Having decided to call an end to his season on September fourth due to what his team described as a low grade infection, Cadel Evans has rested for the past four weeks to help his body recover.
The 2011 Tour de France winner is determined to get back to his top shape next season and made the decision to stop racing in order to get over the issue and take his post-season break early, then have additional time to build up his training.
“Once we had a good idea of what was affecting me, I didn't want to compromise my 2013 by racing longer,” he explained. “So it's been nice to take a good rest and completely recover from this virus and work toward being back to my normal level next year.”
He added that he also enjoyed time with his family, with he and his wife having adopted a son last
Evans had a mixed season in 2012, with victory in the Critérium International and third place in the Critérium du Dauphiné being the high points, as well as stages in both. However he was unable to defend his titles in the Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour du Romandie events and, after becoming sick during the Tour de France, had to be satisfied with seventh there and 80th in the Olympic road race.
He was forced to withdraw during the USA Pro Cycling Challenge due to a problem with his right knee. Evans still displayed a good level of consistency, though, registering nineteen top ten finishes.
The BMC Racing Team’s chief medical officer Dr. Max Testa said today that Evans will do a blood test later this week in Milan. The aim is to determine how his recovery from the virus is progressing.
“Based on that, we will decide the management of his condition,” he stated. “The plan is still to maintain the winter training schedule that was discussed before. So there's no reason to think we will change his training program at all for next season.”
Evans will be 36 in February but wants to clock up another Tour de France win before he retires.