FIRST BLOOD TO CADEL EVANS

Evans Ruta del Sol
(Image credit: LUC CLAESSEN)

While Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Klöden contemplate sitting on the sidelines in July, the new favourite for the Tour de France, Cadel Evans, rubbed salt into their wounds by taking his first victory of the new season.

The Australian, who finished second behind Contador in last year's Tour took the second stage of the Ruta del Sol in the south of Spain.

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Sports journalist Lionel Birnie has written professionally for Sunday Times, Procycling and of course Cycling Weekly. He is also an author, publisher, and co-founder of The Cycling Podcast. His first experience covering the Tour de France came in 1999, and he has presented The Cycling Podcast with Richard Moore and Daniel Friebe since 2013. He founded Peloton Publishing in 2010 and has ghostwritten and published the autobiography of Sean Kelly, as well as a number of other sports icons.