It’s been 15 years since Cadel Evans rode into Paris in the yellow jersey, becoming the first Australian to win the Tour de France and one of only three non-Europeans ever to claim cycling’s greatest prize.
Many will remember the podium finish of the 2011 race, but perhaps few know the years of near-misses, injuries and attrition that preceded it – or the way an introverted cyclist from the Northern Territory propelled himself forward through doubt, discipline and relentless self-talk.
Therein lies the power of Cadel: Lungs on Legs, a one-man show that compresses Evans’ gruelling road to victory into an hour of physical exertion and psychological endurance. Actor Connor Delves pedals more than 27km on a stationary bike – the very same one Evans rode in the 2011 Tour de France (more on that later).
After an acclaimed run at the Edinburgh fringe, Delves brings the show home to Perth Cygnet theatre at Hale school, his alma mater. Co-written by Delves and playwright Steve McMahon, and directed by Mark Barford, the production will travel to South Australia after its Perth run.
The team undertook meticulous research for the production, including interviewing Evans himself, who offered unprecedented insight into his mindset and self-talk, plus the very bike and yellow jersey from his 2011 win. The result is a show that feels like stepping inside Evans’ mind – a work of rare intensity, shot through with dry, unexpected humour, as it traces the memories, places and pressures that shaped him.
The opening scene takes place in Grenoble, on the penultimate day of the 2011 Tour de France, with the stakes laid out in brutally simple arithmetic: Evans is third overall behind Andy Schleck and Fränk Schleck, and must claw back time in the final time trial if he’s to ride into Paris in yellow.
The scene cuts before Evans’ fate turns, and we are thrust into a fast, nonlinear ride through the making of an unlikely champion. The chronology splinters and re-forms as Delves toggles between eras: the lonely, self-contained kid in the outback, early brushes with danger and injury, and the dawning realisation that endurance will be his defining currency.
We see Evans subjected to ruthless endurance testing in Canberra and press conferences thick with expectation and suspicion during cycling’s doping-scarred years. The narrative returns repeatedly to second place finishes decided by seconds, compounded by crashes and injury. Coaches bark instructions, commentators narrate feverishly and rivals loom, while Evans’ irreverent self-talk runs constantly beneath it all.
The staging is spare and immersive. Delves rides at the centre of a circular platform – an expanding collection of discarded water bottles accumulating beneath him – and the audience is seated close on either side like roadside spectators, while three screens cycle through archival footage, aerial scenery and other key places in Evans’ memory.
At the centre is Delves, whose performance captures Evans’ awkwardness and resilience without slipping into caricature, puncturing the intensity with dry, often hilarious asides. Legendary Tour de France commentator Phil Liggett, who saw the show in Edinburgh, summed it up simply: Delves is Evans on stage.
The final sequence returns to the 2011 Tour de France and the decisive time trial, with Evans in second place behind Andy Schleck, needing to claw back 57 seconds. Delves rides hard, back flat, sweat pooling on his forehead as the commentary tightens around him. Gradually, the realisation lands – he’s done enough. His expression shifts from strain to disbelief, then relief.
Finally, Delves pedals into Paris decked out in yellow – jersey, helmet and glasses – with the Champs-Élysées flashing past. Someone hands him a glass of champagne. “It’s all a bit much, isn’t it?” he says, drily. On the podium, draped in the Australian flag as the anthem plays, he lifts the bike and the audience roars. By that point, the applause feels shared – for Evans and for Delves – the line between athlete and actor all but gone.
Cadel: Lungs on Legs is at Perth’s Cygnet theatre, Hale school until 13 February, then Adelaide’s Goodwood theatre as part of Adelaide fringe festival, 19 February – 21 March
