Evans says he still has hope
Yellow jersey contender Cadel Evans is clinging on to the hope that he will resurrect his Tour de France bid at the end of this week when the race heads back into the mountains.
But Evans, who after nine of the race's 21 stages is three minutes behind main rivals Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong, admits it will be hard to find a way around the mighty Astana team.
"We had some bad luck in the team time time trial that has put me in a frustrating position in the general classification," said Evans on Monday on the race's rest day.
"At three minutes behind, my work's cut out for me."
Despite coming in stronger and having so far avoided the injuries that plagued last year's campaign, the return to the Tour de France of Astana, who were absent last year because the race organizers refused them entry because of doping scandals the year before which were nothing to do with Contador, is a major problem for Evans.
The Kazakh-backed team stamped its authority on the race by winning the fourth stage team time trial, in which Evans lost 2:35. Contador then leapfrogged Armstrong into second place by attacking on the seventh stage to Arcalis in the Pyrenees.
Now second and third overall at six and eight seconds respectively behind unlikely leader Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy, Contador and Armstrong are primed to take command of the race.
Adding spice to the mix is the fact 2007 winner Contador, 26, and seven-time champion Armstrong, 37, may themselves duel in the mountains for leadership of Astana.
Thus far, the team headed by director Johan Bruyneel, which Evans has described as perhaps the best of any Tour, has given its rivals very little leeway.
Because of his two runner-up places, behind Contador in 2007 and Sastre in 2008 – and despite the fact he is so far behind – Evans is still considered to be a threat.
"We have this Astana team here who are just incredible,” said Evans, who felt the full brunt of Astana’s strength when he launched a futile attack on a climb early on the eighth stage. “They have been the dominant force."
"As soon as there's any moment or any danger where someone can attack or might attack, they just put the whole team on the front and everyone's been flat out staying on the wheel and holding the position behind," he said.
With five climbing stages remaining, plus a 40km individual time trial the Tour, as Armstrong said on Sunday, is only just beginning.
Having shown a more aggressive streak of late, Evans said he is determined to grab opportunities when they come. The Australian, however, concedes that future will have to be timed to perfection, and done convincingly enough to drop his rivals.
"Attacking my real challengers for the race is easier said than done,” Evans said. “But as soon as an opportunity presents itself, I'm going to try and benefit.”
Ahead of looking for chances to catch Astana unawares on the upcoming stages, perhaps on the hilly stage 13 from Vittel to Colmar which will be run without race radios,
Evans is relying on racing experience, good form and a little bit of luck.
"I will need a lot of good luck, a lot of good legs, and the stars to align," he said when asked if he could still win the Tour.
Evans said he knows Astana, if inner tensions do not cause them to implode, will be almost impossible to beat.
"After the team time trial, they put themselves in a good position. Straight away, even if they do get eliminated down to two (Armstrong and Contador) when it comes to the mountain finishes, which guy do we follow?" he said.
"It makes it difficult for us. Maybe it's the strongest Tour team that's ever been assembled."
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