Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) (Image credit: Jon Devich)
As it enters the critical phase in the mountains, Davitamon-Lotto is confident that their dream Tour will continue. Brecht Decaluwé reports from the team's rest day press conference in Bordeaux.
Team Davitamon dreams of bringing yellow and green to Paris with their Australian leaders McEwen and Evans. During the rest day the team organised a press conference in their luxurious hotel 'Aquitania' in Bordeaux. Sprinter Robbie McEwen and GC-rider Cadel Evans were present. The captains of the Belgian team are both Australian, which helps them to let their hair down: "It's good to have a compatriot in the team, as I understand all of his humour," said Evans. "It's good for the communication but for the rest it stays the same. In my previous team there weren't any other Australians, but now I have some and I must say I never felt better in a team."
Team manager Marc Sergeant summarised what happened so far: "The first week of the Tour was perfect. We had two goals: winning some stages with Robbie and doing a good GC with Cadel. The first mission has already been accomplished, all the rest is extra. Now we're going to work a lot to help Cadel as much as possible in the mountains."
Cadel Evans made his debut in the Tour last year, and it confronted him with some surprises which won't bother him this year. "I'm a little bit more confident, as last year, I really hadn't any idea what to expect. Everyone's going to be a little bit scared in the first mountains stage," he stated. "The stage isn't really a walk in the park, actually it's pretty heavy. Everyone's going to be scared of the course, but also of each other. But I don't think the first mountain stage will be hugely important, the next day will say more about the GC."
