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93rd Tour de France - ProT
France, July 1-23, 2006
Main Page Results & report Stage Details Previous Stage
Stage 20 - Sunday, July 23: Antony (Parc de Sceaux)-Paris Champs-Elysées, 154.5 km
Live Commentary by Jeff Jones, with additional reporting from Anthony Tan, Hedwig Kröner and Brecht Decaluwé
Live report
Live coverage starts: 13:35 CEST
Estimated finish: 17:10 CEST
22:54 CEST
It's fun, fun, fun on the final stage
as the maillot jaune and his team celebrate on the way to the Champs-Elysées
for the final 50km criterium around the French capital, then the pomp and circumstances
to crown the new Tour champ. With Boonen gone, it must be maillot vert Robbie
'Aussie Oi Oi Oi' McEwen as the winner.
13:43 CEST
Welcome to Cyclingnews' online dirigible,
the Hindenburg V-1, which has somehow made it through three weeks of
the Tour de France including some very tough Alpine stages last week. We're
actually down to our last tank of oxygen, but fortunately we have a spare cylinder
of liquid hydrogen laying around. Oh, the inanity.
Today's final
stage is traditionally - although not always - a ceremonial parade into Paris,
followed by several laps of a circuit on the Champs Elysées. Usually, it's a
stage for the sprinters, but sometimes it's not. Last year, Alexandre Vinokourov
won with a late attack, while in 1979, Bernard Hinault and Joop Zoetemelk (1st
and 2nd on GC), broke away and fought out the final stage between them! Hinault
won in the maillot jaune, while Zoetemelk was second and of course kept
second overall. Could Floyd Landis and Oscar Pereiro do that today? Yes, but
unlikely.
There are two small climbs today, but nothing to threaten
Michael Rasmussen's lead in the polkadot jersey. After 43.5 km, there is the
Cat. 4 Côte de Gif-sur-Yvette (1.4 km climb at 5.6 %, followed by the Mont-Valérien
(km 72, 1.0 km climb at 6.4 %). The two intermediate sprints are at Boulogne-Billancourt
(km 92.0) and on the Champs-Elysées (km 116.5).
13:45 CEST
The riders are in the neutral zone
at the moment, rolling out of Antony. The real start will be at 13:50. Landis,
McEwen, Rasmussen and Cunego - the wearers of all the jerseys, occupy the front
positions.
13:48 CEST
There are 139 riders left in the
race today: Robert Hunter (Phonak) failed to make the time cut yesterday, as
he had to do the whole TT out of the saddle because of a bad saddle sore. Also,
French champion Florent Brard (Caisse d'Epargne) crashed during the TT and broke
his hand. It's unfortunate for both riders that they won't make it to Paris,
but that's bike racing.
14:05 CEST 4km/150.5km to go
The pace doesn't
change at all as the riders get the flag for the start of stage 20. It's still
relaxed, with Pereiro and Landis chatting at the front, then McEwen coming up.
Zubeldia takes his camera out and takes a photo of the peloton.
14:10 CEST 6km/148.5km to go
Wim Vansevenant
is on the front of the bunch. The Davitamon ride will be hoping for a bunch
sprint today, so that Robbie McEwen can try to take his fourth stage win. He
told Cyclingnews this morning, "We are very motivated to keep it together for
a bunch sprint, but it will be very hard. The last 70-80 km on the Champs-Elysees
is hard racing, and it will be tough to keep it together."
14:13 CEST
Now McEwen is on the front, getting
a little gap but not attacking of course. Axel Merckx and Alexandre Moos are
leading the Phonak boys and Floyd Landis (seven in total) as the bunch continues
is steady roll towards Paris. The skies are a little cloudy and it's quite warm
and humid.
14:17 CEST 9.5km/145km to go
Burkina Faso's Michel
Battiono - the chalkboard man - holds up a board for Landis with 'Impeccable
Floyd!' written on it. He's a popular figure on the Tour.
14:30 CEST 14.5km/140km to go
Andreas Klöden,
who rode himself onto the podium with a fantastic time trial yesterday, is sitting
towards the rear of the bunch, which is moving slightly quicker now as it cruises
through the outskirts of the French capital.
14:33 CEST
All the Phonak riders are riding
with yellow handlebar tape, while Floyd Landis has his special black and yellow
bike. He is also wearing regulation Phonak knicks, not the black and yellow
ones he was seen with the other day.
14:35 CEST 17.5km/137km to go
And now the champagne
moment, as Landis drops back to the team car (which is sporting 'Thank you Floyd
flags' and toasts his team manager John Lelangue. He also clinks with Erik Zabel,
who makes do with a bidon instead of a glass.
14:40 CEST 20.5km/134km to go
Merckx and Grabsch
are on the front now, lifting the pace a bit otherwise it'll be all day before
they get to Paris. Landis chats with Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner)
as they
pass a few caged lions.
14:50 CEST 26.5km/128km to go
Phonak leads the
bunch across a railway bridge and through Palaiseau, keeping the tempo up at
35-40 km/h. It's a fairly long peloton, but still relaxed.
14:55 CEST 30km/124.5km to go
Víctor Pena leads
up a small climb, as the bunch passes in the vicinity of Charles de Gaulle airport.
Now under some overhead wires, perhaps playing havoc with the riders' heart
rate monitors.
A lone Aussie fan waves a flag as the peloton passes
by.
15:02 CEST 34km/120.5km to go
We have an email
from Ushi in Greenland [that's one place I want to go to one of these years].
She asks "What does the peloton think of this brash American [referring to Floyd]
with his cocky "Shredder" attitude? Granted, amazing ride both stage 17 (and
16 BLAUK!!!) - but the real question is why and how the heck did the other teams
let him (an ex-yellow jersey wearer) get away like that?"
Well, the
impression we get is that the peloton is very impressed by Mr Landis and his
exploits. It's been a very long time since a Tour winner came back from a seemingly
lost position, and it certainly made the race fascinating. Landis got the yellow
jersey three times! But now he looks to have it for good.
15:04 CEST 35.5km/119km to go
The first hour
was covered at 30 km/h...the slowest start to a Tour stage yet. Phonak continues
to lead at a moderate tempo as the big peloton rides through crowds and more
crowds of people in Orsay.
15:09 CEST 39.5km/115km to go
Nicolas Jalabert
leads the bunch now, which is approaching the first climb. Plenty of riders
are eating - they'll still need that energy for the finish today, which is very
fast.
15:15 CEST 42.5km/112km to go
Landis' Dutch teammate
Koos Moerenhout leads on the Côte de Gif-sur-Yvette, a 4th category climb, 1.4
km climb at 5.6 %. Rasmussen moves up next to Landis, and might have a go for
the points just for the sake of it.
15:16 CEST
Moerenhout doesn't mind as he pedals
on the front of the bunch, while Thomas Voeckler sits in last wheel. Lots of
French flags here, along with a few black and white striped Breton flags.
15:17 CEST 43.5km/111km to go
Rasmussen does
indeed take the points on the climb, totally uncontested. Moerenhout and Grabsch
were second and third. Rasmussen now has 166 points, while in second place is
Floyd Landis on 131 points.
15:20 CEST 45.5km/109km to go
The bunch passes
by 'Le Synchrotron'. Maybe some riders will try to take a shortcut to Paris
via some quantum tunnelling. Hey, it's quicker than taking the train.
Or maybe they'll ride the old fashioned way.
15:24 CEST 48km/106.5km to go
Levi Leipheimer
chats to Landis, then McEwen comes up for another friendly chat. Commesso is
there too. Leipheimer gets a little gap for fun.
15:28 CEST 50km/104.5km to go
Marilyn, from PA,
USA, writes in in response to Ushi's question posted earlier. "Here in Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania, Floyd Landis is not considered 'brash.' His sheer will
and determination, as well as respect for his opponents, however, have been
evidenced for the world these last two weeks."
And many people agree
with her.
Gustav Larsson (FDJ) gets a puncture, but the strong Swede
is back on his bike and rolling again.
15:30 CEST
Gilberto Simoni cruises on the front
of the peloton. He'll finish the Tour, which is not bad after his tough Giro
d'Italia. But there was no stage win for Gibo this year.
Landis and
Zabel talk on the front of the peloton, which passes through the pleasant streets
of Jouy-En-Josas.
15:35 CEST
The T-Mobile riders are all sporting
fluoro back numbers after successfully defending their teams classification
lead yesterday. They are the top team in the Tour, which is impressive given
that they only started with seven. The team classification is worked out by
adding together the best three stage times of the team's riders each day. It
doesn't matter who those riders are - they can be different.
The
bunch is close to the Château de Versailles, a nice shack with a decent sized
backyard on the outskirts of Paris.
15:39 CEST 54.5km/100km to go
100 clicks to go
and the bunch crosses another railway, led by the men from Phonak.
15:45 CEST 59km/95.5km to go
It's still a very
steady pace as Leipheimer positions himself at the front with Landis.
15:48 CEST 61km/93.5km to go
The peloton takes
a U-turn through Sevres, then heads west. They're taking the scenic route today.
15:52 CEST
More Gerolsteiners are coming up
front to join the Phonak train, which has eased off the gas as it passes through
Ville-d'Avray. Bram Tankink chats to Floyd, maybe giving him an idea of how
hard it was on Thursday.
15:58 CEST 66km/88.5km to go
Frank Schleck is
now having a word to Andreas Klöden. Klöden could, in theory, have a crack at
Pereiro's second place overall as only 30 seconds separates the two. But despite
the small gap, it usually doesn't happen. Not much at this Tour has been usual,
however.
After two hours, the average speed is 32 km/h.
16:01 CEST 67.5km/87km to go
David Zabriskie
and Floyd Landis exchange comments towards the front of the peloton. They are
flatmates and know each other very well.
16:10 CEST 72km/82.5km to go
Saunier Duval and
Caisse d'Epargne are on the front of the slow moving bunch, together with Phonak.
They ride up the Cat. 4 Mont-Valérien, the last climb in this year's Tour.
16:11 CEST
The points are taken by Victor Pena,
it looks like. Rasmussen was nowhere to be seen.
16:13 CEST 74km/80.5km to go
Pena did indeed
win that climb. Frank Schleck (CSC) is second, ahead of David Arroyo (Caisse
d'Epargne). The pace is very steady as Pereiro leads the bunch for a while.
It's a small irony that the first two riders on GC both lost serious amounts
of time in some stages. Especially Pereiro!
16:16 CEST 76km/78.5km to go
The Sauniers are
on the front now, through Nanterre. Behind them, Stuart O'Grady chats to Frank
Schleck.
16:22 CEST 79km/75.5km to go
The crowds get much
bigger as the centre of Paris gets close. It's still Gibo and Ricardo Ricco
on the front, eating a bit.
16:27 CEST 82km/72.5km to go
The peloton passes
through Ansiers-sur-Seine, and across the Seine river. Now they are getting
close to the grandest finishing circuit of them all.
16:30 CEST
The peloton cruises along the banks
of the Seine [must...resist...pun], through Neuilly-sur-Seine. Gibo and Ricco
lead all the way at a 35 km/h pace.
16:32 CEST 86.5km/68km to go
The Rabobankers
also move to the fore, as Phonak comes up to match Saunier Duval. Merckx gives
Ralf Grabsch a little push on the saddle. And now Phonak gets on the front and
ups the tempo a little.
16:36 CEST 88.5km/66km to go
In another 13 km,
we'll be on the finishing circuit. Thus, Phonak has lifted the tempo up closer
to the 40 km/h mark, and has its men in a line, pulling the peloton along.
16:41 CEST 91km/63.5km to go
Victor Pena, the
first ever Colombian yellow jersey wearer, leads the bunch along the wide, tree-lined
streets. Now Vansevenant is getting ready to lead out McEwen for an intermediate
sprint. He doesn't look like being challenged, and McEwen actually pushes Vansevenant
across the line first. McEwen second, of course, then Pena.
16:45 CEST 94.5km/60km to go
The bunch is now
back along the banks of the Seine, just near the offices of L'Equipe, which
has a big association with the Tour, of course. And now past France Télévisions...
16:48 CEST
The peloton rides past the Pont-de-Grenelle
and up towards the Eiffel Tower, still with the Seine on their right.
16:50 CEST 98.5km/56km to go
The riders are now
getting themselves ready for their entry onto the Champs-Elysées. The pace will
increase quite markedly.
16:52 CEST 100.5km/54km to go
And it's Axel Merckx
who leads the bunch onto the circuit. Here we go! The Phonaks pick up the speed.
16:53 CEST
Under the tunnel and onto the Rue
de Rivoli, it's Merckx all the way. Then Jalabert and now Ekimov, the oldest
rider in the race, leads onto the Place de la Concorde. Phonak has let him get
a little gap.
16:55 CEST 103km/51.5km to go
The bunch passes
the team buses on the Place de la Concorde and rides up the finishing straight,
with Viatcheslav Ekimov waving to his fans and thanking them for the last time.
This will be his last Tour. He gets congratulated by the peloton as he falls
back into the bunch, which strings out on the cobbles.
16:57 CEST 104.5km/50km to go
Pena now leads
up towards the Arc de Triomphe for the first time, with the peloton on his wheel.
Grabsch is right behind him as he takes the turn.
Credit Agricole
is bringing up Caucchioli after a flat tyre. They hammer down the cobbles on
the Champs-Elysees and hook onto the back.
16:57 CEST
Beneteau and Da Cruz launch the first
attack, and are joined by Jens Voigt (CSC). But Moos closes it down for Phonak.
16:58 CEST 105.5km/49km to go
Phonak wants to
keep the tempo on for a bit as the bunch flies towards the Obelisk. The race
is definitely on now as an Euskaltel rider counters.
16:59 CEST 106.5km/48km to go
It's Ińaki Isasi
who has a small gap over the bunch, which has Chris Horner on the front, along
with Phonak.
17:01 CEST 108.5km/46km to go
It's Aitor Hernández,
not Verdugo. He rides about 5 seconds in front of the bunch, which is not going
slow as it passes the Louvre and heads up the finishing straight.
17:02 CEST 110.5km/44km to go
Hernández will
need more support to make this attack stick. The peloton thunders up the Champs-Elysées
with Commesso in the lead.
17:03 CEST
Ricardo Ricco takes a flyer with
Commesso on his wheel on the right hand side of the road, where it's smooth.
The peloton is right behind.
17:05 CEST 111.5km/43km to go
Ricco leads Commesso
down the other side of the Champs, but Horner is up there, marking things. The
bunch is in a looooong line. Horner even gets a gap, but that's not really what
he wants.
Thomas Voeckler takes off behind a camera moto.
17:05 CEST 112.5km/42km to go
Voeckler's attack
is marked by Wegmann from Gerolsteiner.
17:06 CEST
They ride across the other side of
the Place de la Concorde. Wegmann and Voeckler have five seconds with Phonak
on the front of the bunch again.
17:07 CEST 114.5km/40km to go
Mikel Astarloza
is next to try to get across to the two in front, powering under the tunnel.
Jens Voigt has another go too. Why? Because he can.
17:08 CEST
But it's still Wegmann and Voeckler
out in front. Voigt and Astarloza are trying to get across.
17:09 CEST 115.5km/39km to go
The two leaders
ride past the finish for the end of lap 3, with Voigt and Astarloza in hot pursuit.
The peloton is another 5 seconds back.
17:09 CEST 116.5km/38km to go
Cunego punctures,
but should be able to get back on and keep his young rider's jersey.
Now the four leaders are together, coming up to the second intermediate sprint.
17:10 CEST 117.5km/37km to go
Wegmann, Astarloza
and Voigt take the first three placings in the sprint as Voeckler is gone. But
the counter attacks are coming from the bunch.
17:12 CEST 118.5km/36km to go
The peloton rounds
the top bend with various riders trying to get across to Voigt and co. They
only have a small gap. It's pretty hard to get away when the speed is always
50 km/h.
Garcia Acosta leads five men across to the leaders, who
now number eight. Phonak is on the front of the bunch, protecting LAndis.
Cunego is back in the bunch.
17:14 CEST 119.5km/35km to go
Popovych, Vansummeren,
Horner are all in the break, and Vansummeren plays a spoiler role as Voigt tries
a counter attack. No luck - the bunch is coming back to them.
17:17 CEST 122.5km/32km to go
Garcia Acosta leads
the break at the end of lap 4. It's growing: Wegmann (Gerolsteiner), Voigt (CSC),
Astarloza (AG2R), Vansummeren, Horner (Davitamon), Popovych (Discovery), Charteau
(CA), Knees (Milram), Duenas (Agritubel), Fedrigo (Bouygues), Mengin, Gilbert
(FDJ), Garcia Acosta (Caisse d'Epargne).
17:18 CEST
Garcia Acosta is trying to keep the
pace up as Botcharov tries to get across with Da Cruz and Albasini.
17:19 CEST
Well, Phonak doesn't appear to be
interested in closing down this break, which already has 30 seconds. The three
chasers are at 15 seconds.
Nicolas Portal is also in the break, and
David Millar.
17:21 CEST
The full break: Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner),
Jens Voigt (CSC), Mikel Astarloza (AG2R), Johan Vansummeren, Chris Horner (Davitamon),
Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery), Anthony Charteau (CA), Christian Knees (Milram),
Moises Duenas (Agritubel), Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues), Christophe Mengin, Philippe
Gilbert (FDJ), Vicente Garcia Acosta, Nicolas Portal (Caisse d'Epargne), David
Millar (Saunier Duval), Aitor Hernández (Euskaltel)
17:22 CEST 126.5km/28km to go
Cofidis is leading
the chase, and sweeps up Albasini, Botcharov and Da Cruz. Liquigas will now
help chase too. The break has 30 seconds.
17:24 CEST 128.5km/26km to go
Millar does a turn,
while Gilbert drops to the back. He's got Mengin in the break, and can certainly
profit from that. He's always up for a victory...
Millar, Knees and
Vansummeren are three very lanky riders! They cross the line for the end of
lap 5 with Brad Wiggins leading the pursuit in the bunch, 21 seconds back.
17:25 CEST 129.5km/25km to go
The break, led
by Jens Voigt, powers up towards the Arc de Triomphe, with an estimated crowd
cheering it on. The bunch is in a long line, with Cofidis an Liquigas leading
the chase.
Gilbert attacks, marked by Horner!
17:26 CEST
Gilbert makes it to the turn in first
place, then Horner right behind him. The rest of the break leaves a bit of a
gap.
17:27 CEST 130.5km/24km to go
But the chase is
pretty relentless, and there are two teams leading it.
Gilbert does
a massive turn down the Champs Elysées, with Horner on his wheel.
17:28 CEST
Carlström heads the Liquigas chase,
then the Cofidis boys are right behind. Phonak has got Floyd well protected,
and Jimmy Casper - remember him? - is on the maillot jaune's wheel.
17:28 CEST 132.5km/22km to go
Gilbert and Horner
are caught as the break hesitates a bit. They still have 20 seconds.
17:30 CEST 133.5km/21km to go
The peloton carves
the gap back to 15 seconds as the break continues to work together. Apart form
the Davitamon riders, who want a bunch sprint.
17:31 CEST 134.5km/20km to go
Millar and Voigt
do big turns and get a gap as they head across the line for the sixth lap. Vansummeren
marks them.
17:32 CEST 135.5km/19km to go
Garcia Acosta has
a go next up towards the Arc. Millar marks him, as does Charteau, Astarloza,
Horner and Mengin. The rest of the break is swept up by the bunch.
Seppl Lang waits for a wheel, as he has punctured. Bad luck for the German,
as he will have a tough time getting back onto the bunch.
17:35 CEST 137.5km/17km to go
Fedrigo has punctured,
but doesn't take long to get a change.
There are now six leaders:
Mikel Astarloza (AG2R), Chris Horner (Davitamon), Anthony Charteau (CA), Christophe
Mengin (FDJ), Vicente Garcia Acosta (Caisse d'Epargne), David Millar (Saunier
Duval). But Charteau and Horner aren't working, as they have sprinters in the
bunch.
Padrnos is leading a counter move with Righi, but it's caught.
The bunch is flying!!
17:36 CEST 139.5km/15km to go
Millar and Garcia
Acosta try to keep the tempo up in the break, but it's hard. Horner rolls to
second wheel then signals for another rider to come through. He will not work,
as he's protecting McEwen.
Fedrigo is back on the peloton.
17:37 CEST 140.5km/14km to go
The Cofidis/Liquigas
chase is fierce, and Vansummeren is also up there.
Astarloza realises
the danger and attacks just before 1 km to go. Charteau marks him and he can't
get a gap. The peloton is right behind. Break almost over.
17:39 CEST 141.5km/13km to go
Two laps to go
and it's all together. Liquigas and Cofidis continue to lead the chase for Paolini
and Casper, their sprinters. Eisel asks his FDJ men to ride, and of course Davitamon
will as well. Vansummeren moves up.
17:40 CEST
The back of the bunch is a very very
long line as it heads up to the Arc de Triomphe for the second last time. The
middle of the bunch is still fat enough though. Vansummeren does a strong turn
with an FDJ rider on his wheel.
17:40 CEST 142.5km/12km to go
Garcia Acosta is
in last wheel as they take the turn.
Landis is well protected, near
the front.
Vasseur leads the bunch through the turn first.
17:41 CEST 143.5km/11km to go
Casar is the FDJ
man working for Eisel, and he has Vasseur on his wheel. There aren't many kilometres
left to try a break, but you never know. Gustav Larsson is next for FDJ. Can
they set up Eisel for a big win?
17:42 CEST 144.5km/10km to go
There are at least
five teams interested in a bunch sprint: FDJ, Davitamon, Credit Agricole, Cofidis
and Liquigas. So it's going to be tough for anyone else to escape.
17:42 CEST 144.5km/10km to go
Mario Aerts looks
very smooth as he pedals across the cobbles. Then Vasseur attacks just before
the Place de la Concorde. Attacking is easy, holding it for 10km isn't.
17:43 CEST 145.5km/9km to go
Lövkvist, Swedish
champ, takes over from Larsson in the front as Vasseur is caught.
17:44 CEST 146.5km/8km to go
It's Aerts leading
Credit Agricoles and Davitamons past the Ferris wheel near the Louvre on the
second last lap. Even Caucchioli is doing a turn.
17:46 CEST 148km/6.5km to go
They ride along
the place de la Concorde and take the sweeping right hander into the finishing
straight, with Vansummeren on the front. Eduardo Gonzalo (Agritubel)
attacks
just before the line.
1 lap to go!
17:47 CEST 148.5km/6km to go
Gonzalo's attack
gains him no ground. It's all the sprinters teams on the front now, and it doesn't
look like anyone will stop a bunch sprint.
Jens Voigt tries, but
he can't get a gap. The big German is a bit cooked.
17:47 CEST
Aerts takes over with a bandaged
Vansevenant, then Swedish champ Lövkvist.
17:48 CEST 150.5km/4km to go
Less than 5 km to
go in the bike race, and Floyd's first Tour de France is almost in the bag.
Wim Vansevenant rides hard on the front down the Champs Elysées for the final
time. Lövkvist on his wheel, then an FDJ rider.
17:50 CEST 151km/3.5km to go
The speed is over
60 km/h as they fly down France's grand boulevard. Lövkvist is now doing his
bit. The sprinters themselves aren't in the top 10 yet.
Flecha tries
to attack, nearly taking out a rider in the process. Then Ekimov counters, but
doesn't get a gap.
17:51 CEST 152.5km/2km to go
Aerts couldn't hold
Eki's wheel, but Schleck can. The bunch is still together as it goes under the
tunnel.
Now Hincapie and Popovych attack!
17:51 CEST 153.5km/1km to go
Popovych attacks
before the 1 km banner, and gets Quinziato on his wheel. The sprinters are getting
closer to the front. It's all on!!!
17:52 CEST 154.5km/0km to go
Steegmans leads
McEwen to the corner first, but it's Wrolich how leads out. Then McEwen goes
too early and Hushovd gets him!!! McEwen second, then O'Grady.
17:53 CEST
Thor Hushovd has won the final stage
of the Tour de France, having taken the right wheel. He had that by three bike
lengths!!
And of course, Floyd Landis is safely home. He wins the
Tour de France!!!
18:10 CEST
So Thor Hushovd finishes with two
stage wins - the first and the last. That was an immensely powerful final sprint
to get around Robbie, who perhaps went a little early. Three bike lengths.
Landis is tired but relieved that it's all over. He has the yellow jersey in
Paris, and that's what he came for. What a performance by the 30 year-old American!
And he continues the impressive US record in this race: 11 Tour victories in
21 years. The overall speed is 40.784 km/h, which is fast, but not the fastest.
Robbie McEwen keeps the green jersey: it's his third Tour de France maillot
vert. Michael Rasmussen will take home the maillot a pois of best
climber, Damiano Cunego holds the maillot blanc of best young rider,
and David de la Fuente (Saunier Duval) is the most aggressive rider of the whole
Tour. And the best team in the Tour is T-Mobile.
As for us, we all
need a beer of some description. Or vodka for the Irishman... So now, it really
is adieu from us here in the commentary blimp, the Hindenburg V-1.
Now where did I stash that liquid hydrogen...?
Results
Provisional 1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 3.56.52 2 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 3 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 4 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram 5 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 6 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 7 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux 8 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 9 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 10 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner Final general classification 1 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak 89.39.28 2 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.59 3 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile 1.29 4 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 3.13 5 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 5.08 6 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 7.06 7 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 8.41 8 Christophe Moreau (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 9.37 9 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 12.05 10 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile 15.07
