Evans recovered, possible for time trial

Australian Cadel Evans seems to have recovered from the minor knee injury he sustained during a post-Tour de France slip-up. The Tour runner-up slipped and fell at a party, and announced earlier this month that he would not contest the timed event on Wednesday. But a strong performance in Saturday's road race, which saw him on the brink of making the winning selection, may change his mind.

"I would say [I'm] 60-40 at this point," he told The Australian. "The body is OK. There's no knee problems - I'll have plenty of ice."

Evans was his country's sole rider for the time trial before his injury, but then the Australians were awarded a wildcard spot in the event, which it gave to three-time world champion Michael Rogers. Should Evans decide to contest Wednesday's event, he would therefore not deprive Rogers of a chance to race.

The accident Evans had following the Tour de France isn't the first time he's suffered from knee pain. He had to take a break in May to recover from tendonitis which he blamed on time spent working on his aerodynamic position for the time trial. Just as he recovered from his earlier problems, Evans seems to have rebounded from his latest setback.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported Australia's coach Shayne Bannan, as more optimistic about Evans' chances at the time trial. "We'll have a chat with Cadel tomorrow. Cadel's really pleased with the way he came through it, he felt strong, particularly in the last few laps. So it wouldn't surprise me if Cadel also is switched on for the time trial," he said.

Evans found himself in a select group of attackers coming into the final laps, but chose to sacrifice his chances for his compatriot Michael Rogers instead. Rogers took sixth.

"For Cadel to get off the bike today and think that riding the time trial is going to be a favourable option, that shows that he is pretty pleased with the way the knee felt during the day," Bannan said.