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Cadel Evans AM (b. 1977) was sixteen when he won the first of four Australian mountain bike championships. Before turning to road racing in 2001, he’d represented Australia at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics and won the mountain bike world cups of 1998 and 1999. A climber and time trial specialist known for his outstanding endurance and mental toughness, Evans finished inside the top ten in his first two Tour de France appearances. On his third, he became the first Australian to achieve a place on the podium, finishing second, and he was runner-up again in 2008. A week after finishing third in the 2009 Vuelta a España he became the men’s road racing world champion, following this up with wins in the Belgian road race La Flèche Wallone in 2010, and the Tirreno–Adriatico (in 2011). A favourite for the 2011 Tour de France, Evans secured the yellow jersey in the penultimate stage and on 24 July 2011 became the first Australian to win the epic race. He featured in its top ten again in 2012 and finished third in the gruelling 2013 edition of the Giro d’Italia. A veteran of eight world championship road campaigns and member of the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Teams, Evans was Australian Male Road Cyclist of the Year six years running from 2006, and Australian Cyclist of the Year for 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011. In late 2014, he unveiled plans for the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, announcing on the same occasion that the inaugural instalment of the event in 2015 would be his last as a professional cyclist.
Matthÿs Gerber (b. 1956) was born in the Netherlands and has lived in Australia since 1972. Drawing on the modes of representation used throughout the history of European painting, he has produced a diverse body of work ranging from representational landscapes to abstraction. Gerber is a senior lecturer at the Sydney College of the Arts.
Commissioned 2008
© National Portrait Gallery of Australia
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Australian champion cyclist Cadel Evans discusses his career.
Alistair McGhie writes about the portraits of three of Australia's top professional cyclists: Cadel Evans, Stuart O'Grady and Robbie McEwen painted by Matthys Gerber.
The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.
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