had the best team around them, while Evans had no team at all for any protection. Cycling is a very team orientated sport.
January 24th 2010 @ 8:10am
Marshall said | January 24th 2010 @ 8:10am | Report comment
Cadel is right. It’s so wrong that people called him a loser when he was runner-up. Do people realize how difficult the Tour is to win, especially without a decent team?
January 24th 2010 @ 11:59am
Mr cheese said | January 24th 2010 @ 11:59am | Report comment
Ah, but that sentiment would be deemed defeatist if expressed by an Englishman.
You have to be realistic: in 07, La Grande Boucle was won by a young ( and flawed ) Alberto Contador.
In 08, it was won by a good ( but not great ) cyclist, Carlos Sastre.
Evans should have won one of those. C’est simple !
January 24th 2010 @ 9:08am
chrisa said | January 24th 2010 @ 9:08am | Report comment
Even yesterday, although he was lead onto the lower slopes of the final hill by his team they stood aside as one and left him and Sulzberger alone. Then Cadel showed true character and went on his own, finally caught at the top of the hill by Valverde and Sanchez riding as a pair with Sagan (?) tagging along. Griepel meanwhile just had to hang on for grim death up the hill and then follow Mick Rogers and the rest of the Columbia team back down the hill and on to the line.
It is the dichotomy between the team performance and the individual result which is confusing to Australians. If Greipel and others were riding alone Cadel would be killing them. Pity there isn’t a hilly time trial as one of the stages in the TDU to keep the sprinters where they belong. A sprinter never wins a Grand Tour and nor should they have the opportunity to win ours, unless they can show they can ride for themselves as well.
January 24th 2010 @ 9:11am
AGO74 said | January 24th 2010 @ 9:11am | Report comment
I don’t agree. I’m one of those relatively new to the sport and my interest has obviously been helped along by Cadel. So he got a bit cranky with the media the other year. From my recollection of the circumstances you couldn’t really blame him?! Anyway, he only said a few choice words, it’s not like he was physically agressive. Personally, I’ve heard very little negative feedback on Cadel and think he is generally admired amongst the Australian public. As for Webber, your argument may be more true, but I think this year people have got off his back/wised up a bit because they realise now that he’s finally performed is as much because he’s finally had a half decent car compared to the rubbish of other years.
January 24th 2010 @ 12:51pm
Marcel said | January 24th 2010 @ 12:51pm | Report comment
When will Aussies open their arms to Evans?…..when I see an interview where he doesnt come across as an obnoxious little brat.
January 24th 2010 @ 2:21pm
Marshall said | January 24th 2010 @ 2:21pm | Report comment
Lol. Was waiting for someone to prove that the perception of him is negative.
January 24th 2010 @ 10:47pm
Marcel said | January 24th 2010 @ 10:47pm | Report comment
Total respect for him as an athlete…..just seems to be a bit of a tosser.
January 24th 2010 @ 11:42pm
Marshall said | January 24th 2010 @ 11:42pm | Report comment
He’s not very natural with the media, I’ll give ya that.
January 26th 2010 @ 10:22pm
Crazy Dave said | January 26th 2010 @ 10:22pm | Report comment
Who cares what he is like with the media… What counts is his relationship with his family and friends (that is where you find the true Cadel Evans), and his performances on his bike.
March 4th 2010 @ 1:37pm
Campbell Watts said | March 4th 2010 @ 1:37pm | Report comment
I bet his sponsors care what he’s like with the media Dave!!!
January 24th 2010 @ 10:52pm
Matt said | January 24th 2010 @ 10:52pm | Report comment
I’m a HUGE fan of Cadel, but he is a strange cat. His post stage 5 interview with Paul Sherwan was as bizarre as his race was brilliant.
Here he had the chance to appear humble and gracious yet he came across as a whiny victim. That said, I accept he is ‘different’ and he seems to come from a good place, despite not being capable of communicating that through the media.
January 24th 2010 @ 10:54pm
Marcel said | January 24th 2010 @ 10:54pm | Report comment
Ive heard it said that Bradman was a real prick as well…but as he was playing before TV that was never widely appreciated by the public.
January 25th 2010 @ 1:30am
davelee said | January 25th 2010 @ 1:30am | Report comment
100% agree with you Marcel. Top athlete, seems a tosser though.
January 26th 2010 @ 9:04pm
Marshall said | January 26th 2010 @ 9:04pm | Report comment
Again it’s because he hasn’t learnt how to deal with the media and allows his true self to shine through rather than hide those unappealling traits like so many athletes do.