Cadel Evans, wife feel "flood of emotions" after adopting African baby

Cadel Evans has revealed that he feels a "flood of emotions" about becoming a father.

The Australian champion cyclist, who won the Tour de France last year, said that he and his wife Chiara Passerini were thrilled when they were handed custody of 1-year-old Ethiopian boy Robel in an African courtroom last month.

Evans told AAP: "You come back from the courtroom in a taxi and this time you can walk out the door with him. It is quite bizarre. In the end you have your hearing with the judge and it takes about five minutes. The the paperwork is done and the child is now yours.

"It is a flood of emotions and it has been an amazing process. We are still learning about him."

Evans added that Robel is still learning to adjust to life in Switzerland with his new family, saying: "After being abandoned at six months old to being in a home with heating, doctors and everything, it is a big change."

Chiara said of adoption last year: "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 on how the final paperwork goes.''

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