Until the start of the Giro d’Italia three weeks ago in Napoli, there were significant speculation about who should be the team leader for BMC at the 2013 Tour de France.
Cadel Evans, the nature choice, struggled through his early races. He could not even rely on one of race strengths – the time trial – to lift his position on the general classification.
Young lieutenant, Tejay van Garderen, was looking more and more like the anointed one with strong performances at Critérium International and Paris to Nice: the race to the Sun.
Five weeks from the start of the Giro, Evans announced to La Gazzetta dello Sport that he would be at the start line in Napoli.
“I’m going to ride the Giro. And I want to make it clear, I won’t be riding it for training but to get back to my best level” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Van Garderen must have had mixed feeling about this news – was Evans at the age of 36 years old capable of performing at the highest level in two Grand Tours or was it team management gently suggesting that Evans should focus on the Giro and leave the Tour de France to van Garderen?
Selecting Evans to race at the Giro was a masterstroke. By the fourth stage, Evans had moved into the top 10 on the general classification. Four stages later, Evans was sitting in second spot, only 29 seconds behind Vincenzo Nibali, in striking distance to wearing the maglia rosa.
But it all started to unravel after Stage 10. Cadel’s grip on second place waned. The distance between him and Nibali had widened. Nibali and ex-teammate, Mauro Santambrigio (Vini Fantini), exposed a potential weakness in Evans with a classic one-two combined effort to the top of Bardonecchia.
Even with the time distance between Nibali and Evans widening, BMC’s team president Jim Ochowicz had full confidence in Evans.
Rupert Guinness (Fairfax Media) revealed that Ochowicz was favouring Evans for the Tour de France at the start of the 17th stage of the Giro from Caravaggio to Vicenza. his was confirmed overnight in Cyclingnews when Ochowicz said “his team will enter the race with a fixed hierarchy – Cadel Evans as leader and Tejay van Garderen as his chief lieutenant”.
The leadership tension at BMC has filled many newspaper columns and internet pages over the last three months.
With van Garderen eventually winning the Tour of California, there was little chance that media speculation was going to decline without a strong statement by the BMC management.
But did Ochowicz reveal his team selection too early?
The moment that Ochowicz indicated Evans had ‘rock-solid leadership for the Tour on BMC’, cracks started to appear. Evans lost significant time during the second time trial from Mori to Polsa. He came in 25th place, 2 minutes and 36 seconds on Nibali.
Two stages later, Evans could not compete with Nibali, Uran or Scarponi on the final climb to Tre Cime di Lavarado, losing further time and lost his second spot on the podium.
Evans’ performance at the Giro exceeded everyone’s expectations. While we all knew he would be a top 10 contender, no-one expected him to secure a podium spot. But should be the leader of BMC at the Tour de France?
Evan’s performance at the Giro confirmed two things – his time trialling abilities are not at the same standard as they were in 2011 and his dogged tenacity in the mountains is waning, leaving him exposed if he does not have team support.
Whereas van Garderen showed in the 2012 edition of the Tour de France and at this year’s Tour of California that he has the ability to climb without team assistance. He may be the only answer that BMC has to the Team Sky Froome-Porte-Wiggins juggernaut when it comes time.
Only time will provide the answer to this question: did BMC decide too early?
Fancy a wager on your favourite sport? Head on over to PlayUp for great odds and friendly customer service and pick a winner. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Australia's Jai Hindley has said he is "lost for words" after a shock stage victory at the Tour de France earned him the leader's…
Australia's Jai Hindley has said he is "lost for words" after a shock stage victory at the Tour de France earned him the leader's…
Tadej Pogacar has won a drama-packed Tour of Flanders, winning in a breakaway with Matieu van der Poel second, Mads Pedersen third and Wout…
Women are not allowed to compete in the Tour de France. However you choose to re-read that sentence, the fact remains: the most famous…
The jam-packed month-by-month quiz full of 2022 sports trivia!
Australian Grace Brown has won silver in the women's time trial, the first event at the world road cycling championships.
