Australian interested in London games after defending Tour title next year
Cadel Evans has indicated his interest in next year’s Olympic Games in London. The 2011 Tour de France champion will be heading to France next July to defend his title but has told AAP that he’d love to be selected for the Olympic Games road race, which takes place a week after the Tour de France.
“I don’t know if the course is going to suit me but if I can be the man for the job to represent my country, of course I would love to ride,” he said.
Evans has taken part in three Olympic Games before, twice in the mountain bike race and once on the road in Beijing in 2008 where he finished fifteenth. He recently became the first Australian to win the Tour de France but is not taking being selected for the games as a foregone conclusion.
“If it’s a course more suitable to someone else, then it should be for someone else,” said Evans.
However, Cycling Australia high performance manager Kevin Tabotta put his full faith in Evans, telling AAP, “absolutely Cadel could be part of that team.”
“He’s proven on a number of different courses over the years he’s a competitor. He may not be a sprinter, but even then if it comes to a pretty tight finish Cadel has proven that he can sprint against guys on tough courses. Cadel Evans is well and truly in the equation for the Olympic Games.”
If the BMC Racing Team captain were to win gold in the road race, he would become only the third person in history to have won Olympic gold, the Tour de France and a world championship title. Jan Ullrich and Miguel Indurain both took the time trial during their career, while Evans won the worlds road race in 2009.
“I can completely imagine Cadel adding Olympic gold to his achievements, I think he’s more than capable of that,” added Tabotta.
Australian cycling has become one of the strongest nations in a sport that has been dominated predominantly by European countries in the past. They will have a host of talent to choose from for the race in London, with the likes of Matt Goss, Heinrich Haussler or Mathew Hayman likely to be among the forerunners for selection.