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And now for the let down

Cadel Evans on the Podium with Andy and Frank SchleckSometimes I amaze myself at the things I am able to accomplish when I want [need] to, but that pales in comparison to what Cadel Evans was able to do in this years Tour de France.

Twice I thought the Tour had slipped out of his reach, but twice Evans managed to crawl his way back.

The first time was on stage 18, when Andy Schleck attacked 60 km from the finish, and built up a 4 minute lead over Evans. Undaunted, after exhausting his entire team, and without the help of any of the other teams, Evans still managed to fight his way back, and cut the lead to just 2 minutes and 15 seconds, keeping himself within a reachable 1:12 (57 seconds from Andy Schleck) out of the Yellow Jersey.

Then, on Stage 19, Alberto Contador attacked only 16 km into the stage. Evans was able to go with him (along with Andy Schleck and Thomas Voekler) initially, but within a very short time encountered bike problems, and was forced to change bikes, putting him behind Contador and Schleck by over a minute and a half.

At that point I thought he had lost the tour for sure, but in the same manner as the day before, he again managed to fight his way back. The difference this time was he was able to catch Contador and Schleck before the start of the famed climb of Alpe d'Huez, and wipe out essentially all his losses.

The rest is history, but even if Cadel Evans hadn't beaten Andy Schleck by 2 minutes 38 seconds in the final time trial yesterday, and ultimately winning the Tour de France, the effort put forth by Cadel Evans on the 2 prior stages is definitely worthy of note.

My helmet off to Cadel Evans and Frank and Andy Schleck [and Mark Cavendish] for making this one of the most exciting Tour de France races in recent memory. My only regret is it had to end! :(
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