Thursday, 16 September 2010

Reigning world champion Cadel Evans has announced he is shaping up perfectly for the 2010 UCI Road World Championships after securing third place at the GP Wallonie in Belgium overnight.’

In other news, Slovakia's Peter Velits has put on animpressive performance to take out the individual time trial at the Veulta a Espana and keep his world championships preparations on track.

Two-time Tour de France runner up Evans has ruled out a mass sprint on the uphill finish on Moorabool Street in Geelong and has identified Belgian Philippe Gilbert as the biggest threat to his title defense.

“There will be a small group racing for the line,” Evans told Lotto Cycling TV. “Gilbert is the man to beat.”

"I have been out for a while because of my broken arm after the Tour,” he said. “If you're injured, your motivation grows.  If you can cycle again, you are more eager.

“Obviously I would like to have a repeat of my performance last year.  But that's easier said than done.  I have a couple of weeks until then, but I am satisfied with my current condition.”

Writing on his website, Evans said he was disappointed with his third position at the GP Wollanie but was pleased with the progress he is making ahead of the World Championships.

“The race was not ridiculously fast but certainly never slow all day, good training for us guys getting ready for the Worlds,” Evans wrote.

“I was all set for the final, whilst trying to pass Martens (Rabobank) on the inside in the final 300m, I got closed in and had to brake. There is no coming back at that point, so 3rd place for me behind Martens and Ricco. A lost opportunity today, but that's racing.

“So far, this week has been just what I needed leading into the Worlds; good racing and reasonable weather. I ride 'Koolskamp' on Friday, if I can get through that unscathed, I will be happy.”

Velits’ victory on stage 17 at the Veulta, HTC-Columbia’s 100th win of the season, came as a surprise to most beating Denis Menchov (Rabobank) by 12 seconds and world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) by 37 seconds and moving to third position overall.

The 25-year-old showed plenty of promise as a junior, winning the U23 world championship road race in 2007 ahead of Australia’s Wesley Sulzberger and is now set to become the first Slovakian to stand on a grand tour podium.