Cadel Evans hopeful to hit form at the Tirreno Adriatico 2012
Cadel Evans is eyeing the Tirreno-Adriatico to continue his journey towards the major goals of the season, Tour de France.
He participated at the Strade Bianche, Challenge Mallorca and GP di Lugano but the seven-staged event will be his first serious race of the new season.
Evans secured the overall victory at the 2011 version of the contest and is optimistic to repeat his performance to open his 2012 winning account.
The cyclist had a terrific 2011 season and climbing the top podium at the Tour de France is considered as his best performance yet.
He rode aggressively during the French race and overcame his main rival Andy Schleck with a lead of 1 minute and 32 second.
Cadel also grabbed the fourth stage of the race and held the mountain’s jersey for two consecutive stages.
The Australian secured a total number of 574 UCI points in the previous season and occupied the second overall spot at the Elite Men WorldTour rankings 2011.
Evans noted, "My first goal is to see how my fitness is. I've worked reasonably well towards it. To repeat last year's result here would be an ultimate gauge of my fitness. But we'll first test my fitness and then see the result".
Cadel has participated in a total number of 12 World Tours and holds two Giros, seven Tours and three Vuelta a Espana participations under his belt.
The 35-year-old claimed the second overall spot during the 2007 and the 2008 versions of the race.
His performance during the most recent edition of the race is definitely amongst his biggest achievements of the season.
Evans will keep a close eye on his main rival, Andy Schleck and Contador’s exit from professional cycling has strengthened his chances for the overall dominance.
He is currently focused at the upcoming race in Italy and will be accompanied by a strong BMC Team at the event.
Gilbert, Greg Van Avermaet, George Hincapie, Alessandro Ballan, Philippe, Manuel Quinziato, Michael Schär and Marco Pinotti will assist Evans at the coming race.
Team BMC is amongst the most expensive sides in the 2012 season and the team have not register any victories yet.
Fabio Baldato is Team’s Sports Director and he is positive that his side will open its winning account at the Tirreno-Adriatico scheduled from March 7-13, 2012.
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