Alberto Contador reigns supreme in Tour de France
Alberto Contador of Team Astana won the Tour de France for the third time in four years in Paris, beating Andy Schleck by 39 seconds. Denis Menchov completed the podium by finishing third.
It is the second successive year in which Contador has triumphed in the Tour, and he joins the likes of Philippe Thys, Greg LeMond and Louison Bobet on three Tour wins. He also becomes the sixth rider to win the Tour without winning a stage since World War Two.
During the final stage en route to Paris, Contador was handed a glass of champagne along with his teammates, and he cruised to the finish line with the peloton. Schleck stuck to the tradition of not attacking on the final stage as well, even though it would have been the perfect time to launch an attack.
“It’s been very hard for me psychologically and I am so happy today. This is a very important victory for me. This year there were times when I wasn't exactly on top form. The race was particularly hard. You feel the pressure from outside and from within yourself. You can't imagine how relieved I am,” said Contador.
Contador’s closest challenger was Luxembourg’s Schleck, who despite not winning the yellow jersey, won the white jersey as the best young rider for the third Tour in a row, and finished runner-up to Contador once again like he did in 2009.
He suffered the misfortune of breaking his chain in stage 15, where he held a 31-second advantage, only for Contador to take full advantage and open up an eight-second lead at the top of the overall standings before the time-trials. Many believe Contador should have waited for Schleck, but the Spaniard felt this was unnecessary.
Schleck’s chance to make up time came in the Col du Tourmalet, but as the competitor that Contador is, he stuck to him through the rain and the steep climb. It was then when Contador knew he would be champion, and he certainly laid down the gauntlet by increasing his lead by 31 seconds in the subsequent time trial.
Mark Cavendish of Team HTC-Columbia just missed out on the green jersey by 11 points to Italian Alessandro Pettachi, while Anthony Charteau won the polka dot jersey for being the best climber.
Seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong bowed out of cycling in his final Tour as he finished comfortably in the peloton. The 38-year-old American and his fellow RadioShack riders wore all-black jerseys inscribed with the number 28 and the yellow logo of Livestrong, the organisation covering Armstrong’s cancer foundation and his own commercial activities. The No.28 represented the 28 million people living with cancer worldwide.
However, having a change of colours is against the rules, and they were told to stop and replace the shirts. On the podium ceremony, the riders put the black shirts back on. “The idea was to talk about the significance and magnitude of the fight against the disease, but the commissaires didn't see it that way. In the end I suppose what happened probably brought more attention," said Armstrong.
Armstrong finished 40 minutes behind Contador, and was denied by Pierreck Fedrigo in winning stage 16.
“This race has been good to me but I can't lie. I'm ready to retire part two. I was just glad that three weeks of suffering is over and I get to go home. I don't have to stress about racing every day. I have a lot of happiness, a lot of good memories, just a lot of good times here,” said Armstrong.
Armstrong may not be gracing the Tour again, but his seven wins will take something special to beat, and Contador is the man to do it.
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