Now, I’m no cyclists but I’m surprised no one could hear me screaming in frustration as day after mountain stage day I would be watching Cadel in the final few k’s up against, Kohl, Menchov, Vandevelde etc etc and of course, at least 3 CSC riders all specifically attacking Evans. If it was Armstrong, we would have been waxing lyrical about his strengths and stamina to stay in there. Instead, it was more about CSC and other riders/teams not doing enough. At the end of the day, Sastre got away on only the one stage when Cadel was trying to mark the Schleck’s, Menchov, Kohl and Vandevelde; was it cold hearted calculation or was this poor guy just completely stuffed?! C’mon give this guy some credit.

Without doubt we in Australia have our fair share of wankers. Leyton Hewitt immediately springs to mind as does Russell Crowe and that idiot Brendan Fevola (perhaps he is even King of the Wankers). However, it’s also easy to create opinion through what media choose to release. In Australia, Cadel is seen as quite humble, singularly determined due to a somewhat rough upbringing and is very reticent towards the media (If I remember correctly, he only ever gave one interview in Australia after last years race even though he was widely feted). This is not an excuse for rubbish behaviour but while Sastre gets to be humble and quirky and rides with a brilliant and astonishingly strong team, Cadel Evans gets painted through the media over here as a loner and a cynical, ill mannered man. I wonder how much unsavory footage there is of other riders out there that never sees the light of day; but then again, they probably wouldn’t raise much of an interest with the public and are therefore not news worthy.

OK, I’ve vented my spleen, thanks for reading. Congratulations to Sastre, he seems a very nice guy, but really, I wouldn’t know. Regardless, he road a great race.