Question for professional cycling fans

Post Reply New Topic

Cadel Evans.

He's on the spectrum, isn't he? I'm almost sure of it!

He rides very logically, following a strict routine. He can't handle pressure and often snaps at the press, and the gendarmes; anyone who gets in his way when he's under stress really. No one in the peloton likes the man, and they don't even know why. Did you see Fabian yelling at poor Cadel when both were in the same breakaway? Yes he had a reason. Breakaway could not succeed when a GC contender is present. It isn't the fact that no one approved of his presence, it is HOW they disapporoved. They treated Cadel as an outcast!

Cycling magazine did an article on Cadel and his uniquenesses. That too made me say hmmmm. I don't think he knows he's one of us, based on what I've read in the article.

Any thoughts?

I'm not the hugest fan of pro cycling, but Cadel is an odd bird just like us. I'd think cycling would be an attractive sport for Aspies too, team roles are well defined and no one cares about your social skills as long as you pull your team along. I'd imagine there are probably a few more aspies domestics in the peloton keeping a low profile and doing the grunt work.

I'm a bit of a cycling fan (although I can't ride a bike due to falling off often from lack of balance ).

I would not be too surprised if Cadel Evans is an Aspie as his thoughts are definitely different to others in regards to cycling. He often comes into confrontations due to being viewed in an awkward light by other cyclists in races. He can't stand the press, possibly finds them quite intimidating and goes into defensive mode very quickly.

Thats so true, cycling is accepting of just about anyone, and just about anyone can blend in, dosent matter if your aspie or whatever, people wont even think about it! I have met racers of all kinds, some that I am sure were aspies, others who had other disabilities.
The thing about road racing is that you want to be friends with everyone, and everyone else wants to be friendly to you!! ! It is to your advantage and to other racers advantage to go the extra mile to be nice to other racers. That way when the time comes, and say your out on a break, or whatever, if you were nice to the other person, they are likely to remember that, and are more likely to work with you! If you were a ass and yelling at people or something, they wont care about you, so if your in a break with them or something, talking over race stratagy with that person goes out the window.

Maybe it is just that Evans is a ass? heck he has been known to threaten people, yell at them, etc. Maybe he is on the spectrum, I dont know, but the ONLY reason you will see him being treated as a outcast, and the reason people might not like him would only be because he was probably acting like a ass!

You always have someone who feels like it is there job to yell at people and act like a ass, but you never give those people a free ride, and you try your best to drop them!

Heh fair enough. I've heard that one likes Cadel from a pro tour mechanic, and from local racers who rode with Tyler Farrar before he became a big star. But the funny thing is, Cadel is the nicest man you ever met in personal life! He only loses his cool three weeks a year.

I'm far removed from the peloton camaraderie BTW. We aren't allowed to draft in Ironmans. We must keep 4 bike lengths apart and we only have 10 seconds to pass the rider in front of us. An aborted pass is also a drafting penalty. Pass to the right? Drafting! Not enough power to pass in 10 seconds? Drafting! Three drafting penalties and we are DQd. Referees were extremely strict at my last race.

I used to work in the pro peleton and can assure you there are a few of us there, but all those I am sure of tend to be quiet to avoid conflict. Cadel I never got to know.

One side thought is that when I used to push my body to its limits I could sleep to a fairly NT routine, now I've stopped I sleep less and less

^^ I can relate to that. I feel great and think positive as long as I'm training, and I can keep to a sleep schedule.

But if I take even a week off, I feel like crap, lose motivation, I tend to eat late at night, stay up late, waste time on TV and computers, etc etc...

So the lesson is to swim run and bike until I drop dead, I guess.

Umm.... you should try riding 260km at an average speed of 44km/hr and do that for a few days in a row and you might begin to understand how cycling makes you want to snap. I don't think cadel has it.

seriously... sometimes when I ride.... it is something about depleted salts or something I just want to snap, but as soon as i have an energy bar or something its ok.

Read more about the man. Snapping at people isn't the entire story.


Have you ever swam for 2.4 miles, biked for 112 miles, and then ran a marathon?

That Kona Ironman Triathlon has to be one of, if not the, most insane sport event around.
http://ironman.com/events/ironman/worldchampionship/?show=about

Naw it is not insane. Triathlon is a wonderful sport. The Kona isn't the only race BTW. That's just our world championship. There are about 20-25 qualifying races around the world each year, and the top finishers get to race at Kona. Actually Kona is tomorrow! Macca is going to win this one!

I did one qualifying race this past season. Did not qualify for World championships. There's always next year.

The difficult conditions and lava flats, that has to be some crazy course plus the ocean conditions can be quite unpredictable around Hawaii, from what I have read about Hawaii.

What! No! Why that.... that could only be..... some sort of..... super human..... some sort of..... person.... made of iron. an ironman!

Have you done an ironman?!?! That deserves serious respect if you have!

I am still working up to perhaps doing my first marathon.

Just wondering if you speak from experience of doing that?

You do have somewhat of a point, but I see most everyone holds it together. I once seen a guy smash his bike off his car , but that sort of stuff seems to be rare. The people who are the types who are usualy yelling and being jerks, it is my experience that they are usually always like that, and that it has little to do with racing. Me personaly, after the first couple days of hard racing, my brain just stops thinking, and everything becomes a blur, and I couldnt snap if I wanted to!

You were at work or school and didn't have enough time, so you just skimmed the topic?

Yes I do Ironmans. My coach is a professional female triathlete. Top ten finisher at the World championship. She's not a big star yet like Chrissie Wellington or Mary Beth Ellis, but she will probably become a big star in the next year or two. She's very very fast.

Your age group is quite competitive, isn't it? What's nice about St. Croix in May you could get a Kona slot Clearwater slot as a consolation prize. The course makes a good practice for Kona.