Having missed the race in 2008, world champion Cadel Evans will return to the Giro d’Italia this season hoping to both perform strongly in that race, and also to reach a higher level of form for the Tour de France.
The Australian laid out a clear goal for the race. “Back to the Giro d’Italia, finally. To try to win,” he told La Gazetta dello Sport. He rode the race once before, way back in 2002, when as a young professional he showed a strong crossover from MTB to road.
He rode solidly in the mountains and time trials and seized the Maglia Rosa on stage 16 to Corvara in Badia. However he cracked the following day, finishing a still-commendable 14th overall in Milan.
In the years since, Evans has focussed on the Tour de France and opted to use shorter stage races such as the Dauphiné Libéré to hone his form. He has also ridden the Vuelta a España on two occasions, preferring that particular Grand Tour double and finishing fourth (2007) and third (2009).
His decision to ride the Giro before the Tour may well be related to his strong ride in this year’s Vuelta. He went into the race still smarting from a below-par performance in July, and might well have taken his first Grand Tour in Spain had he not punctured at a crucial moment and lost time.
Evans ended up third overall in Madrid, then used his strong form to win the world road race championships one week later in Mendrisio.
If he manages to win the Giro, he will be the first reigning world champion to do so since Giuseppe Saronni in 1983.
Evans is currently at home in Australia and has spent part of his off-season promoting his new book ‘Close to Flying.’ He is scheduled to ride the Tour Down Under in January.