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Cadel’s greatest opponent on the road to Paris is himself

Julie Tullberg

by Julie Tullberg

13 Jul 05:50am

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Filed under: Cadel Evans, Cycling, Sport, Tour De France

39 comments

Australian cyclist Cadel Evans has the yellow jersey smack on his back but the question is: will he crack or will he stay tough to claim this year’s Tour de France?

Cadel's one-man battle. Photo: Bas Czerwinski, AP

If he can ride into Paris, retaining the colour he has aspired to wearing most of his life, Evans must overcome his greatest opponent - himself.

After stage eight on Sunday, Evans survived a fall, injuring his shoulder and wrist. And to everyone’s amazement, Evans gritted his teeth through his pain and finished the mountain stage in sixth place and shot to the lead in the overall standings.

During this stage, the Tour’s doyen Lance Armstrong also crashed and his rivals jumped on the chance to trash him, setting an unrelenting place during the 14km ascent to Col de la Ramaz. 

Sorry and sore, Armstrong lost 12 minutes to the Tour’s guns and he is out of the race. Armstrong won’t front up to the Tour - as a competitor - ever again. Evans’ strong position on the Tour now has Aussie cycling fans on the edge of their seats.

An elite cyclist needs a lot of luck, skill, experience and a giant heart to win the Tour de France. You need your teammates - the “domestiques” or workers - protecting you in the peloton.  And sometimes, morons get in the way of the cyclists, leaving a trail of destruction. Just ask Aussie Robbie McEwen, who flew over his handlebars on Friday after a podium chaperone jumped out in front of him.

McEwen was badly injured and is now way off the pace, with more than 130 riders ahead of him. McEwen’s hopes (and body) are crushed. It could cost him half a million in endorsements. Unfortunately, falls are common on the Tour’s challenging stages.

A nasty fall cost Evans his Tour victory in 2008, when he lost the yellow jersey after failing to recover from his soreness and injuries.

If Evans’s teammates can protect him from more falls in the peloton, he can win the prestigious Tour. There are two big hurdles that Evans must tackle for each stage. Firstly, Evans’s energy must be saved by his teammates and the peloton, as he tries to gain valuable seconds in the race’s challenging stretches. Evans is a good climber - and an excellent time triallist - but he needs to draft off other cyclists to conserve his energy in the hills. Secondly, Evans has to believe he can win the race. He finished second in 2007 and 2008.

Spaniard Alberto Contador, last year’s Tour de France winner, is tipped to beat Evans. Contador has superior physical and mental capacities compared with Evans, who often doubts himself.

Evans is desperate to win the Tour - his long-time dream.  Evans is a sensitive type, and often shows his emotions on the podium. And it’s this sensitive side of Evans that has cost him big races before. Where is the mongrel in Evans? Evans often rattles off excuses whenever he loses. Everyone has an excuse. Everyone has a problem. But what Evans must grasp is that he is in control of his destiny, despite the risks in this race. A winner never rattles off excuses.

It’s this level of control that has been shown previously by Armstrong, who won the race a record seven consecutive times. Armstrong was a recovering cancer victim when he first returned to the bike. He never made his cancer ordeal an excuse. Armstrong turned his weakness into his strength - his mortality, his vulnerability made him face his fears, which gave him the drive (and understanding) to win repeatedly. Sometimes you need to go through adversity to learn how to win.

Will Evans’ repeated Tour losses teach him how to win cycling’s most prestigious race? Only Evans can write the history books, according to his own will.

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39 comments

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    • Ray Graham says:

      08:01am | 13/07/10

      Hey Julie, that’s just a load of rubbish. Evan’s tour losses? Lack of mental and physical strength? He’s come second in two tours and is always well placed, apart from previously being with what is rated as a poor team. That’s second in two more tours than most and I dare say two more than yourself . I doubt you could complete one stage using the public transort.

      The usual bashing of male superstars by superstar female diva journos. Get behind a bloke who is a current world champion and put away your female cat claws. Evans has an admirable and long cycling career. A career which is probably as tough as any sport requiring vastly superior levels of fitness and mental commitment. I know he is male but please give him due accord, thank you.

      Reply

    • Adam Diver says:

      08:34am | 13/07/10

      Best call on the punch dispite the mispelling

      ” I doubt you could complete one stage using the public transort.”

    • Tour nut says:

      10:56am | 13/07/10

      As if it’s a male bashing Ray. Cadel has to learn to win and he has to teach himself in his own mind. Nothing wrong what questioning a cyclist who wants to win the tour.

    • Jack Thomas says:

      12:25pm | 13/07/10

      Dribble pure dribble.

      Why do most journo’s write negative, incorrect waffle?

      There might be the little other things you forgot as to why Cadel did not win previously, like Schleck and Contador, he crashed and they did not, and the fact that no one (except Eddie Merkcx) can wear yellow all the way through due to the whole peleton attacking you.

      Cadel has ‘done more justice’ to the rainbow jersey than anyone else for years. He was beaten by Contador, not himself.

      Drafting up a climb doesn’t help much, it’s pacing and tempo that you need on a climb.

      The bunch had jumped to get to the bottom of the climb first, as you always try to do. Armstrong crashed and had to chase to catch up, in any case it is not ‘good form’ to attack when a rider crashes. Again, feel free to learn about a subject before writing on it.

      Ray is right, you suggested McEwen was going for GC, and was 131st or something. He is in trouble, but is 3rd in the Green. On your claim, Hushvold is having a shocker too, he’s 129th in the GC… 

      No other athletes get microphones and cameras shoved in their faces immediately after a race like Pro cyclists especially when they are so clearly shattered. I recall your fellow “quality journo” Mike Tomolaris leaning on Cadel’s broken shoulder to ask a question after a stage?

      Cadel just doesn’t suffer fools like yourselves. Ask him a stupid question and you get the result. He deserves a lot more respect from the like of this ‘journo’. Unfortunately the classic Aussie bogan and moronic media hack will jump on board when Cadel gets yellow, claim him as “ours” and then go back to side swiping the cyclist on their way home from work.

      He has achieved more on the world stage, done more for Australian cycling, hell, he has done more random anonymous charity stuff, than any of our previous champions, more than you would in a lifetime. See him at the TDU on the hills, ride with him to Kinglake last year stoppiung at the CFA, etc. and you’d know why he has fans. 

      Team mates? The week after winning his world title he rode himself into the ground for his team mate and veteran Phillipe Gilbert in Lombardy. A show of pure respect. His Giro effort this year was very good, considering he was without Hincapie and still wore the Maglia Rosa and won a really tough stage on the Strada Bianchi. Google Fleche Wallone at any time.

      Instead, you half sledge him like this, pointing to some imaginary mental frailty?

      Anyone with a little more knowledge than this journo would know that Cadel will probably ‘hand back’ the jersey in the transition stages, losing time to maybe Schleck but not Contador in the process (he can get time back on Schleck in the ITT but not El Pistero).

      Go back to your donuts and Googling for info. Leave the cycling commentary to people like Matt Keenan.

      Please Punch, either keep out of Tour commentary if it’s like this, or get someone who knows what they are talking about.

    • pete m says:

      08:33am | 13/07/10

      What Ray said.

      Moreover, McEwan couldn’t care less about GC.  He’s after green!

      Reply

    • Read before judging says:

      11:00am | 13/07/10

      Pete, Julie never said Robbie was going after the main prize. Read the article.

    • Read before judging 2 says:

      12:16pm | 13/07/10

      Despite altering this article sometime mid-morning, Tullberg still claims above that:  “McEwen was badly injured and is now way off the pace, with more than 130 riders ahead of him.”.... I believe that’s what ‘pete m’ is referring to..
      It doesn’t matter if he has 200 riders ahead of him, he races for success by a different measure - the points for the Green Jersey…

    • Kate says:

      08:38am | 13/07/10

      I agree with Julie, and it’s not because I’m a female with cat’s claws. Evans has a long history of bagging out his team mates for not being there to support him. The cyclists I most admire are those who can stand at an interview and say, ‘Look, I had a bad day, but that’s just how it is.’ Look at Lance after he crashed twice in one day. He didn’t blame anyone else but himself and a bit of bad luck. Evans is learning about the importance of speaking positively about his team, but still has a way to go. And he’s a great cyclist. No one can argue with that. He just needs to harden up and get on with it and he’ll be unstoppable.

      Reply

    • James says:

      09:31am | 13/07/10

      Kate, the guy is World Champion and is the only rider currently competing to have worn the leader’s jersey of the most recent three grand tours (Spain 09, Italy 10, France 10).
      His team was rubbish last year against the might of other teams, part of an ongoing trend for Lotto. They deserved big criticism. If you’d gotten the chance to watch the team time trial and any of the mountain stages you would have realised this fact.
      After Evans crashed in the 2008 race, the injuries sustained affected to the point that he actually started to urinate blood in the drug tests because his body was so exhausted. If it didn’t happen at a drug test no one would have heard a peep from his mouth. And he still finished second by less than a minute after 3500kms. Tough enough yet?
      And here’s a comment yesterday that has come straight from the 2008 champion’s, Carlos Sastre’s mouth: “Andy Schleck proved he’s the most explosive right now, I don’t know if he’s the strongest. Cadel Evans is very strong psychologically. It will be very hard to take the yellow jersey away from him.” Go to “cycling news” to read more.
      So Kate, I’m a just little unsure which facet of his cycling abilities, skills or racing still need to ‘harden up and get on with it’ when you put his achievements in their proper context.
      We should be getting behind this bloke instead of blithely treating his performances as if he were an Aussie football player (or otherwise) being grossly overpaid to perform for 80-90minutes/four quarters or less every next weekend.
      Harden up… pfft! This guy is a champion already!!!

    • BBB says:

      04:47pm | 13/07/10

      James, while I agree with your sentiments I think when you compare Evans feat of wearing the leader’s jersey in the most recent three grand tours you probably overlook that Contador has won all three grand tours and has won the last four grand tours he has entered.  No one else currently riding has even come close to achieving this feat.

    • Dave says:

      11:06am | 16/07/10

      Kate, a lot of his team mates in the past actually were worth bagging, they were shocking in how little they supported him. But he’s still close with the ones who were good (eg. LLoydie), and he never named names anyway, or even said anything really direct anyway. Bottom line is, Cadel’s a talker, he can’t seem to do a short quick reply. Ask him a question and he’ll give you all the thinking he has about the topic - when things haven’t gone well that comes across as making excuses, but Lance has explained what’s gone wrong on some of his days this year. You say himself Lance said he had bad luck….well Cadel really has been the king of bad luck wink

    • fenn_padder says:

      08:39am | 13/07/10

      This reads as if it’s been written by someone that knows little about cycling. McEwen has 100 riders in front of him? Well of course he does - he’s a sprinter and even uninjured he struggles to make the cutoff in the mountain stages. Evans needs to draft off other riders to save energy? Who would have thought? You also state “Contador has superior physical and mental capacities”, without backing it up with facts.

      Reply

    • Pete from Sydney says:

      08:41am | 13/07/10

      Bit harsh Ray, but some of it is preety true…Cadel is a champion, it’s no easy feat to win this thing…a lot of what happens can be out of your control…witness Lance Armstrongs three crashes in one day, had that happpened in any one of his wins, it possibly wouldn’t have been a win….Cadel is well placed, he’s mentally tough and physically ready to go…let’s cheer him on…it would be a huge deal to win it…

      PS I don’t know if it’s a male bashing article Ray

      Reply

    • papachango says:

      02:50pm | 13/07/10

      Its not a male bashing article - the same thing could easily have been said about Jana ‘Drama’ Rawlinson. Phenomenal talent but completely wasted by a victim mentality and generally messed up head.

      Of course Jana Drama is an extreme, and Cadel was never as drama-prone.

      One thing Julie fails to mention is that Cadel appears to have hardened up this year, and combined with a team to actually support him, could well be enough for a victory.

    • Ray Graham says:

      06:33pm | 13/07/10

      Well these divas are recidivist with their deleterious comment on male sportsmen. What has Cadel Evans done that shouldn’t be admired.  I think the divas are quick to leap to character assassination as a screen for their lack of in depth knowledge on the subject, or possibly just hardwired to give males as little credit as possible. Whatever you are still on a learning curve in respect to Rebecca Wilson. And if you didn’t note, Mark Webber just won his third Grand Prix this year, which is a walk up start for a positive article. Better to write negative articles on Norman, Hewitt, Clarke, Warne, Johnsx2, Hall etc Maybe some is deserved, but certainly not on-going obituaries. Make ‘em eat dirt Cadel.

    • Charlie says:

      08:49am | 13/07/10

      The points made in this article just come out of nowhere. Evans has had a stellar year after winning the world championship; and that victory was a great example of “mongrel” given the adversity he faced in the season before. He has always been accused of drafting off others too much - not too little. Do you watch any cycling except for the Tour de France? Do you really think anyone can be criticised to this extent for losing to Contador, who is not only a freakish climber but in recent years can now blitz time trials?

      (And do you think a sprinter like McEwan cares what position he is on general classification..?)

      Reply

    • Jarrod from Melbourne says:

      09:02am | 13/07/10

      Can’t believe the crap this “journalist” is spinning. His greatest opponent is Alberto Contador. You know, his actual greatest opponent.

      Cadel’s “losses” (2 2nds and a 4th in the tour isn’t good enough for you?) were due in no part to falls to himself and his domestiques, great work at the front of the peleton by Sastre’s/Contador’s riders and a general lack of good luck that is required to win a tour.

      Not only that, but Cadel is in great form after winning the points classification at the Giro (go Google it, cause you know nothing about cycling as is), and has recruited one of the best superdomestiques around in George Hincapie, as well as Karsten Kroon to help him in the Alps/Pyrenees (something he hasn’t had before)

      Did you even realise Cadel is on a different team? Such is your lack of comprehension I assume you’re a pitch-hitting journalist taking pot shots at the time of major events rather than actually analyse them.

      Don’t speak out of turn; doubt you even know one end of a bike from the other.

      Reply

    • Justin says:

      09:38am | 13/07/10

      It’s on SBS after 10pm most nights. Very informative coverage. You might want to actually check it out before writing your next article.

      Reply

    • 6c legs says:

      10:52am | 13/07/10

      Duh me for reading this from someone that i guessed might know a bit about the physcology of sports people, but nuttin about Le Tour…

      Robbie MaCewen has NEVER ridden le Tour with an eye on the main prize, that malliot jeune. He is a *sprinter*, so thus the *Green* jersey and sprinters points are what Robbie chases. His *many* endorsements come from being across the line first in bunch sprints, he is not a “breakaway”  time-trialest or Yellow Jersey specialist.

      And I very much doubt that the author has ever spent time with Cadel Evans, coz if she had she would know that his ‘ticker’ has never been in question by those who know him. But it makes nice copy, heck you even sucked me in!

      At this level of cycling (any sport) Luck and Timing are key, and without having one onside, you can wave ta-ta to the other as well, and the race…
      This ‘race’ is more an extended game of (physical)  team-chess, brute strength might win you one stage in week one or get you over one mountain stage, but that’s all.

      Cadel cannot win this tour by himself, he needs his team mates to bury themselves for him, like HE does, over the next 2 weeks. it’s not his heart in question, it’s theirs.

      Reply

    • Go Cadel says:

      11:31am | 13/07/10

      Spot on Julie. Evans has to take responsibility for his own rides and take charge. Let’s see if he can gather support in the peloton,

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      11:54am | 13/07/10

      I agree with the thrust of your article, that Cadel’s psychology may be his most severe weakness. I think, too, that Cadel’s real skill is still on mountain terrain. He looks quite awkward on a road-bike. He has an angular sort of pedalling style which I believe is best suited to un-even surfaces. Still, I’ll be very glad if he wins the Tour.

      Reply

    • Bugno says:

      04:29pm | 13/07/10

      VO2 max not too shabby.

      Speak to the AIS guys about how happy they were to have him join the road squad.

      Conversely, Simon Gerrans is not a natural cyclist, his form is more awkward than Cadel’s.

      Gerro has won a stage in each of the Tour De France, Giro D’Italia and La Vuelta.

      There goes your theory stephen.

      Nice that you’ll be glad if Cadel wins, I’m sure he’ll be chuffed knowing that.

      If you can all detect my tone, you’re right - get off the guy and back to your ill-informed and once a year fan holes.

    • remlap says:

      01:03pm | 13/07/10

      Why has Evan’s only come 2nd in the past? Because in the past, he hasn’t had what it takes to win Le Tour. He’s had the heart, grit, determination, ability and most of all, mongrel to win the Tour both times. What he didn’t have… the team willing to back him.

      No matter how good a rider is, winning the GC on the tour is as much about team effort as it is about individual brilliance. When a team has someone aiming for GC, the team role is to support your team leader by being at their side and helping them maintain/increase their position, or to take tactical measures that impact riders that are a threat to your team/leader. While with Lotto, Cadel had to do all that work by himself and there were plenty of other teams that had riders doing their jobs and keeping Cadel in check.

      Reply

    • Razor says:

      01:11pm | 13/07/10

      I am a huge Cadel fan but I fear he won’t win again this year for two reasons.  Firstly he doesn’t have a team that is strong enough to match it with Astana or SaxoBank.  Secondly he doesn’t have the ability to accelerate up the really steep slopes like Contador and Schleck.

      I hope I am wrong but the numbers speak for themselves.  Maybe if he is able to keep within less then a minute of anyone who over takes him and then flog an awesome ITT he’ll do it.

      Really enjoying the Tour this year - congrats to the organisers except for allowing Cancellara to bully them.

      Reply

    • James says:

      02:48pm | 13/07/10

      Fingers crossed you’re wrong Razor! I saw him accelerate in the (rarely shown) Criterium du Dauphine last year on TV and he was ferocious - the motorbike riding beside him couldn’t match his sheer burst of pace, nor could Contador at that point. Hopefully he can conserve himself just enough to still have this style of riding in him, which he’ll sorely need in the mountains against the cannons of Schleck and Contador.

    • Super domestique says:

      01:17pm | 13/07/10

      The ones really questioning themselves are going to be Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador.

      Andy was 2nd last year, but had his brother beside him. Frank is now gone, and Andy is still young (will still qualify for the best young rider’s classification). The old hard heads at Saxo will be gone before the pain locker on the climb has even opened, so he’ll need to do it on his own up the big cols.

      Can he really cope with the pressure?

      Contador meanwhile had breathing problems the other day, could not match Schleck’s acceleration up the climb, just as he couldn’t in Fleche Wallone.

      Alberto also is carrying the weight of everyone’s expectations. His Astana team could implode at any time, Vino might pick the wrong bag of blood…

      6c is right, it’s not Cadel’s ticker that’s the query. It’s his BMC’s team mates’.

      Reply

    • Gregg says:

      01:39pm | 13/07/10

      An amazing piece Julie and I wonder whether you have ever ridden in a bike race of the tour types.
      Cadel has plenty of skill and experience as do most riders who have achieved what he has and about the only thing you got right was needing luck.
      Rather than mongrel, you might think of grit, guts, determination along with blood sweat and tears whilst maintaining a cool head, cool enough to review your strategy as the race unfolds.
      Sure he is known as having his own personality and being his own man.
      Sure Armstrong wasn’t complaining because he virtually threw the towell in on this one.
      As a couple of knowledgeable posters have indicated, he hasn’t had the strongest of teams for support and that could get to anyone and if Lance hadn’t been winning he probably would have grizzled too.
      Even this year there would appear to be stronger teams and that is where some mongrel if you like has already been shown, Cadel along with Schleck hanging off Astana for the that last climb.
      And this was after having a bad topple right at the start of the day, a nice graze on his hip you might have noticed.
      If Cadel doesn’t have the team to keep with him on the climbs, he needs to stick with the other teams just as he has done and that’s just grit and determination for he’s all by himself then mentally and you reckon he lacks mongrel!.
      And teammates aren’t going to save you from a spill, but just like contacting any other rider they can cause one.
      Time to get on a bike yourself Julie.

      Reply

    • delperro says:

      03:03pm | 13/07/10

      Couldn’t agree with this article. It’s part of the joy/pain in watching him and it makes you not want to invest too much emotionally in him.
      His press conferences are hilarious/tragic. The ‘out of breath’, ‘excuse’, puff, ‘it was tough’, puff, ‘I’m really worried’.
      And that’s when he wins.

      Reply

    • Nick says:

      03:54pm | 13/07/10

      Want to see what a champion cyclist looks like? Go find some video of Cadel winning the strada bianchi stage of the Giro, wiping the crap off the world champion’s stripes as he crosses the line.

      ‘Nuf said.

      Reply

    • Big Ring Reg says:

      04:37pm | 13/07/10

      Is this article the equivalent of the World Cup octopus?

      Spot on Nick.

      Reply

    • BBB says:

      04:54pm | 13/07/10

      Another silly article published by The Punch about the Tour de France.  If Leo’s meaningless article last week wasn’t bad enough, now you people go and publish this.  Please go and look up the word ‘research’ and then apply the concept to your articles.  It’s not that hard is it?

      Reply

    • Sick of clowns says:

      06:03pm | 13/07/10

      Julie, you’re on the money. That’s right, stir ‘em up. Stir up Cadel. Make ‘em think. Make ‘em argue   Clowns

      Reply

    • Cadel 4 eva says:

      09:21pm | 13/07/10

      Cadel is going to have to pull out some aces if he is to maintain his lead. He has to live in hope & then believe he can do it.

      Reply

    • Tom says:

      09:55pm | 13/07/10

      Cadel’s greatest opponent is himself? How do you figure that one? He is competing against a guy in Contador who has won the last 4 grand tours he entered, and who won last year by making about 2 attacks in 3500km of racing, and has the cycling equivalent of the Harlem Globetrotters riding support for him. Additionally he has Andy Schleck to contend with, who has proven to be one of if not the best climbers in the world, and again has an extremely strong team.

      I don’t think it is reasonable to suggest that there is much of a mental element to Cadel’s previous losses; I think anyone competing in a sport where the training regime involves doing approximately 40 000km of riding a year has enough mental toughness to cancel it out as a factor. It just so happens there is an extremely strong field at present, and whoever wins will be utterly deserving of it.

      Reply

    • Dan says:

      04:36am | 14/07/10

      OK I have to admit my interest in cycling only happens once a year (around this time).
      But Evens is a gun and Armstrong is a legend, those people who feel the need to bag them should take a long hard look in the mirror. Because odds are they wouldn’t make it past the first stage.

      Reply

    • Timmo says:

      08:07am | 14/07/10

      Well of course we love watching the Tour each year it is on and all of the great riders and teams are becoming more known to us as we see more of it. There is no doubt in my mind that these men are great competitors and elite sportsmen.

      To be able to compete in such a great sporting event and survive the crashes that are always around the corner and the exhaustion that must come during the race are strengths to be admired.

      And of course the beautiful French countryside, villages and scenery are second to none. What a beautiful part of our world it is. It’s not always easy to follow how they work out the placings etc but it is great to watch. Cadel Evans has been around the circuits for a ;many years now and is always up there with the toughest of them so I feel he is a very competitive person and a true competitor.

      I wouldn’t like to have to go though some of the agony that the riders obviously do after they have falls and other accidents. Falling off a pushbike at those speeds would be very unpleasant and to get back on to be admired. I hope that Mr Cadel Evans is successful this year and has a win somewhere within that mire of arms and legs, to me a true champion and an Aussie to boot. Good luck to him.

      Also the race organizers should take some action to keep many of the idiots that jump onto the road away from the riders, and I think those cars and motor bikes are a danger also. Some of them are all over the place. It’s a wonder there have not been tragic events happening with all that traffic on the road amongst the bikes.

      Reply

    • North Roader says:

      12:07pm | 14/07/10

      You should try Beach Road, there’s now a guy with a video camera who jumps out in front of large fast bunches to film the inevitable reaction he causes.

      The Hell Ride as it is called is monitored by the police, and has been for over a year. They don’t see an issue with it, and have not busted one rider in that time.

      I’ve been in a bunch safely and legally riding fast, two abreast and 45km’s/hr+, when this muppet steps out from the bushes on a narrow section of Beach Road.

      It was nuts, how he didn’t cause a crash I don’t know, riders were swinging wide to miss him & the near carnage he caused, and he rightly got an earful of abuse. 

      He then posts the footage on some weird anti-cycling website claiming cyclists just abuse pedestrians and are a menace on the roads.

      When in Melbourne, Evans, Gerrans, Greg Henderson from HTC, even Brad Wiggins has done, all ride Beach Road with the bunches.

      The Italian coach and Pellizotti are in Geelong today scoping out the worlds course for October.

      You & they have no idea what it’s like for bikes here.

    • Ray Graham says:

      04:44pm | 14/07/10

      OK Julie you got your wish. I stand corrected. He’s a total pea heart. Riding a stage with a fractured elbow from start to finish, and using that as a poor excuse for not retaining the yellow jersey. Arrh, lack of mental strength. What are our male sports stars made of?.

      Reply

    • Matt D says:

      01:11pm | 15/07/10

      does anyone else want to highlight the point that he is the reigning world road race champion and he has been a world the MTB world champion in 1998 and 1999.
      its a hard slog to get where he has been.

      Reply
 
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Protecting the Barrier Reef is the Fin end of the wedge

by Tony Burke

38

Protecting the Barrier Reef is the Fin end of the wedge

When you take on a job like being Environment Minister there’s some hits you can see coming. …

ICB: Is white bread the worst thing since sliced bread?

by Tory Shepherd

92

ICB: Is white bread the worst thing since sliced bread?

Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit column. It’s a regular column that looks at skulduggery…

Sometimes, you’ve just got to stick it to the bloody ref

by Anthony Sharwood

71

Sometimes, you’ve just got to stick it to the bloody ref

We are taught early in life that we should not question authority. We must listen to our parents, our…

Nosebleed Section

choice ringside rantings

From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments

Michael S says:

"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]

From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone

Change Up! says:

I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]

Light weight

Gentle jabs to the ribs

They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments

They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments

A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more

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