Throwback Thursdays: Mountain Shredders Gone Road (not Rogue)
It's Tour de France time, people are excited, some even mountain bikers - focus is perhaps even shifting from the 2014 FIFA World Cup. So what's up with our favorite leg shavers? Where are they, who's in, any favorites, are they even in France yet? Important questions.
Equally important, where's Cadel? Drawing a blank? The dude who won the 2011 Tour de France, people call him The Lung. Still drawing a blank, ok. He took second in 2007 and 2008 as well. Fine, here's why he's rad: Cadel is a not so closet mountain biker. He grew up in a small Aboriginal community in Australia called Barunga. His teenage years were spent skateboarding - yes, the 2011 Tour de France champion may or may not have been yelled at for grinding mall parking lot curbs or truck tapping quarter pipe coping. And best of all, Cadel shredded singletrack, like a lot.
Cadel Evans, pictured above during the 1997 Grundig UCI World Cup season, rode for Team Diamondback and steered his WTB SST Saddle to quite a lot of accomplishments. He won the 1997 World Cup in Wellington, New Zealand, took second behind Frischknecht at St. Wendel in Germany, grabbed another second in Budapest, first in Vail, CO in the U-S of A, and finished 3rd overall for points standings. All due to irrefutable comfort? Can't say either way.
Can say that Cadel doesn't appear to be part of the 2014 Tour de France - something about preparing and training for something very serious in Spain. Yeah right. I suspect he's schralping trail, having dusted off his very lovely SST. Maybe he's even got his yellow Diamondback in shipshape, race day order. Cadel alone is bringing 26" back. I kid, I kid. Watch out for Cadel The Lung Evans at the Vuelta a Espana August 23rd to September 14th and then the road world championship in Ponferrada, Spain on September 28th. Remember, he spent real SST time and teenage skate time - real saddle, real dude, real rider. Read more about Cadel's plans HERE. Peep more WTB 1998 Product Guide fun, where the top photo came from, below.
