Although Cadel Evans has come up against a very strong Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky in this Critérium du Dauphiné, the Australian appears satisfied with his own showing in the race, emphasising that there’s still a long time to go before he needs to be at one hundred percent of his form.
"My level has improved each day. It's perfect that way as regards the Tour de France,” he told Le Dauphiné newspaper. “The way I rode on Joux-Plane wasn’t bad. The important thing is that I'm building form, not at a peak now. The Tour isn’t for three more weeks, it is not possible to be 100% of form at the beginning of the Tour. You have to be in Paris, late in the third week.
“I'm not worried about the Tour. It only begins at the end of June. Today (yesterday), the stage did not count for the classification of the Tour. And I still have a good room for improvement.”
Evans attacked twice in the finale yesterday, once going over the top of the Joux Plane, and again approximately six kilometres from the finish. The latter got him a lasting gap and he snatched second on the stage. It’s the second such move he’s pulled off this week on a descent, with the BMC Racing Team rider nabbing victory on stage one with another late surge.
Yesterday’s move saw him end the day third overall. The rider who had been in that position, Tony Martin (Omega Pharma Quick Step) was dropped and lost a lot of time, thus moving Evans up a slot. He also gained eight seconds on the other GC riders, ending the day one minute 36 behind Wiggins and sixteen seconds off the time of Michael Rogers (also Sky).
However despite the fighting spirit, Evans conceded that there was very little chance of him winning the race. "I think with the stage profile and a team as strong as Sky, it will not be possible to attack,” he told Le Dauphiné newspaper. "Wiggins has won the race. Against him, there wasn’t much that could be done in this Dauphiné.”
He started the final stage knowing that second place was within striking distance, but played down any suggestions that he could try to claim the runner-up slot in the race.
"I have already finished second in this event four times. A fifth time, I would not like it much,” he said. “And it's not necessarily a sign for next month: in 2009, I finished second in the Dauphiné and then 29th in the Tour.”