Australian businessman Gerry Ryan honours Tour de France champ
Five months after winning the Tour de France, Cadel Evans received a major prize in connection with that triumph; a 1958 Cadillac Coupe, coloured yellow and thus matching his Maillot Jaune.
The car was delivered to his home in Barwon Heads, Australia, on Thursday, fulfilling a deal struck up between the rider and Australian businessman Gerry Ryan in last summer.
”He said, ‘if you win this Tour I’ll give you a yellow Cadillac’,” he told The Age.
He knew that the car was on the way, but it was a complete surprise to his wife. “I sort of warned Chiara – ‘something’s getting delivered, be here, be ready’,” Evans said. “And then it came up in the back of a truck yesterday and she was screaming in delight.”
Ryan is a long-time supporter of Australian cycling, and is the main backer behind the new GreenEdge team. Evans’ Tour success was the first time a rider from the Southern hemisphere country won the sport’s biggest race.
The 34 year old is now heading back to Europe after several weeks back home. He’s rested, mentally refreshed, and is now ready to ramp up his workload. “As another brief ‘off-season’ in Australia has sped by to its earlier than expected ending, it’s now starting to feel that 2012 really is approaching,” he said in his online blog. “’Off-season’ in the sense that it is period of the year that I don’t pin a number on and have to keep my fitness up to a competitive level, there still is a lot of important training to be done.”
The Australian has decided to miss the season-opening Santos Tour Down Under, deciding that it is too much, too soon. He wants to once again win the Tour and also to ride well in the Olympic Games, particularly the time trial. Because of that he wants to delay his season start somewhat.
It’s understood that the Challenge Mallorca races are likely to be his 2012 debut, with the first of those five consecutive one-day events beginning on February 6th. Tour podium finishers Andy and Frank Schleck are also expected to debut there.
Pictured: a 1958 Cadillac Coupe, similar to that give to Evans