No, Tony Abbott invoking the spirit of John F Kennedy hasn’t turned my stomach although it is tingling my bowel, it’s the statements which have been flowing which conclude that Simon Gerrans is now Australia’s greatest cyclist after winning the Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic on Sunday night, our time.
Excuse me? There is a fellow who had a nice win in a tour in Italy last week who also won a little race in France in 2011 who still holds that title. Cadel Evans, please stand up.
Now don’t get me wrong, Simon Gerrans’ win in the oldest classic road race in the world was a remarkable achievement and added to his triumph in the Milan to San Remo a couple of years back has certainly catapulted him into the very elite. He has joined the pantheon of great Australian cyclists. But he is not the greatest ever and it astounds me that Gerrans has such a cheer squad that the thought could be verbalised in the light of day.
Gerrans has made a lot out of his ability. He has probably used it better than any other Australian cyclist. But I will stand by what I have said before. He is an opportunist. A sniper. A great cyclist but significantly limited in certain situations.
Cadel Evans, winner of the Tour de France, World Road Champion and victor in several other notable races around the world has the right and the claim to be the greatest Australian cyclist ever. For me, there is no other challenger.
Phil Anderson also achieved a significant number of victories including the Amstel Gold Race in Holland, still regarded as one the biggest one day races in the world and led the Tour de France and finished in the top ten on numerous occasions. As good as he is, Gerrans record can’t topple Phil from his position as the best after Cadel.
I think Stuart O’Grady was a much more talented rider than Gerrans, the Paris to Roubaix being on his palmares and Robbie McEwan’s three Green Jerseys in the Tour de France and multiple stage wins in the Grand Tours and scores of other races must rank him alongside the best. I rate all of them above Simon Gerrans.
Could Cadel Evans win a race like the Liege-Bastogne-Liege? Of course he could and in fact has done so, the Fleche Wallone classic in Belgium falling to him in 2010. Could Simon Gerrans win the Tour de France? Never.
It may seem like I am going out of my way to batter Simon and his reputation and it is true I am not a fan of his or his team but I certainly admire the things has has done in the world of cycling but let’s have a bit of perspective when talking of who is the greatest.
One can only hope that in the twilight of his career, Cadel Evans can win the Tour of Italy, the second greatest race in the world and put to bed once and for all the nonsense which has been doing the rounds since Sunday night.
Of course, this is all just the opinion of one man and readers may not agree. Please feel free to pass on your thoughts via the comments section. But please, keep it nice. I don’t want to have to delete you!
Have a nice day.
Strange Notations From a Laborious Life 