While Australia is rediscovering its love for Cadel Evans, spare a thought for Tejay van Garderen.
Evans’ BMC team mate, currently sitting in second place over all at the Tour of California, must be kicking himself every time he checks the results of the Giro d’Italia.
In a little over a week and a half of racing through the Italian countryside, Evans has not only saved his career but put himself back in contention for next month’s Tour de France.
While this is good news for Evans, van Garderen would be reaching for his Cuddles voodoo doll and a container of pins.
The ambitious young American has his eyes firmly set on the Tour de France, preferably with the added bonus of team leadership. However, with incumbent Tour leader Evans experiencing something of a resurrection in Italy, van Garderen’s chances of promotion are disappearing faster than the blood bags from Operacion Puerto.
Of course, this was not meant to happen.
Evans, practically banished to the Giro because of poor form, was meant to whither away and die, not come back from the dead to be climbing with the best of the GC contenders at what is perhaps the toughest of cycling’s three Grand Tours.
If BMC were looking for a legitimate excuse to relieve Evans of Tour leadership, they won’t find it here. Not yet anyway.
While van Garderen is battling it out with house hold names such as Janier Alexis Acevedo Colle, Philip Deigan, Mathias Frank and that old stager Michael Rogers (Cali top five after stage 4), Evans is keeping company with Vincenzo Nibali, Rigoberto Uran Uran, Bradley Wiggins and Robert Gesink (Giro top five after stage 11).
Van Garderen may be second in California, but Evans is second in Italy, and we all know which race holds more sway.
It has to be a disappointment for van Garderen who finished above Evans at last year’s Tour.
His time will come of course, but patience mightn’t be his greatest virtue.
While their rivalry for team leadership hasn’t quite reached the epic heights of the Wiggins/Froome drama over at Team Sky, don’t expect van Garderen to play happy domestique for Evans come July.
When asked of his expected Tour role at BMC’s team launch earlier in the year, van Garderen said, “I think I’ll be given a bit of a free role to ride my own race. If Cadel is the leader at the Tour, that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to get a result.”
Young Tejay is a man in a hurry. Fetching bottles for an ageing star would obviously cramp his style, but if BMC are to be successful they’ll need a coherent team.
It is fine to have a plan B, but plan A must be given first priority.
Team Sky won the Tour last year by dedicating itself solely to Bradley Wiggins. Teammate Chris Froome may have been the stronger rider, but the likeable deputy was able to apply just enough self restraint so as not to throw the team into (complete) turmoil.
Will van Garderen be able to display similar self control?
He’ll gain enormous respect if he does and be assured of leadership in 2014. If he doesn’t, then get ready for some interesting posts on Cadel’s ride diary website.
It could be worse though. At least he hasn’t slipped behind Froome, Uran Uran and Richie Porte to become his team’s fourth best Grand Tour option.
Hey Wiggo, Tejay’s got a doll you can borrow.
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