Chalk up one for the good guys. The mild-mannered Australian riding for an American team, Cadel Evans finished the 2011 Tour de France as champion for the first time. He joined the other pre-race favorites in dominating the three-week competition while providing a dynamic struggle that came down to the time trial in the penultimate stage. The sprinters also fought hard in high-speed chases to the line, and Briton Mark Cavendish brought home five stage wins and the green jersey for his American team.
The outstanding results for American teams come on the 25th anniversary of the first U.S. squad to compete in the world’s most prestigious race. In 1986, manager Jim Ochowicz brought the 7-Eleven team to France, and in 2011, he celebrates as manager of Evans’ squad, BMC Racing. The green jersey was won by Cavendish, riding for HTC-Highroad, the second of four U.S. teams competing this year. Another American squad, Garmin-Cervelo, won the team competition, and their sprinter, Tyler Farrar from Washington state, secured his first Tour de France stage win on the Fourth of July. Lance Armstrong’s former team, RadioShack, appeared to take all the bad luck for the USA, as four key riders abandoned due to injuries, including Tour of California winner Chris Horner.
Yet BMC captured top honors with Evans’ win over rivals Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck. BMC kept their leader safe from the kind of trouble which dogged three-time champion Contador. The Spaniard was booed by spectators at the race introductions because of the ongoing doping scandal, lingering from last year’s race until the appeal will be heard in August. Spent from winning the Giro d’Italia in May, he crashed four times in the first week, complained of knee problems, and was said to be riding with a sore saddle. Evans beat Contador to the line on Stage 4, demonstrating his determination and good form. While the 28-year-old Spaniard improved in the Alps and rallied at the individual time trial, he had lost too much time and finished fifth overall. Contador rides for Saxo Bank-Sungard.
Evans’ stronger rival was Andy Schleck, the 26-year-old from Luxembourg who, like Evans, was also a past two-time runner-up at the Tour de France. With big brother Frank, Andy led Team Leopard-Trek in prolonged attacks throughout the mountain stages of the Pyrenees and Alps. He won Stage 18 and eliminated Contador in a courageous ride admired by cycling legend Eddy Merckx, among others. On Stage 19, Andy attacked again, while Evans struggled to catch up following mechanical problems and a bike change. Andy snatched the yellow jersey for just one day, as his weak performance at the individual time trial on Saturday lost him the overall victory to the Australian. “I don’t feel like a loser,” said Andy, who finished in second place once again, but this time joined on the podium by brother Frank, who finished third overall.
Cadel Evans beat Contador, Schleck, and all the others with a smart, consistent, and aggressive performance. He rode at the front every day to stay clear of crashes. He attacked and took seconds on his rivals at every opportunity. He also took responsibility to chase down attacks from the other contenders, when fellow leaders failed to respond. The former mountain bike champion finally secured his win on Stage 20 at the individual time trial around Grenoble. Starting 57 seconds behind Andy Schleck, Evans raced out of the gate fighting for the greatest win of his career. An accomplished time trialer, he quickly gained back the time on Schleck plus more, creating a gap of 1 minute, 34 seconds ahead of his closest rival.
Evans had won the Tour de France, donning the yellow jersey for the final and most important stage into Paris. The last day is a ceremonial route for the general classification winner by tradition, and the win was secure.
Starting as a mountain bike rider, Evans served as two-time champion and competed in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. In 2001, he switched to road racing, winning the Tour of Austria shortly thereafter. His wins include the Tour de Romandie (2006 & 2011), Fleche Wallonne (2010), and Tirreno-Adriatico (2011). In 2009, he became world champion wearing the rainbow jersey, and in 2010, Evans switched to the new team BMC, which built its roster to support his Tour de France aspirations. This strategy included recruiting American George Hincapie, teammate of Lance Armstrong for all seven of his victories as well as the first of Alberto Contador. Team manager Ochowicz is considered the godfather of American cycling.
From start to finish, Evans demonstrated a confidence and willingness to attack that he appeared to lack in previous attempts. He did not sit back and wait for the race to unfold; he raced forward to seize the win. At age 34, Evans is the oldest winner since World War II, though it is expected for him to attempt to defend his title next year. With big brown eyebrows and glassy blue eyes, he is a nice guy who actively supports charities and causes such as freedom for Tibet. It’s easy to cheer for Cadel Evans, the first ever Australian winner of the Tour de France.
While the Australian brought home the yellow jersey, there were several other races within the race. France’s Pierre Rolland was named best young rider for the highest finish by a rider age 25 and under. Spain’s Samuel Sanchez won the king of the mountains competition for taking the most points at hilltop summits. As mentioned earlier, the team competition was won by the American squad of Garmin-Cervelo. That race is decided by combining the cumulative times of the fastest three riders on the squad. Finally, the United Kingdom’s Mark Cavendish secured the green jersey as winner of the points competition. For the benefit of the sprinters, points are awarded at an intermediate point on the course and at the finish, with the highest rewards for the flat sprint stages. Cavendish had defend the jersey on the Champs-Elysees with Jose Joaquin Rojas unsuccessfully trying to snatch it off his shoulders.
Indeed, Cavendish and his HTC team treated us to a delicious dessert to finish the Tour de France. A line of HTC cyclists in white and yellow jerseys drove at the front of the peloton to set up the sprint finish for their man from the Isle of Man. Garmin-Cervelo worked for Tyler Farrar, and Team Sky tried to set up Edvald Boassan Hagen. Yet when the Australian Mark Renshaw launched Cavendish, the Manx Missile could not be beaten. The win marked: Cavendish’s fifth stage win in this Tour de France, his 20th career stage win at the Tour, his third annual win on the Champs-Elysees, and the first British cyclist to win the green jersey. The results are another amazing, elevating Cavendish to the best sprinter in the post-war era of the Tour de France.
Nearly 3,500 kilometers of riding over three weeks finished in Paris on Sunday. The 2011 Tour de France is in the books. We salute all 198 riders who started the race, especially the 167 who survived to finish. Vive le Tour!
Final General Classification Standings:
1. Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) 86h 12’ 22”
2. Andy Schleck (Leopard-Trek) + 01’ 34”
3. Frank Schleck (Leopard-Trek) + 02’ 30”
4. Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) + 03’ 20”
5. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) + 03’ 57”
6. Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) + 04’ 55”
7. Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) + 06’ 05”
8. Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) + 07’ 23”
9. Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervelo) + 08’ 15”
10. Jean Christophe Peraud (Ag2r La Mondiale) + 10’ 11”
