Cadel Evans missed the yellow jersey by only one second on Stage 2. He rode strongly on Saturday to finish second behind the dominant Gilbert, and carried that form over to Sunday with a stellar performance in the Team Time Trial, leading BMC to a surprise 2nd place on the stage.
On paper BMC’s team was not as strong as others, and few people had picked them out for a big performance.
But every time the television cut to BMC, Evans was on the front doing a long turn in his green jersey. It was these efforts that propelled his team forward and led to their second place finish.
It is important to consider that after only two stages Evans already has an advantage of 1'41" on Alberto Contador. Not bad, considering the two times Evans has finished runner up at the Tour he was lost out by 23 seconds in 2007 and 58 seconds in 2008.
Now only one second off the leader’s jersey Evans is in pole position to take yellow on Stage 4 when the race finishes on the steep Mur-de-Bretagne. This is the sort of stage finish Evans is well suited to.
Judge: Ciro Scognamiglio (La Gazzetta dello Sport)
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