Cadel Evans (BMC)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Cadel Evans hugs teammate Rohan Dennis after sealing overall victory(Image credit: Regallo)
Cadel Evans (BMC) finished third at his final WorldTour stage race(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Cadel Evans (BMC) signs on for the second last time in his career(Image credit: Regallo)
Cadel Evans (BMC) says goodbye to the Tour Down Under (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Rohan Dennis is in the ochre jersey for now. Will Cadel Evans be wearing it come Sunday?(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Before Cadel Evans (BMC) completed his last ever WorldTour race on Sunday with his third place finish in the Tour Down Under, he was given a reminder of one of the reasons why he will not miss the sport. In the final and sixth stage of the race – a 91km circuit race in Adelaide – he narrowly avoided being caught up in a mass pile up.
The crash happened right behind Evans, who still finished in the front group that fought out the stage, won by Dutchman Wouter Wippert (Drapac) in a sprint. Evans was relieved that he avoided the crash and also hold on to his third place, overall at 20 seconds to Australia winner Rohan Dennis (BMC).
"I heard the crash and a bike hit me in the backside ...," he recalled of the incident, adding that is showed one more time before he rides off into the sunset of an Australian summer next Sunday that: "Anything can and does go wrong in this sport."
"I will probably miss the adrenalin, but close calls like [that and what] we had the other day at 80kmh at Mount Barker … I have seen enough of those."
One more race before retirement
Evans' retirement will become official and final next Sunday at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in Geelong. He will race on a new BMC SLR01 bike, painted ocean blue, adorned with aboriginal markings and various insignia ranging from the world champion's stripes for his 2009 world road title win on the seat tube to a decal for 'Tin Tin' and another that reads 'Forever Grateful' referring to his gratitude for the sport he feel indebted to.
Evans still has a week to go as a professional cyclist. But on Sunday, he was still given a true champion's cheer by race followers in Adelaide as he was called up to the podium for his third place at the Tour Down Under. Evans was clearly emotional as he addressed the cheering crowds.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"Like it says on my bike, I will be forever grateful for all that cycling has given me. It has given me a lot of hard lessons, a lot of harsh experiences, a few bangs along the road and quite a few days in hospital over the years, but it has given me so much pleasure. I have met so many wonderful people. I have come to so many wonderful places in this sport … so much more than I ever hoped for. Thank you everyone."
More than a farewell race
Asked about next Sunday's race that organisers Victorian Major Events hope will earn World Tour status within the next three years, Evans said: "One more race: the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road race. I hope to have an event that fits in nicely with the Tour Down Under [that] will make cycling [a] bigger [and] even better event in the Australian summer for an international scene here in Australia, a bit more than what we already have now."
"It's probably for me [a chance to] give back to the sport that has given me so much over the years – [it's] the best way I can go out of the sport. And as a sports person, to have an event named after you while you are still alive is something."
Rupert Guinness is a sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media).
Rupert Guinness first wrote on cycling at the 1984 Victorian road titles in Australia from the finish line on a blustery and cold hilltop with a few dozen supporters. But since 1987, he has covered 26 Tours de France, as well as numerous editions of the Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana, classics, world track and road titles and other races around the world, plus four Olympic Games (1992, 2000, 2008, 2012). He lived in Belgium and France from 1987 to 1995 writing for Winning Magazine and VeloNews, but now lives in Sydney as a sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media) and contributor to Cyclingnews and select publications.
An author of 13 books, most of them on cycling, he can be seen in a Hawaiian shirt enjoying a drop of French rosé between competing in Ironman triathlons.
