Cadel Evans – “It was a harder day than expected...”

“Over the last climb I just wanted to be safe because I saw Bernhard Kohl having a go and I had to keep an eye on him because he’s still ranked fourth in the general classification. My team had to do a lot of work at the start of today’s stage and I’d just rather let them stay rested and be there tomorrow. Today was a good little test for me as well. _ “I’m hoping I’m a little more rested than my rivals but I don’t think anyone is really too fresh at this point of the Tour. It was very fast today. I’m not sure of the average speed but I expect it was the fastest so far this year and it wasn’t done on favorable roads – it wasn’t a fast surface – so I think a lot of people had a harder day than they expected. _ “There were some moves by Caisse d’Epargne at the end but I’m beginning to understand the tactics of each team. You soon learn the way that your competitors race and I saw that Valverde was up there at the finish. I’ve been racing against him for a few years now and I was expecting him to have a go in the sprint actually. There were other things to take into consideration too but I covered all the dangerous moves when I had to and kept things under control. _ “As for tomorrow: I’ve done the climbs before and the one at the finish is quiet harsh. On paper it looks reasonably difficult but I think we may arrive in a larger group than what many are expecting; I’d say there’ll be 20 or 30 riders at the finish, maybe a few more depending on how the race is played out. It depends on if someone tries to make a real selection. _ “What can I expect from CSC? Lots of attacks: from the left and right, from one climb to the other.”