Cadel Evans rejects doubts over his leadership of BMC team

LEADERSHIP at Cadel Evans' BMC Racing Team for this year's Tour de France is not open for debate, according to the 2011 champion.

Cadel Evans

LEADERSHIP at Cadel Evans' BMC Racing Team for this year's Tour de France is not open for debate, according to the 2011 champion.

As Evans continues his Tour build-up in the Giro d'Italia starting next week, he told The Advertiser speculation that American Tejay van Garderen may lead BMC in the Tour de France was only happening externally.

Winning the Tour in 2011 after twice finishing runner-up was supposed to end the constant questions over whether Evans was good enough to claim the yellow jersey.

But a combination of illness and below-par performances in the two years since - on top of Evans finishing two places and four minutes behind van Garderen in last year's Tour - has meant public scrutiny continues to linger.

"Externally there appears to be debate, internally, no," Evans said of team leadership at BMC.

"Me and Tejay, we're professionals and we work together.

"My thing at this point is not whether I'm leader or not, my thing is to get back to my best and obviously when I'm at my best I can win the Tour and therefore leadership is not a discussion."

At 36, Evans conceded external expectation of him had not changed and pressure he put on himself remained as high as ever.

"For me initially it was a relief to finally win (the Tour de France) after being second twice, but after you win one, people expect you to win all the time," he said.

"I always believed that I could win a Grand Tour, whereas everyone around me doubted me.

"In terms of expectation, it rose externally but pressure which comes from me, it's always been the same because I always did everything I could to be the best I could."

On May 3, Evans will start the Giro d'Italia for the first time since 2010 and will go head-to-head over the time trial-friendly course with reigning Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky.

"My reason for doing the Giro d'Italia in 2013 is to be at my best for the Tour de France," Evans said.

"But the Giro is a race that has always been important to me.

"I go there with ambitions but not high expectations, I just go there to do my best and what result it brings we will see when we get there."

The Australian showed his form was coming back to where he wanted by finishing fifth on a mountainous Stage 4 of last week's Giro del Trentino behind winner Vincenzo Nibali.

"I'm improving and as long as it keeps going like this that's all that's important," he said.

"It's a long way to the end of the Giro, a long way to the start of the Tour and even longer to Paris."

Evans' main rivals for this year's Tour de France are again expected to come from Team Sky's one-two combination of Wiggins and Chris Froome, who will both be supported by Australian Richie Porte.

Asked whether Porte was Australia's next great Tour de France hope, with his own career in its twilight years, Evans said: "Richie has always showed as a promising GC contender."