#20, you made me smile!!!

The 1st stage of the TDU is going to be from Paris to­ Alpe d'Huez!!!

djwiners - ermmm....people like Contador have every bit­ as intriguing a story to tell (massive aneurysm in 2004­ and the comeback that followed)...but we don't hear­ that story each and every broadcast, do we?

so this­ isn't about an inspiration story - it's about a­ media obsession that hasn't bothered to find other­ stories that are just as worth telling.

and really,­ right now, every race is a test for LA, not the people­ who face him. LA has yet to prove that he's going­ to be on schleck-level here....but i'm sure when­ the time comes, the headline will be "schleck­ faces armstrong" instead of the other way­ around.

agree with Thomas here too.....after the way­ LA behaved this year, i'd smack any kid of mine who­ used him as a role model. i'd use him more as a­ lesson about what happens when you get so entirely full­ of yourself that you lose any and all perspective.....

Little more walk-to-walk, and less talk-to-talk by­ Cadel regarding 2009 TdF and case is closed. Man blows­ completely and no team on earth can cover that. Agree­ that +02'35" time difference in the TTT is a­ serious damage, but +29' on the Grand-Bornand is by­ my count decisive red card for the GC contender in my­ team, no questions ask (Matthew Lloyd was +7' or­ so, Van Den Broek maybe less, and other team-mates was­ all around him on +29').

To be fair to Cadel, he hasn't openly complained­ about the quality of his team mates until this­ year's TdF. Which is a little odd, as Wegelius and­ Van Den Broek rode very well in the mountains. Better­ than Evans in fact! Sadly the damage had been done in­ the TTT and Evans's head had gone.

you men are so much more fun and correct than the silly­ lance trance zombies exposed in their adoration and­ defense of a possible cheater status...like the JFK­ assassination...
...a mystery. who knows who will come­ forward?

I meant TDF, and nobody cares about down under tour by­ the way.

Evans will finish the tour between 15th to 30th. He­ doesn't have the balls.

Let's hope Evans new team picks up enough­ points/victories to help get a selection for the TdF.­ So long as he has the legs, the fitness and a strong­ team round him, he should he up there!

At least he­ can't blame the BMC frame, they're pretty damn­ good as you can get for long stage races!

If my kids used Armstrong as a role model, they'd­ be banned from watching cycling.

well when your sport has the biggest sporting role­ model in it there is going to be a massive media focus­ on him all the time

are we really going to hear this about every @$Y^@ race­ armstrong is in?
so-and-so faces armstrong each and­ every time he is on the bike?

i grow very weary of­ this sport being all about one person in the media­ world.....

Tour Down Under??? Who is interested about this race­ anyway?? Only news in this article is that Cadel will­ attend, and that is it. Good for him, to get some­ self-esteem in front of his mates. Rainbow jersey on­ his back will surely help to promote even more the­ cycling there, just like LA presence. One big plus for­ them and endorsement industry, results are­ irrelevant-hardly remembering Allan Davis victory this­ year.

Both Evans and Armstrong will be anonymous in the­ peleton. That said, perhaps BMC will want to try­ something to get their season off to a good start and­ impress with a view to gaining brownie points with the­ organisors of the bigger races - a bit like Cervelo did­ at Qatar last year. That said, if Evans was really­ keen to get on the good side of ASO, surely he should­ go to Qatar, which is an ASO event. Perhaps Paris-Nice­ will be his first opportunity to suck up.

It will be good to see them both in Australia. TDU is a­ good event. They will however be riding the season for­ the grand tours...Giro TDF and Vuelta. ...Michael­ M...not sure about your comments on the Schleck­ brothers.. Andy will go close...but he needs to learn­ how to TT......Frank is no chance (super­ domestique)...Conti, Levi, Cadel, Lance and even­ Wiggins before Frank.......

TDU - I for one am looking forward to the TDU. It­ starts the new year off with a significant Pro Tour­ event which seems to get bigger every year. Seeing­ Evans and Armstrong in the same peleton (and I think­ the former will want to impress even if the latter is­ only in for the ride) is something to look forward to. ­ And I have no antipodean ties - I just enjoy following­ pro cycling wherever it takes place.

Apart from a bit of publicity / showcase riding­ Armstrong & Evans ain't gonna be­ 'racing' against each other at TDU ........­ It's a bit of a non-story!

I thought this was an article about the Tour Down­ Under?! No great surprise that an Australian­ stage-racer, wearing the rainbow jersey gets invited to­ Austrialia's biggest stage race is it? In any­ event, both Evans and Armstrong will merely be­ stretching their legs, so highly unlikely there will be­ any 'head-to-head' as the terrain isn't­ selective enough. It'll be the usual routine of­ day-on-day sprints, with the odd breakaway. Tedious.

Agree. It is going to be a climbers tour which cements­ Contador and A. Schleck in the top 2 spots.

Another­ battle for 3rd. Who will be the climber best able to­ hang on? Might be a chance for a new face (Gensink­ etc).