Carlos Sastre won the 2008 Tour de France. Cadel Evans was second, for the second consecutive year. Evans had a chance to claim the yellow jersey during Saturday’s time trial but he did not capitalize on his superior potential against the clock. Either he hurt himself more than he let on when he fell in the Pyranées or he can improve upon his mental training.
Last year, the Australian had a chance to pass eventual winner Alberto Contador in a similar situation – one stage left, short time to make up – and could not. This year, Evans said that he felt good before the race and felt he cycled well but admitted that he was surprised when he learnt his standing after the first interval.
First of all, Evans should have responded earlier when he lose the yellow jersey to Frank Schleck in the Alps and attacked on L’Alpe d’Huez. Sastre took initiative and consequently gained the lead. Secondly, Evans should focus more on the mental part of the Tour de France. In 2004, Lance Armstrong devoted a significant part of his off-season training to the time-trial on L’Alpe d’Huez and smashed the rest of the peloton. Evans could visualize the course more or find more effective ways to relax before the stage.
The Tour de France is the physically hardest sporting event to win on the planet. Every cyclist dreams of receiving the yellow jersey on the Champs Elysées but only a few can. The Tour is also one of mentally hardest sporting events to win. Strategy (short-term, long-term, teamwork) is paramount and determination is imperative. The temptation for someone in Evans’ situation becomes to make the time trial into a big obstacle; the cyclist might treat the stage like it is a baromotre of whether his career is a success or fails. It is – and should remain – a regular bike ride where he must but the hammer down as hard as he can.
On the other hand, completing the Tour is an accomplishment, especially when falling in an earlier stage, which Evans did. Making the front page of L’Équipe is satisfying but for the 150 cyclist who can’t to that, they must satisfy themselves by overcoming obstacles and setting personal bests. They can’t mentally beat themselves up because they must come back next year: physically, mentally, technically, and strategically better than ever.