Cadel Evans, we salute you. Well done!

If you are as bleary eyed and as tyred as I am you have probably been staying up most nights watching history in the making. Baring disaster Cadel Evans should roll into Paris tonight the winner of the 2012 Tour de France. What an epic result! Cadel has raced a race that is nothing short of legendary and deserves every accolade he is given.

I will be the first to admit that in the past I haven't been a huge fan of Cadel as I found his repeated complaining a bit off putting, and didn't believe it showed the heart and determination needed to win the world’s greatest sporting event. Le Tour de France. But I am ecstatic to have been proven wrong!

My opinion of Cadel started to change when he took his world title with inspirational aggression and confidence. Around the same time he also seemed to become more and more comfortable in his ability as a rider and how he dealt with the media. He had never been very talkative with the media in the past and seemed to find them more annoying than anything. Some might say dealing with the media has nothing to do with riding, but for us cycling fans it's our only interaction with the sports rock-stars, so I believe it’s part of their job. Point in case….Jens Voigt. Who doesn’t love Jens? So the win aside I am even more impressed that Cadel has taken a leap forward in his interaction with the media and in doing so his fans.

So it would seem that for 2012 Cadel has come to the Tour full of confidence, loaded with panache and to top it all off a great attitude towards his team, spectators and media. Well done Cadel, no one ever deserved to win the tour more than you deserved to win this one. Congratulations on winning with style, well done for riding like a legend from day one to Paris, and big-ups for taking charge on the big mountains, staring those who would see you fail in the eye and saying "bring it on".

To top off this great achievement and something we should all be for ever thankful to Cadel for is how much he has single-handily helped raise the profile of cycling in our country. Because whether you are a passionate roadie, or a hard-core DH junkie Cadel will make millions more Australians not only take more notice of all cyclist, but they might just pull their old clunker out of the shed and go for a ride. And that’s a true legacy.

Cadel Evans, I salute you,
Crusty