Riders don't win La Giro d'Italia and le Tour de France in the same year very often.

When they do, it's usually clouded by headlines that are less than complimentary about one's cleanliness and godliness and friendship with medical professionals.

In 1992 and 1993, Miguel Indurain won both, but remember he was the guy with the heart the size of Phar Lap, lungs like the Hindenburg and legs like sides of carne de vacuno.

In 1998, Marco Pantani won the Giro and le Tour but il Pirato had long been a perpetrator of crimes against fashion (bandanas and gold earrings not included). He was never able to win a grand tour after that, before tragically dying of an overdose in 2004.

When Captain America took over France for seven consecutive years (1999-2005), he never started the Giro d'Italia. Last year was his first, but it was only two months after a fractured clavicle in Spain (hands up who didn't see the xray), and so he was ‘just there for training.'

In 2006, Basso won the Giro, and wanted to win Le Tour, but hey, Ivan, we all want things... I want to sing Gershwin at Carnegie Hall but it ain't gonna happen this year.

Unfortunately for Basso, Ullrich and a few others, they were unceremoniously ejected before stage 1 of the 2006 Tour for suspicious behaviour involving trips to Dr Fuentes in Spain and not for the paella.

World Road Champion, and great Tour hope for Australia, Cadel Evans, has signalled his desire to win the 2010 Tour de France.

Initially, he played down his hopes for the Giro, knowing that many of his experienced BMC teammates would be at Tour of California (choosing the US west coast weather over yesterday's less glamorous ‘strade biance' aka, muddy shitfight, perchance?)

Now, with his first Giro stage victory, Cadel Evans has shown form, class and composure behind a rabidly attacking Alexander Vinokourov.

He remains in touch for the overall, when many others seem to have slipped a little too far down the list for recovery (Carlos Sastre, Damiano Cunego, Brad Wiggins, for starters).

And much has been made of his team BMC not being of the same calibre of Liquigas, Cervélo or Sky in their ability to support him in the finale.

We've seen TdF being controlled by extraordinary teams: recall the dominance of the US Postal/Discovery slaves for Lance; Saxo Bank's Jens Voigt and Fabian Cancellara forming an indefatiguable force for Sastre; and the awesome organisation of Astana for Alberto Contador.

But the Giro and le Tour are two very different animals, indeed.

From my very comfortable couch view, even in my tired, post-training state, I can see that the Giro is molto pericoloso e molto imprevedibile (crazy dangerous and unpredictable).

Half the amazing Liquigas squad were left with the task of another teams' time trial across brown mud after a crash with 32 kilometres to go took the maglia rosa, the maglia bianco and Basso out in one foul swoop on stage 7.

And with some respite for the GC riders in the coming sprint stages, followed by four incredibly challenging mountain stages in the final week, a strong support team will be less important than a handy set of legs and being unusually skinny.

Oh, and patience, nerves of steel, confidence, and a bit of mano e mano experience on the steep, narrow roads of Italy (did I just write Cadel's personality profile, or what?)

We wait. Two weeks is a long time in cycling.

Bridie O'Donnell is an Australian professional rider with UCI Team Valdarno (alongside 2009 World Champion, Tatiana Guderzo, and Italian Champion, Monia Baccaille) and spends six months of each year in Tuscany (where she is now) and six months in Melbourne. After the European season, she will compete in the 2010 Melbourne World Championships. She will be a regular cycling columnist for BackPageLead - (when she's not filing for her blog, Bridie.com.au.)