Cadel Evans (BMC) went down in the feed zone in Monday's third stage of the Giro d'Italia and as the second day after a tumble is often the most difficult, the Australian was curious to see how he would handle yesterday's fourth stage. Luckily, there seems to be no discernible effects from his bad luck and he even managed to take 6th in the final sprint.
The BMC team chose not to make too much public attention around the fact that their Australian Giro d'Italia leader Cadel Evans had hit the deck in the feed zone on Monday and so very few were aware of the fact that the Australian could suffer from consequences of his bad luck. This is a strategy previously used by the American squad as the team also chose to hide the fact that Evans suffered from illness in the final week of the 2010 Giro - probably to avoid other teams trying to benefit from his weakness.
The second day after a crash is often the most difficult and with a hard category 2 climb in the final part of yesterday's stage Evans hoped not to feel too many effects from his crash on a potentially dangerous day. Luckily, the Australian felt fine throughout the day and he even managed to try his hand in the final sprint where he took a fine 6th place and avoided being trapped behind as it happened to Bradley Wiggins (Sky).
Evans was happy to get through the day without any time loss and to see that his body still responds in an appropriate way.
"Everything was good today and that's a good indicator," he said. "Most importantly, I got through the stage without any trouble or time loss."
Today's fifth stage appears to be one for the sprinters but two climbs inside the final 25km of the stage there could be a surprise in store. For Evans it will once again be a case of trying to avoid any time loss while he team could try their hands in a final sprint with the likes of Danilo Wyss, Daniel Oss and Taylor Phinney who could all survive the final two hills.
"There's a hard climb about 25 km from the finish so it's not going to be easy," sports director Fabio Baldato said. "I think about 70 or 80 riders will come to the finish together."
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