Australian Road Race World Champion Cadel Evans says he's prepared to accept his move to the BMC Racing team may have compromised his bid to ride in next year's Tour De France.
Evans stunned the cycling world earlier in the week when he bought out the final year of his contract with Belgium-based Silence-Lotto in order to join the second-tier BMC team that does not compete on the ProTour and therefore doesn't get an automatic invitation to Le Tour.
However Evans is confident that despite its status, BMC - arising from the disgraced Phonak outfit, who suffered several doping scandals - can convince Tour organisers it's worthy of wild card entry into cycling's greatest race.
"I'd be surprised if we don't make it," said Evans in Perth on Thursday.
"I really believe in our ability as a team to prove ourselves that we should get there."
"(But) if I don't get a start in the Tour de France next year, oh well as long as we tried our best and there's a good reason why we didn't go there, that's something that I have to accept," he said.
Ambitious from the start, BMC has already recruited some big hitting riders to its team including former world champion Alessandro Ballan and Lance Armstrong's former lieutenant George Hincapie.
Evans, the Tour's runner-up in 2007 and 2008, is hopeful his addition to an already-talented squad will be enough to convince the Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO), which organises the Tour, to grant them a wildcard invitation.
So far there are 16 ProTour teams already contracted to start in the 2010 Tour, with their ranks potentially swelling to 22 by the time the race starts in July next year.
Evans, though, said he's confident the rainbow jersey road race world title he won last September may tip the balance in BMC's favour.
"As a team, in ethical terms we deserve to be in the Tour but also as a team we'll be there to really contribute something to the race."
"I think having the rainbow jersey going for the win is in everyone's interest to have at the Tour de France."
"One step back, two steps forward is my way of looking at it," Evans added, when asked whether the move to BMC was a good longer-term career strategy.
"(I'm) surrounding myself with people who can best help me try and ultimately get me on the top step of the podium at the Tour de France."
"With the people in the team and my own contribution ... we can prove ourselves to the Tour de France organisers and the world, that we don't deserve to be left at home," he said.
Australian cycling fans will get an early opportunity to see Cadel wearing his rainbow jersey for BMC when the team competes in the Tour Down Under next January in South Australia.
Evans, though, said the Down Under event wouldn't have much impact on the team's inclusion in next year's Le Tour, but he felt it was a great opportunity to give something back to Australian fans.
"For me to present the BMC team to the Australian public and the rest of the world on Australian soil, to me that's fantastic," Evans said.
"The main thing for me personally was that I wanted to be able to say thank you to the support of the Australian public and be able to race in Australia with the rainbow jersey (although) it was actually George Hincapie who wanted to do the Tour Down Under originally."
"(So) I will be happy to be a good helping hand to George Hincapie, it's not a race that suits me," he said.