The winner of the 2010 Tour de France shows up in Porto-Vecchio as the title holder of the Criterium International. Last year, Cadel Evans had taken command of the race after winning the individual time trial that has been modified for this year’s edition with a climb during the first two km.

The fact that Evans might have been slightly less convincing during the first part of the season (3rd of the Tour of Oman, 22nd of Tirreno-Adriatico) is of no concern for his sports director at BMC, Yvon Ledanois: “Cadel is someone who works in a very careful and precise way. He knows himself by heart and he knows where he stands. He has always had good results here (6th in 2010, winner in 2012) and even if the years go by, they don’t always look alike. I have the feeling that the time trial could suit a rider like Richie Porte. Anyhow, Cadel isn’t late in the work he has done”.

For Ledanois, what goes on during the Criterium won’t reveal that much on the preparation for the Tour de France: “100 days is still a long way to go. A lot of things can still happen. For the moment, the Criterium is the Criterium!’’