Multisync 0.90 (available in Ubuntu 8.10's repositories - that's multisync0.90, not the stable one) can sync wirelessly from GPE to Evolution on the local machine. Using Conduit, you could sync Google contacts with your Evolution contacts, then with GPE via multisync. A bit ugly, so hopefully your contacts don't change much.

Conduit under Maemo also supports synchronizing contacts stored in its own Evolution database (accessed in the Contacts app or Pimlico Contacts), which can be done wirelessly or directly with Google.

Edit:
Woah, I didn't notice this! You can create a new Address Book in Evolution on Ubuntu 8.10 that ties straight to Google, so no need for the extra synchronization step.