Tour de France

Dear Cadel

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Rodney Olsen and Cadel Evans Just a few lines to ask you to do me a big favour. Over the next few weeks please try your very hardest to stand on the top step of the podium in Paris.

I know I don’t really have to ask you. You always put 100% into whatever race you’re riding. It’s just that you’ve come so close before but never quite made it. Well not yet but that could all change in the coming days. Some of my friends say that you’ll never wear yellow in Paris but I really believe you can.

Remember when I interviewed you on radio last year? It was only a day or so after you switched to BMC. I asked you who would be runner up when you win the 2010 Tour de France. Of course I was just having a bit of fun but in a real sense I truly meant it. I really would love to see you become the first Aussie to ever win that amazing race.

As I stay up late over the next three weeks I’ll be willing you to win with every fibre of my being. You’ve got some very tough competition but you’re in amazing form, you’ve got a better team than ever before and you’re the current World Road Cycling Champion. This is your year.

If it doesn’t happen ….. well, no ….. let’s not even start thinking that way. I’ll just say that win, lose or draw, I’ll be right behind you and I’m sure that I won’t be the only one.

Yours sincerely,

Rodney

(The 97th Tour De France runs from Saturday the 3rd to Sunday the 25th of July. You can hear my interview with Cadel Evans from November last year by clicking the play button on the audio player below.)

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Talking with Cadel Evans

Nov 5th, 2009

by Rodney Olsen.

4 comments

I’ve interviewed dozens of ‘famous’ people but today’s chat with Cadel Evans was certainly one of the highlights of my radio career.

I’m a cyclist but Cadel is cycling royalty.

He started cycling when he was 2 on a 16” BMX bike. Began riding competitively in 1991 on a cross country mountain bike. In 1994 he started competing in criteriums and road races to help with his mountain biking. Since then he has become one of Australia’s greatest ever road racing cyclists.

He was the first Aussie to ever reach the podium in Paris in the Tour de France, coming runner up in 2007 and 2008 and he recently became Australia’s first world road race champion.

His book which describes his journey so far – Close to Flying – was released just days ago and it’s already being reprinted. Cadel Evans joined me live in the studio this morning at 98.5 Sonshine FM. You can hear our conversation by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

We spoke about the Tour de France, his move to BMC, his involvement in the 2010 Tour Down Under, the new book, Lance Armstrong and a few other bits and pieces.

Cadel was generous with his time and his answers were honest and informative. I only wish that I could have sat down with him for a couple of hours over a coffee rather than just conducting a quick radio interview in the middle of a very busy promotional schedule.

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Can Cadel Still Win?

Jul 9th, 2009

by Rodney Olsen.

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I’m conflicted. Every fibre of my being wants to see Australia’s Cadel Evans peg back the three minutes he needs to stand in yellow on the podium in Paris but I know that it’s incredibly unlikely.

Being a few seconds outside the time of the leaders is one thing, but being 2:59 down from names like Armstrong and Contodor makes the task almost impossible. Cadel is a great climber but we’ve never seen any evidence that he is good enough to put three minutes or more into the other climbers that stand between him and the yellow jersey.

The wheels came off Cadel’s campaign to win the 2009 Tour de France in the team time trial where his team was well and truly outclassed by the teams of the other favourites.

Thankfully Cadel hasn’t given up on his hopes of winning and if there’s an opportunity to do something spectacular, he’s still in the right frame of mind to take advantage of whatever situation might arise.

I’ve never been in this position at the Tour de France ahead of the mountains stages, so we’ll see what happens, but I’m feeling good. The Tour is not over for me yet.

So to the question, can Cadel Evans still win the 2009 Tour de France, I’d have to answer it’s not a big possiblity, but there’s still a flickering flame of hope, and I’ll be cheering him on whatever position he’s in when the peleton reaches the streets of Paris.

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Let the race begin

Jul 2nd, 2009

by Rodney Olsen.

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The Tour de France is about to begin. It starts this Saturday in Monaco and I’m looking forward to watching one of the most interesting battles in years. Lance Armstrong is back and so is his team mate Alberto Contador who won in 2007. Can Australia’s Cadel Evans beat his second placing from the last couple of years to win? What a race it’ll be.

I thought that to prepare for the great race I’d revisit some of the basics of the race over the next couple of days.

If you have only started following the Tour de France recently and you’ve heard the commentators talking about different coloured jerseys, you might be wondering what all the different colours represent and why it’s so important to be wearing a jersey other than your team jersey.

Each team wears their own uniform but there are a number of special shirts or jerseys awarded each day. While it’s considered very prestigious to wear any of these jerseys throughout the race, it’s obviously even more so to be wearing one of these jerseys after the final sprint down the Champs-Élysées in Paris on the last day of the tour.

Many people know that the Yellow Jersey or Maillot Jaune is the most coveted of all the jerseys but here’s a quick rundown of what it’s all about.

Yellow Jersey

The Yellow Jersey is worn by the leader in the general classification. That means that whoever has the lowest overall time at the end of each stage of the event will be awarded with the Yellow Jersey. It was first awarded in 1919 and its colour was chosen to match the yellow paper of l’Auto magazine, founder of the Tour de France in 1903.

Green Jersey

The Green Jersey is given to the leader in the points classification, rewarding the best sprinter. It’s sometimes called the points jersey or sprinters’ jersey. During each stage, points are allocated for several intermediary sprints and for the finish. The jersey was introduced in 1953.

Polka Dot Jersey

The Polka Dot or King of the Mountains Jersey is awarded to the rider who earns most of the points at each summit. The winner is known as the King of the Mountains. Although the award was introduced in 1933, the red and white spotted jersey was not introduced until 1975.

White Jersey

The White Jersey is given to the best rider in the general classification under 25. The jersey was abandoned in 1989 but reintroduced in 1999.

So now you know a little more than you did a short while ago. I hope this brief explanation helps in your enjoyment of this year’s tour.

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He's Back!

Sep 10th, 2008

by Rodney Olsen.

1 comment

Ever since he retired from professional cycling there have been rumours that Lance Armstrong would make a comeback, so when the latest rumours started circulating I figured that I wouldn’t believe them until I heard the words from from Lance’s own mouth.

If you click here you’ll see Lance telling the world that he’s back.

As well as the short video of Lance announcing his return to professional cycling there is a media release annoucning a few more details.

Today, Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor, founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) and cycling champion, released the following statement regarding his return to professional sports:

“I am happy to announce that after talking with my children, my family and my closest friends, I have decided to return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden. This year alone, nearly eight million people will die of cancer worldwide. Millions more will suffer in isolation, victims not only of the disease but of social stigma. After the passage of Proposition 15 in Texas, a $3 billion investment in the fight against cancer which is helping to make this disease part of the national dialogue in America, it’s now time to address cancer on a global level.”

Mr. Armstrong will discuss his cycling program and an international LIVESTRONG^TM strategy on September 24^th in New York City at the Clinton Global Initiative.

If he intends riding for an eighth tour victory, the 2009 Tour de France should be amazing. I can’t wait to see Evans, Contador, Armstrong, Sastre and several other serious contenders battle it out through France.