Cadel's wife, a choir singer and pianist, dropped a clue of their plan with a Boxing Day tweet: ''We had the most special Christmas of our lives …'' Attached to the social media message was a picture of her holding a baby's hand.

And yesterday Cadel, who in July became the first Australian to win the Tour, tweeted: ''Being quieter on Twitter … busy babysitting! ;o)''

Soon after his tweet, Chiara confirmed that the couple had applied to adopt an Ethiopian boy and this was the reason for their early departure from Australia on December 16.

It was understood that Evans's decision to return to his Swiss home was so he could train in the peace of a European winter after a hectic visit that included a number of sponsors' appearances and media commitments.

But his wife yesterday said: ''Going to Ethiopia was our reason for the early departure from Australia. We came here to bring home our little 12-month-old boy after months of paperwork.

''We always felt the strong wish to adopt, so we decided to start our family through adoption.

"It certainly wasn't an easy process but we're very happy to bring our little man home with us in the next few weeks, depending how the final paperwork goes.''

The timing has been near perfect, considering Evans will soon be at the start line of the 2012 season, in which he will defend his Tour title.

After that he hopes to race for Australia at the London Olympics in the road races and then the world road championships in Valkenburg, the Netherlands.

Getting their adopted child next month will allow Evans and Passerini to spend time with him at home before the season gets under way.

As with this year, Evans does not plan to race before March to ensure he still has full reserves for the major races he has targeted.