Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia-HTC) wins on the Champs Elysees in Paris. Photo copyright Fotoreporter Sirotti.
2009 Tour de France - Stage 21.
There couldn’t be more of a contrast between yesterday’s stage and today’s. We’re going from the slowest finish to the fastest sprint, the steepest to the flattest and the confirmation of the Tour winner. In addition, the level of suspense will be subdued as the only question is: Will Cavendish beat Thor? The answer is, of course he will.
It seems like the last lap on the Champs-Elysees is taking forever. Garmin tries to get Farrar in the mix but Columbia-HTC blows everyone away. I don’t think Thor even tried. Cavendish has achieved super human greatness with his finish in Paris. He endured the brutality of the mountains to earn his record stage win.
For Contador, you can call it two in a row for him. For Lance, you can call it an outstanding comeback. For Astana, you can say they were the best team with a masterful directeur sportif. For the Schleck’s and Saxo Bank, you can say they were never afraid to attack. They took control of their fate with maximum effort rather than waiting for the race to come to them. Whoever your favorite may have been, the best man won. He should be respected for that.
The top 3 on the podium. Alberto Contador (Team Astana), Andy Schleck (Team Saxo bank) and last but definitely not least Lance Armstrong (Team Astana). Photo copyright Fotoreporter Sirotti.
Congratulations to Alberto Contador and the boys: Lance Armstrong, Andreas Kloden, Levi Leipheimer, Dmitriy Muravyev, Sergio Paulinho, Yaroslav Popovych, Gregory Rast, and Haimar Zubeldia.
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