Stage 21- The End

The Stage 20 race to the top of the bald mountain didn't turn out to be as exciting as the race organizers had planned. Their intention was to turn the race upside down and really shake up the standings but it didn't quite happen that way. Don't get me wrong, it was an exciting Stage with plenty of breakaways, attacks and the kind of drama that makes the tdf such a great race, but there just wasn't the shake up the organizers were looking for. The first three riders to finish were the top three in the General Classification; Contador, Andy and Lance and that was that.

The Final Stage of the Tour is more for show than anything else as far as the GC is concerned, but can still be an important Stage for the sprinters. Mark Cavendish who had already won 5 Stages was looking for his 6 Stage win of the Tour and the opportunity to take the Green Sprint Jersey away from Thor Hushovd. And Thor just needed to finish in the top 16 to maintain the Green.

As the riders approached the finish, Team Garmin Slipstream made a push for their guy Tyler Farrar to win the Stage, but then who showed up to spoil the party? You guessed it, Big George Hincapie and he was riding for revenge. Extremely pissed about Garmin Slipstream's having taken away his opportunity to wear Yellow, George started the lead out for his teammate Cavendish, and rode like a man possessed. His attack was so powerful, it pushed Garmin back into the peloton where Farrar was only able to claim a 3rd place finish. Mark Cavendish won the Stage by a wide margin thanks to Hincapie's big push and Thor finished safely in 6th place keeping the Green Jersey.

The final standings for the GC looked like this...

1 - Alberto Contador - TEAM ASTANA
2 - Andy Schleck - TEAM SAXO BANK - 4' 11"
3 - Lance Armstrong - TEAM ASTANA - 5' 25"
4 - Bradley Wiggins - TEAM GARMIN - 6' 01"
5 - Frank Schleck - TEAM SAXO BANK - 6' 04"
6 - Andreas Kloden - TEAM ASTANA - 6' 42"

Now that the Tour is over, how did Lance do?



Watching Lance speak, I got the impression that he was relieved for the podium finish but not really happy with his personal performance. It's obvious from the tdf, Marathons, Triathlons and women that Lance is a competitor. And competitors are rarely 100% satisfied with their performances. The good news is, that's what drives them, and Lance will use surely use this as fuel for his return to the Tour again next year.



In my opinion, Lance did a phenomenal job. From his age, to his return to the Tour after a 4 yr retirement, to the fact that he broke his collar bone just 12 weeks prior to the Tour. He has done a lot for the sport of bicycle racing and much more for cancer research. The guy is an indomitable force and just his presence made this year's tdf something special. I don't think we should expect anything less for next year so let the count down begin.





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