Cadel Evans says he knows the exact moment when the Australian public's perception of him changed. It was 2008, and for the second consecutive year he was standing on the Tour de France podium in Paris as runner-up.

"I was just happy to finish that Tour," Evans told WWOS. "The fact that I finished on the podium was pretty great but then everyone's looking at me going 'you lost the Tour'."

Twelve months earlier, Evans could seemingly do no wrong. There were rumblings of his capabilities in cycling circles, 'watch Evans; he can be on the podium in Paris – it's his year,' but beyond that, not much was said.

By the time he reached Paris on July 29 in 2007, Evans had only missed out on wearing the yellow jersey by 23secs, after being beaten by Alberto Contador. Back home, the performance was widely lauded and Evans was voted as the 'Sports Performer of the Year' by Fairfax Media readers. Evans was by all accounts, Australia's new sporting hero.

Fast forward 12 months and Evans was second again – this time to Carlos Sastre. The margin after three weeks of gruelling racing was 58secs.

It's a change that the 32 year-old has had time to consider with the release of his new book 'Cadel Evans: Close to Flying'. He makes no apologies that he hopes the 304-page documentation of his life both on and off the bike will allow people to gain a better understanding of Cadel Evans – cyclist, husband and human being.

"The motivation for me having this book is to explain the sport – not to try and sell it but if people want to learn about it, they can and then appreciate it more. Cycling's a great sport and if you understand it, it really is interesting, but if you've ever tried to explain cricket to an American you'd understand that it's kind of difficult to explain to someone. Because we don't have the culture and the history as they do in Europe, [here in Australia] people watch it, they like it but they don't fully understand."

Evans' best chance at General Classification victory at the 2008 Tour de France literally crashed when he found himself lying on the road after being clipped by another rider on the ninth stage. His body was battered and bruised, more so than Evans would admit to anybody at the time.

"To get up from that crash and keep riding, for me that was great, and to go on from beyond there was just a bonus," Evans explains.

When asked what he thinks about the shift in the public's attitude, Evans is his usual considered self before responding.

"It's a little bit unfortunate and a little bit shallow minded."

So does Evans consider himself to have been unfairly judged?

"I think everyone is in their life, aren't they?" he quips rhetorically.

There were incidents at the 2008 Tour de France that raised eyebrows. Evans head butted a camera when it wouldn't let him pass at the end of a long day in the saddle; he batted away the hand of a journalist who got too close to his injured shoulder; another was told ‘Stand on my dog and I'll cut your head off’ after they brushed Evans' beloved dog, Molly.

By the end of the 2008 Tour given such outbursts and the consecutive second placing, the suggestion that Evans couldn’t cope with pressure wasn't far from the lips of more than a few people. It's a sentiment echoed by Evans' wife Chiara in 'Close to Flying' when she writes: "Pressure is not good for him."

WWOS put the question to Evans to give the newly-signed BMC Racing Team rider a chance to answer with some perspective.

"I wouldn't say pressure's bad for me but I don't need pressure from other people," Evans says. "I put enough on myself and that's all that I need."

Hindsight is indeed a beautiful thing.

"[Writing the book] makes me look back at my own life which is something I've never done before," Evans explains. "Look at where I've been, as opposed to what you normally focus on as an athlete, which is where you're going."

And perhaps that is now why Evans is selling 'Don't stand on my dog!' t-shirts off his website.

Has Evans been a victim of tall poppy syndrome?
Do you think Evans 'lost' the 2008 Tour de France?