Tales: "What the hell?"

ByEurosport

Published 22/07/2006 at 16:46 GMT

Cadel Evans has expressed his shock over the tactics that seem to have won Floyd Landis, and lost CSC, the 2006 Tour de France. Evans' exploits, Jean-Marie Leblanc expecting a visit with Lance Armstrong, and mad cows in this Tales from the Tour.

CYCLING 2006 Tour de France Cadel Evans

Image credit: Imago

Is he doing what I think he's doing?

When Floyd Landis took off on his ultimately Tour winning Stage 17 odyssey on Thursday, any old spectator could merely scratch his head in bewilderment at what was happening.

And apparently from the peloton, there was a similar sense of awe, at least on the part of Davitamon leader Cadel Evans.

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CYCLING 2006 Tour de France Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne - Morzine Landis

Image credit: Getty Images

"When Floyd went, I just thought 'what the hell is he doing?'," the Australian told Cyclingnews.

"It tactically didn't seem like a sensible thing to do, but I didn't know he had the legs like that... nobody did!"

Landis 120-km plus comeback journey from Tour chump, ultimately to Tour champion was also a shock to his break-away "companion" Patrik Sinkewitz, who did no work for Landis while trying to protect his T-Mobile captain Andreas Kloeden before eventually being dropped by the American.

"I just thought that he must have had a motor hidden somewhere," the German said. "Usually, when you're on somebody's wheel, you can spare some energy - but I just couldn't."

Evans' Davitamon team-mate Chris Horner found the right words to describe Landis' performance, when he said, "it was just legendary."

"That has never happened in the Tour, and it's never happened in any other race I've done before - and it never will," Horner said. "It was an epic scenario, which I've never seen in my entire career."

Evans: CSC's dirty trick

Evans was happy to join Oscar Pereiro in the growing chorus of critics of team CSC, which waited until it was too late the final climb to mount any sort of counter-attack.

"I think CSC did a little dirty trick there," Evans said at the finish. "They put Sastre in the front then sat up behind to try and make a gap in the group … very unprofessional. I don't know if they made a split but when everyone is sitting up behind you can't even get through.

CYCLING 2006 Tour de France Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne - Morzine Kloden Evans

Image credit: Reuters

"I started yelling at the people in front of me. (Christophe) Moreau was right in front of me and didn't do anything."

Landis may have rode the "epic" race of his life, but he had a little help from the peloton.

LeBlanc planned Lance rendez-vous

Outgoing Tour de France director Jean Marie Leblanc said that he planned to meet Lance Armstrong on Saturday afternoon, but the American has previously said that he would rather be "with friends" than visit Tour organisers such as Leblanc.

"I don't think so," Armstrong replied last week when asked if he would get together with Leblanc and other organisers. "I think I'll hang out with my friends and my team-mates before I hang out with them."

CYCLING 2004 Tour de France Leblanc

Image credit: Reuters

For his own part, Leblanc acknowledged that relations between the American and race organisers had grown chilly since accusations of EPO use came out in French newspaper L'Equipe last year.

"I want to tell him that without a doubt his relations with the Tour remain ambiguous," Leblanc explained his motivations for a meeting.

"He believes, and I think he's sincere in his belief, that there is an anti-Armstrong conspiracy carried out by the newspaper L'Equipe, carried out by the Minister of Sports, the anti-doping lab Châtenay-Malabry, and we Tour organisers."

"However, there is no such state of spirit."

No word yet on how the meeting went, or if it even took place.

Udderly terrible

Some udderly bad plays on words were ripe in yesterday's caption contest, but no puns were necessary for the Stage 18 winner. Just cruel, cruel sarcasm. Our praises go to John Henderson, in Henderson, Kentucky, USA for this little beauty, "The lack of a TTT is clearly the result of the Agritubel kits."

CYCLING 2006 Tour de France cows caption peloton stage 18 slideshow

Image credit: Reuters

Nice work John. Chances for a stage win are growing slimmer, and slimmer. If you want to see your name in lights please tells us what's going on with Floyd Landis and those cops and send your captions to newsroom@eurosport.com....