Triple Tour de France champion Greg LeMond says Cadel Evans ''has some legs left'' and age should not determine when he quits.
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On Tuesday, Evans (BMC), 37, who in 2011 became the only Australian to win the Tour, lines up for the four-day Giro del Trentino in Italy, a vital lead-up for his main race of the year, the three-week Giro d'Italia next month.
Evans has prepared for this year's Giro, from May 9 to June 1, unlike last year when he raced it off a six-week training block but still finished third overall trying to find form for the Tour de France.
Fortunately for Evans, who began this year well with second place in the Australian road title and Tour Down Under, his form is improving after a dip soon after his return to Europe.
In his last race, the Vuelta al Pais Vasco in Spain, Evans finished seventh at one minute, 56 seconds to Spanish winner Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo), who will not race the Giro, but the Tour.
The Giro del Trentino, with a 14.3-kilometre time trial and three summit or uphill stage finishes, should reveal where Evans is at for the Giro. He has said he would consider his future after the Giro, a race no Australian has won. LeMond says he should not be swayed by age.
The 1986, 1989 and 1990 Tour winner, LeMond retired in 1994 at 31 but his career might have continued were it not for his near-fatal shooting while hunting in 1987.
He has long opposed the notion riders should retire at a certain age. ''I could never understand that,'' he said.
But will Evans risk stretching his illustrious career too far by racing beyond his age?
''I don't think, scientifically, there is anything that changes, except maybe a little with recovery. But your body gives very good feedback when it suffers,'' he says.