Photography by Cor Vos

Photo gallery: the long and distinguished career of Cadel Evans

by CyclingTips

As he crossed the finish line in Geelong on Sunday, in the inaugural race named in his honour, Cadel Evans called time on a professional cycling career that had lasted two decades, most of it on the road. It had been a long an illustrious career with victories in two of the biggest bike races on the planet – the Tour de France and the Road World Championships – and many more besides. In this piece we look back at some of those memorable moments and reflect on the career of Australia's greatest ever cyclist.

Cadel Evans’ story is well known. He was a champion mountain biker in the early part of his career, winning a couple of World Cups in the late 1990s and finishing seventh on the dirt at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Despite focusing his attention on mountain biking in those early days, Evans showed great promise on the road as well.

A break-out performance at the Tour of Tasmania in 1999 – when he won on the mountain-top finish to Mt. Wellington — famously prompted Phil Liggett to claim that Evans would one day win the Tour de France. The veteran commentator was right, but it would take Evans more than a decade to get there.

It was several years until Evans make the switch to the road full-time, joining Saeco in April 2001. He rode with Mapei-QuickStep in 2002, before joining Telekom in 2003, which became T Mobile in 2004. From 2005 through to 2009 Evans rode with the Lotto setup, initially known as Davitamon-Lotto before becoming Predictor-Lotto (2007) and then Silence-Lotto (2008-09).

After winning the World Championships in late 2009, and in search of greater support for his Grand Tour ambitions, Evans moved to BMC in 2010. He would race for the US-registered team right up until his retirement last week, netting a whole host of victories along the way. None of them were bigger, of course, than the 2011 Tour de France, a victory that will go down as one of the greatest-ever achievements by an Australian sportsperson.

We hope you enjoy the following selection of memorable moments in the long and decorated career of Cadel Evans.

***The following video shows Evans winning his first MTB World Cup race in Wellington, New Zealand, en route to finishing third in the series overall:

The video below shows Evans winning the 1998 World Cup race in Silves, Portugal on his way to winning the series overall. He would go on to win the MTB World Cup the following year as well.

The following is a moving career retrospective put together by Cycling Australia:

And here is a selection of photos from Evans’ long career (primarily on the road):

: Evans finished seventh in the cross-country MTB race at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

: After his first season on the road with Saeco in 2001, Evans joined Mapei-QuickStep in 2002. In his first ever Grand Tour, the 2002 Giro d’Italia, Evans would wear the pink leader’s jersey for one stage, signalling his promise as a Grand Tour rider.

: Evans joined Team Telekom in 2003 (left) which became T-Mobile in 2004.

: It was in the colours of T-Mobile that Evans won the 2004 Tour of Austria. He won the second stage of the race …

: … then defended the yellow leader’s jersey …

: … all the way to the end of stage 7.

: After moving to Davitamon-Lotto in 2005, Evans won stage 7 of the nine-stage Deutschland Tour, going on to finish the race in fifth overall.

: Evans stayed with the Lotto setup right through to the end of 2009. The team became Predictor-Lotto in 2007 and then Silence-Lotto in 2008.

: At the 2008 Tour de France, on stage 10, Cadel Evans got his first chance to wear the yellow jersey of the race leader.

: He wore yellow for five stages, until stage 15 (pictured here) when fellow Australian Simon Gerrans won to Prato Nevoso and the overall lead went to Frank Schleck.

: A win on Alpe d’Huez on stage 17 saw Carlos Sastre take the overall lead and hold it all the way to Paris. Evans finished second overall, 58 seconds behind Sastre.

: Evans represented Australia at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, finishing 15th in the road race.

: He also competed in the Olympic time trial, finishing fifth.

: Evans’ teammates in 2009 included Johan Vansummeren, Matthew Lloyd and Charly Wegelius.

: He won the prologue ITT at the 2009 Dauphine Libere on his way to second overall. It boded well for Evans’ Tour de France ambitions.

: But the Australian had a forgettable Tour that year, finishing 28th.

: Cadel Evans’ personal bodyguard and Belgian policeman, Serge Borlee, was a common sight during the 2009 Tour.

: A painfully slow wheel change on stage 13 of the 2009 Vuelta arguably cost Evans the race overall. The Australian said as much after the race.

: Evans would go on to finish third, behind Alejandro Valverde and Samuel Sanchez.

: But he would make amends a month later winning the World Championships road race with a gutsy solo move in Mendrisio, Switzerland.

: There was little doubting how much the win meant to the Australian.

: Cadel Evans brought the rainbow jersey with him to BMC in 2010, a season that began with the Tour Down Under.

: Evans’ 2010 also included a win at Fleche Wallonne. He was in good company too, beating Alberto Contador and Joaquim Rodriguez across the line.

: Cadel Evans: ever the master of the muted celebration.

: On stage 7 of the 2010 Giro d’Italia Evans produced one of the most memorable victories of his career. He got in a breakaway with the likes of Alexander Vinokourov on the muddy roads of Tuscany …

: … and went on to take a stirring victory in the mud-soaked rainbow jersey.

$After finishing fifth on stage 8 of the 2010 Tour de France Cadel Evans was briefly in the overall lead, but a fractured elbow (from a crash early in the stage) saw him drop out of contention and finish 24th overall.$: After finishing fifth on stage 8 of the 2010 Tour de France Cadel Evans was briefly in the overall lead, but a fractured elbow (from a crash early in the stage) saw him drop out of contention and finish 24th overall.

: In the 2011 Tirreno Adriatico Cadel Evans won the final stage …

: .. which saw him win the race overall ahead of Robert Gesink and Michele Scarponi.

: Evans won stage 4 of the 2011 Tour de France en route to winning the race overall.

: On stage 18 of the 2011 Tour, Andy Schleck set off on a long-range attack that would see him win the stage by more than two minutes and take the overall lead.

: Cadel Evans almost single-handedly dragged a chase group through the Alps to minimise Schleck’s lead.

: But it was the stage 20 ITT where Cadel Evans secured his overall lead. Andy Schleck had been leading by 57 seconds going into the stage but Evans pulled back more than 2:30 on the Leopard Trek rider to win the race overall.

: Evans won the opening stage of the 2012 Criterium du Dauphine before going on to finish third overall. In the Tour de France that followed, he reached as high as second on the GC, but faded in the Pyrenees to finish seventh.

: Evans was one of the favourites at the 2013 Giro d’Italia and after the stage 8 ITT he moved into second overall. He held that position until the penultimate stage, pictured here, where he lost time to Rigoberto Uran who moved into second. Evans finished the Giro in third, becoming the first Australian ever to be on the podium in all three Grand Tours.

: Cadel’s adopted son Robel has been a common sight at races since 2012. Here he is pictured at the 2013 Tour de France, where Cadel faded badly to finish outside the top 50.

: “Crikey Cadel” has been a long-time supporter of the Australian cyclist and has been present at races around the world.

: Cadel Evans put in a blistering attack on Corkscrew Road on stage 3 of the 2014 Tour Down Under …

: … and after a masterclass of a descent he crossed the line in Campbelltown to win the stage. He could arguably have won the race overall had he been more measured with his aggression later in the Tour.

: Evans won stage 3 of the 2014 Giro del Trentino en route to overall victory in the race. It was the last stage-race victory of his career.

: Evans wore the maglia rosa for four days at last year’s Giro d’Italia.

: But a third place in the stage 12 ITT saw him drop to second overall. He would fade slightly in the last week, finishing eighth overall.

: At the Tour of Utah last year, Evans put on a masterclass in the final two stages, taking back-to-back victories.

: The 2015 Santos Tour Down Under was Cadel Evans’ last ever stage race. He went into the race with hopes of winning but in the end it was his teammate, Rohan Dennis (in the background) that won overall. Evans finished third.

: And in his final race, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, Evans made the elite selection of nine-riders and sprinted for fifth place. The race was won by Gianni Meersman.

: And thus ended the long and illustrious career of Cadel Evans. There’s no doubt he will be missed.

Tags: Cadel Evans

http://cyclingtips.com.au Matt de Neef

If you’ve got a favourite moment from Cadel’s career, or a photo you’d like to share (we struggled to get many MTB photos!), please do so in the comments. Like many people I’ll never forget his 2011 Tour de France win; sitting in my loungeroom, late at night, yelling at the TV as he crossed the line in Grenoble to take the overall lead.

More recent memories that stand out too: his win on stage 3 of the TDU last year. That descent into Campbelltown was absolutely scintillating. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dwLYjCTJsE . And it might be a smaller race, but his two wins at last year’s Tour of Utah were absolutely stunning. A masterclass in how to race bikes.
- http://www.nonprocycling.com/ norbs
  
  Here ya go Matt…
  
  http://i.imgur.com/9PsRiPJ.jpg
  
  on that descent.
  - http://cyclingtips.com.au Matt de Neef
    
    Yeah, that was quite something. Here’s the full video of the end of the race. Descent starts at 4.39. Just amazing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_K7YHU2w40
    - PlodrPete
      
      Thanks Matt, first time I have seen that. I was at the top of Corkscrew Rd when he came over the top and the roar of the crowd was absolutely deafening. What amazing descending! Cadel makes the others look almost timid (though they’re not!); it was this descent that Gilbert crashed on (I think the year before).
      - Dave
        
        I was a vehicle marshal at the stage finish that day, when he went solo over the top the cheer from the crowd there was incredible even just from hearing the action called in by the announcer.
        
        Yes, it was that descent where Gilbert crashed the year before. Pretty bad luck, there’s only three tricky corners on that one.
    - Leroy
      
      Thanks, beautifully done.. if only for closed roads.
- 900Aero
  
  I remember yelling at the passengers (Voeckler, Schleck, Basso) he towed up while minimising the damage that Andy Schleck was doing on the stage before. And then watching the clock show the lead switch between Schleck and Evans in Grenoble. The bunny-hop over the speed-hump on his TT bike.
  A brilliant couple of days racing.
- Alex Hinds
  
  Yep. Roar on Corkscrew unbelievable.
http://conza.tumblr.com/ Conza

That Cycling Australia tribute… damn.
- http://cyclingtips.com.au Matt de Neef
  
  Yeah, goosebumps.
  - http://conza.tumblr.com/ Conza
    
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=367YyCSnOWM
    
    “ESPN’s Jason Bennett chronicles the amazing journey of Aussie cyclist Cadel Evans - the first rider to be ranked world #1 in both mountain biking & road racing. Jase spends time with Cadel before AND after his historic 2011 Tour de France win to get an exclusive personal insight into what it takes to succeed in the world of cycling.”
    
    Long but more in-depth and worth the watch.
Dan Wilkins

nice work CT People… great tribute.
jules

so many moments, victories and near-misses. like a fine wine, history will judge Cadel more kindly as time goes on. it’s hard to underestimate his achievements and impact on cycling in Australia.
jules

so many moments, victories and near-misses. like a fine wine, history will judge Cadel more kindly as time goes on. it’s hard to underestimate his achievements and impact on cycling in Australia.
Winky

[url=https://flic.kr/p/8uyAFu]

In the rainbow jersey during the final stage of the Tour in 2010. Taken from our hotel balcony. You can read his computer on the full-size image….cruising at a leisurely 52kmh!
Kieran Degan

Stage 18 of the 2011 tour is my absolute highlight. His resolve and incredible power was inspiring. We was always going to kill Schleck in the TT, this was where he won it. And although only a second level race, those 2 wins at the Tour of Utah last year were as you said, a masterclass. I wish he would hang around, I’ll miss everything he bring to the pro peleton. I’m emotional.
Cadel Fan

1999 Tour of Tasmania. Neil Stephens was leading the Tour on the last 200km day, confident of securing the overall. According to a later interview, Stephens recalled that on the final climb up Mt Wellington, Evans put 4 or 5 bike lengths in to him on Shoebridge Bend (90 degree hairpin, briefly 20%, 1/3 of the way up the climb, all Hobartions know it.) and then had no answer but to look on as Evans soloed off to victory averaging 25kph.

Whenever I climb Mt Wellington - and ride that corner - I always think about the significance of those few metres of asphalt and the potentially significant role they played in Cadel’s career.
- Steel
  
  Great anecdote. Love stories like this.
  - Factoid
    
    And so much better for the karma as well. Stephens wearing his Festina (it was only vitamins) kit as well no doubt.
Stephen Nash

We call this the 2015 “Family Photo” from this year’s TDU…… “Crikey”, his manager, and his “Boss” :-)
Not Charlie Walsh

Cool photos, nice one.

I’ve sat though looooong presentations from Cycling Australia’s top brass explaining the science behind their talent search and talent transfer strategies, all the while thinking. ‘Why is no one mentioning mountain bike racing?” It’s like a gateway drug for Aussie road cycling. Evans, Haas, Von Hoff, Haig, Mullens. Add BMX and you get Anna Mears, Robbie McKewen…

The value of community cycling clubs who organise fun, accessible events in a range of disciplines is enormous and hopefully CA recognise the effect this has upon their High Performance programme ten-fifteen years down the track. Without some backwoods MTB race run by volunteers that caught the attention of a certain skinny kid from Catherine, NT, we may never have been privileged to see that same kid emerge as Cadel Evans and tear it up in the TDF or at the worlds.
- Matt
  
  Also chuck Trent Lowe in there. 2 times world junior cross country champion. Could almost been Cadels successor had things gone a little differently in his Road career.
  - Cadel Fan
    
    You mean if Vaughters hadn’t flogged the kid into Chronic Fatigue then sacked him and refused to pay his salary for ages because Vaughters’ manager Matt White sent him to his dodgy Doctor No Morals?
    That’s what I meant by things going a little bit differently.
    Forgive me for this, but for a seriously dodgy drug cheat like Vaughters (once Lance Armstrong’s main lieutenant, according to the Cycle of Lies book) to just hang out Trent like that and make sure no one would ever give him another shot, then to refuse to pay his salary for a year, is astounding. The jock sniffers (corporate guys who surrounded Lance and made millions off him) and dopers like Vaughters never lost a cent or a wink of sleep over riding the whole Lance gravy train. To this day, there are road kills like Trent or Christophe Bassons, or Betsy Andreu, all financially much worse off and still outcasts. Meanwhile, Vaughters laughs it up with support from the same guys who all funded and knew about the Lance lie.
    Rant over.
- Dave
  
  Add cross-training for motocross and you get Gerrans, add triathlon and you get Porte.
  
  Have there been ANY internationally successful Australian road cyclists who started out as road cyclists?
  - Not Charlie
    
    I think Rogers, McGee, O’Grady, for starters.
    - Dave
      
      All three started out as track racers.
      
      I suppose that’s as close as we’ll get.
- Not Charlie Walsh
  
  Totally agree, forgot about Trent, class act. Raced Wildside against himwhen he had the stripes on. Next to him was World Champ, Lisa Matthewson (lost opportunities there, CA…).
  
  The list goes on, Hesjedal, Sagan, etc, etc.. and Landis and Rasmussen, of course :)
  - Ralph
    
    Agreed, imparts bike handling, tenacity and endurance, amongst other things.
DaGoose

My earliest memories of Cadel are from him riding for DBR (Diamondback Racing) MTB team and seeing him shred the deserts with Joe Parkin and Susan DeMattei in ChainSmoke (parts of it are on YouTube). I longed for the titanium pilsner coloured hardtail he was riding back then. I also remember reading about his VO2 max in an old copy of Freewheel (when it was free and printed on paper that resembled the yellowpages). I wonder if you told that kid back then what he would go on to do… I’m sure it’s been asked plenty of times :)
- Gavin Adkins
  
  I think I read the same thing. Freewheel was awesome.
Michele

Some nice symmetry with Evans coming 5th on Sunday. His first major race: a MTB World Cup in Cairns in 1994 also saw him come 5th.

CT … great stuff. Love Cadel’s victory salutes. :)
- http://cyclingtips.com.au Matt de Neef
  
  They’re so understated aren’t they!
  - http://justincoulson.com/ Justin Coulson
    
    I grew up with surfing as my main sport, and came to cycling in my 30’s. I’ve always been annoyed at the over-the-top victory salutes in cycling. Yes, I know it’s an emotional thing. Yes, I know at the end of a long, long race where you’ve laid it all on the line you feel exultant and want to cry all at once.
    
    But growing up watching Tom Carroll and legends like him do things in the water that are unimaginable - those guys would rarely, if ever raise their hands and claim the glory. Tom Carroll’s legendary re-entry off the top at maxxing out Pipeline in the early 1990’s is a case in point. Barely raised a finger to say “I did that..”
    
    So Cadel’s understated, “Yep, I got there that time” style of victory salute is right up my alley. Humble, understated, but still stoked.
ed

was in BikeNow in late 2003 and recognised him & had a quick chat about his lost season. that year i went to the tour and was dissapointed injuries (3 broken collar bones) prevented from starting. will miss his quirky & prickly interviews -release of emotions after the col d’aubisque stage from 2005 tour, mega stressed interviews of the 2008 tour and unmotivated interviews of the 2009 tour.
horses

Surely someone has some old photos of him riding for Apollo. Here’s a great one of the Vail worlds in 1994 - Judy SLs!

http://malcolmfearon.photoshelter.com/image/I00005IMfiacgAb4
AlexXSmith

Great compilation.
- AlexXSmith
  
  My only shot of Cadel in action, at the first USA Pro Cycling challenge, https://www.flickr.com/photos/10286044@N05/6078661924/in/set-72157627512966582
  - Dave
    
    Hmm.
    
    If your only photo of him in action is of him being outrun by a girl doing an undie run with the US flag, you probably shouldn’t hold your breath waiting for a platinum membership card for the Cadel Evans Fan Club to arrive in the post :D
Bravo

Does anyone now if he’s sentimental with his bikes? I saw a feature on Indurain and his collection of old race bikes, would love to know what happened to the “Aussie” coloured Canyon, the TT bike with the cut out head tube, his WC BMC……
Desert Head

My favourite Cadel factoid is the fact that since 2008 he’s been riding without an anterior cruciate ligament in one of his knees. Even better he ruptured his ACL on a Parisian nightclub dance floor after the TdF. Even better still only a few weeks later he came 5th in the Olympic TT.
- Desert Head
  
  Details here: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-reveals-ruptured-knee-ligament
Arfy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCmuvpK_hzU
- MattyC
  
  This gives me goosebumps. I was standing on the Champs Elysee and had no idea who was singing the anthem until much later. But this remains one of the great moments in my life.
jms

Here are a bunch of Mountain Bike photos from 1999 ish. Taken at Fairfield the Sydney Olympic venue at some test events and a world cup.
- Dave
  
  That fork!
http://subcontinentalcyclist.wordpress.com/ Ankush Agarwal

Cuddles will be missed :-(
Monsieur Pi Pi

You stand on my dog, I cut off your head. Genuine gold.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-fe79ZuDKfk
Karen Marr

What an amazing life he’s created! Best wishes to Cadel and his beautiful family
x
nathan ong

My favorite moment of Cadel was in Criterium Du Daphine stage 1, when he attacked on the descent with Coppel and Kashechkin. Cadel was driving that break on the descent, in a serious pain cave, and they were flying towards the end. With like a 4 second gap going into the last 1km, and exiting a tunnel to about 800m to go, Cadel gapped Coppel around a round-about and started to sprint for the finish ….still from 500m out. Neither coppel or Kashechkin could come around Cadel they were just gassed. And like usual Evans had like the most nonchalant celebration. He made that such an exciting finish and his finishing power was unreal.
Andrew

Can highly recommend watching the Aussies Abroad special on him, he has such class and poise. Well done Cadel, you can be very proud of your achievements
donncha

Still love the Giro stage into Montalcino. Foul weather, rainbow bands, Strade Bianche, plus grit, determination and great bike handling skills. It’s got it all.
- Peter Treloar
  
  Agreed! That one I have saved & watched 30 odd times…. & want to go and ride the same roads in tribute. What a buzz to wake up in the morning and watch the recorded version of that one… If I make the list for heaven the Giro stage and Stage 18 of the 2011 tour taking on Cadel’s persona will be constant reruns :-)
Robert Merkel

Here’s one from his race on Sunday on the Challambra Crescent KOM.

Not the iconic image of career, obviously, but broadly representative, and the way the event was raced served as a fitting tribute. He won sometimes, didn’t win others, but he gave it a red hot go.
sevenbythree

Reading and watching these clips makes me a tad patriotic (not quite to the southern cross tattoo stage.) Stoked I got to witness (and capture) one of Cadels last races, clad in lycra standing among the masses on Willunga Hill.
http://www.interpedalers.com interpedalers

Here’s my personal favourite. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBtqSRsVkBc