2010 Le Tour de France: Stage 19, Sunday, July 25th: STAGE WINNER!

Longjumeau to Paris ala Champs-Élysées
102.5 km (64 miles)
Today's stage winner was
MARK CAVENDISH (TEAM HTC - COLUMBIA)!
Congratulations to him!

Mark Cavendish!!! Yes, what a finish for the stage for the Tour. It is Cav's second consecutive win at le Champs-Élysées, 5 all-time career wins! I was pulling for him and he almost took the green jersey; however, it is Alessandro Petacchi who will take the green jersey. Robbie McEwen did well at the finish too. Thor Hushovd a narrow miss for the green as he finishes in second.
Other Top 10 finishers in today's stage are:
2) ALESSANDRO PETACCHI (LAMPRE - FARNESE)
3) JULIAN DEAN (GARMIN - TRANSITIONS)
4) JüRGEN ROELANDTS (OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO)
5) OSCAR FREIRE (RABOBANK)
6) GERALD CIOLEK (TEAM MILRAM)
7) THOR HUSHOVD (CERVELO TEST TEAM)
8) MATTI BRESCHEL (TEAM SAXO BANK)
9) ROBBIE MC EWEN (KATUSHA TEAM)
10) DANIEL OSS (LIQUIGAS-DOIMO)

2010 Le Tour de France: Stage 19, Sunday, July 25th: GC: THE OVERALL 2010 TOUR de FRANCE CHAMPION!

In GC (General Classification=Overall Leader):
THE 2010 LE TOUR de FRANCE CHAMPION is
ALBERTO CONTADOR (ASTANA)!
Congratulations to the Spaniard!

Top 10 GC overall finishers are:
1) ALBERTO CONTADOR (ASTANA):
Alberto is from Spain, his team is from Kazakhstan.
2) ANDY SCHLECK (TEAM SAXOBANK):
Andy is from Luxembourg, his team is from Denmark.
3) DENIS MENCHOV (RABOBANK):
Denis is from Russia, his team is from Holland.
4) SAMUEL SÁNCHEZ (EUSKALTEL-EUSKADI):
Sammy is from Spain, his team is from Spain.
5) JURGEN VAN DEN BROECK (OMEGA
PHARMA-LOTTO):
Jürgen is from Belgium, his team is from Belgium.
6) ROBERT GESINK (RABOBANK):
Robert is from the Netherlands, his team is from Holland.
7) RYDER HESJEDAL (GARMIN-TRANSITIONS ):
Ryder is from Canada, his team is from the United States.
8) JOAQUIN RODRIGUEZ OLIVER (KATUSHA TEAM):
Joaquin is from Spain, his team is from Russia.
9) ROMAN KREUZIGER (LIQUIGAS-DOIMO):
Roman is from Czechoslovakia, his team is from Italy.
10) CHRISTOPHER HORNER (TEAM RADIOSHACK):
Christopher is from the United States, his team is from the United States. (W-T-G, Christopher! An American rider in GC Top 10!)

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Stage 20, Sunday, July 25, 2010!
- 102.5 km or 64 miles -
This concludes the 2010 Le Tour de France!
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The 2010 Tour de France marks the 97th edition and runs 21 days starting
Saturday July 3rd to Sunday July 25th 2010.
It will be made up of 1 prologue and 20 stages and covers a total distance of 3,642 km (2,263 miles).

2010 Le Tour de France: Stage 19, Sunday, July 25th: JERSEY CHAMPIONS!

The overall JERSEY Classification Champions:
*****

YELLOW goes to ALBERTO CONTADOR (ASTANA):
Alberto is from Spain, his team is from Kazakhstan.

******

GREEN goes to ALESSANDRO PETACCHI (LAMPRE - FARNESE):
Alessandro is from Italy, his team is from Italy.

*******

RED POLKA DOT goes to ANTHONY CHARTEAU (BBOX BOUYGUES TELECOM):
Anthony is from France, his team is from France.

********

WHITE goes to ANDY SCHLECK (TEAM SAXOBANK):
Andy is from Luxembourg, his team is from Denmark.

*********

COMBATIVE goes to SYLVAIN CHAVANEL (QUICK STEP):
Sylvain is from France, his team is from Belgium.

**********

TEAM goes to TEAM RADIOSHACK (RADIOSHACK):
Team RadioShack is American and from the United States. (Yes, Lance Armstong's team, thus the moniker: RadioStrong!).

2010 Le Tour de France: Stage 19, Sunday, July 25th: CONTADOR vs. SCHLECK!

What a Tour. Never a dull moment. Only disappointed that the overall GC championship, the winner of the maillot jaune/yellow jersey/mellow johnny will forever be marked with an asterisk for many cycling fans because of the "mechanical problems" (dropped chain) during Monday's stage 15.
Per Velo News: The coincidence of Alberto Contador’s GC differential over Schleck following the stage-19 time trial — 39 seconds, the same amount of time that Schleck lost to Contador over the Port de Balés due to a mechanical problem — wasn’t lost on Schleck"
Andy regrets losing his brother during this Tour's stage 3. This year Fränk went out after a bad crash during stage 3 when he was sent to hospital with a broken collar bone, broken in three places.
Fränk Schleck came into the Tour fresh off winning the overall at the Tour of Switzerland and the Luxembourg national road championship, and younger brother Andy has said on more than one occasion that he believed Fränk had the form to finish on the podium of this year’s Tour. “I’m satisfied with the whole Tour. I know it’s going to be different next year,” Schleck said. “It’s not been a super Tour. Personally I’m really happy, I’ve won two stages and taken the best young rider’s competition, but if I would have had Fränk out there in the mountains, it would have been a different story. I know that, my team knows that, and everyone around me knows if he would have been there, it would have been different. But we leave behind what’s behind.”
Guaranteed that it will be Contador v/Schleck all over again in 2011. Ahem...make that a Schleck v/Contador rivalry as Andy has to prove himself as a true rival, challenger to Alberto in le Tour de France 2011! I am quite certain that both Andy and his brother Fränk will challenge Contador next year during le Tour 2011. If both Schleck brothers remain healthy with no incidents (same for Contador) through-out next year's Tour, let's up the ante - if you will - and just call it what it should be...a Schleck and Schleck v/Contador fight to the end.
In my personal opinion, Alberto may have excellent domestiques helping him on his Team Astana but none better to match what the Schleck brothers can do as they pull together especially in the mountains. My advice to Alberto, go find yourself a stronger team or at least three domestiques who will be able to assist you as if you were their own brother.
My how I look foward to the 2011 Le Tour de France. Sometimes known as the "Tour de Chance" like this year seems to be for the cycling world.

2010 Le Tour de France: The Final "Tour de Lance"!

So long Tour, So long France, so long to all but most to Lance!

Though I ended up a Contador fan in 2008 & 2009 and this year I was captivated by the younger of the Schleck brothers, Andy, I do feel the need to thank The Texan for instilling in me the love of cycling especially for le Tour de France. Dating back almost 10 years I began my trek into the "oh so different" world of cycling. With its strange rules, the point's system, the time's system, the time trials, the cadence and such, but it was with great care and awe that I watched without fail each year; I arose so very early each morning glued to the tele to catch each stage as I learned everything I could about the world of cycling and how it all works, about the teams, the position/responsibility which each rider must take, and what is actually at stake. In watching the Tour I became a huge fan as well of the likes of Bob Roll, Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, and Al Trautwig. (note: please excuse my use of Wikipedia but it was the only online source with data on all four gentlemen who are great cyclists/commentators in their own right). Hoping one day to muster up the nerve and courage to try riding at long intervals myself, I mainly observed as a fan on the sidelines. For every Tour that Lance won I was in his corner. For seven years straight I cheered him on with great fervor and reverence, never faltering as his fan even when the usual allegations of doping came about. For the respect I once gave to the rider, Lance Armstrong, I am in total disaccord with the disparaging accusations made by the likes of *Floyd Landis (who is a joke and a real doper) and **Greg LeMond towards Lance. Each man disappointing in their "finger pointing" and "name calling" but never seeming to be able to assist the doping boards that such a thing (doping by Lance) ever occurred. If one cannot prove their allegations, they should just remain quiet.
After all Floyd was the one who caught doping (2006 Tour) even after he went on the air for the world to see and voiced his disappointment at any allegations made towards him. He added that he "was not, was not a doper"! In the end we all know how that turned out and how sad was it when he apologized for having doped and then having lied about it, and then as his 2006 Tour de France title was stripped from him. Even more sad and perhaps embarrassing to any of his fans, especially to Americans (I among them) who thought we had found a replacement in lieu of Lance's departure. "How silly of us"! These are the very things which clearly does NOT make Floyd a man of his word or one whose claims against Lance should be taken serious. As for Greg LeMond, I am not certain why he has such an aversion and hostile nature towards Lance. Maybe I won't even try to speculate out of pure respect for what Greg has done for the world of cycling and how he helped make it popular in the U.S. as Lance surely did, but I do wish Greg would just take the high road and keep remarks and conspiracy theories to himself. Maybe I do dare to say one thing about Greg, maybe he is a bit jealous over his lack of making cycling and the Tour de France as popular and as exciting at the levels that Lance did. Maybe Greg made Lance his nemesis when he really did not need to do so. Of all the articles I have read and can recall or interviews I have seen, Lance always had a high regard and deep respect for Greg and has never spoken a bad word in reference to LeMond. Greg is four Tours behind Lance and maybe embedded deep inside his psyche he suffers from "Tour envy". Again...just my opinion.
Lance not only made the world of cycling popular here in the U.S., but it seems he helped bring an affinity for it to millions around the world. His passion for it (cycling), his love of it and how it became his saving grace as he fought off cancer and won perhaps is why so many began their love of the sport and of the man. I was captured by those things and mainly for his love of winning and how he made a science out of it. I also admired how he took huge adversity (cancer) and turned it around and made lemonade out of it when most others may have quit the sport or even life itself. Lance made cancer and how he beat it his aim, his focus, and his goal; to never succomb to the bad things life throws our way and he even laid a foundation (pardon the pun) for it and strived to keep fighting it and best of all he helped make it possible so that others could fight it as well.
Out of the ashes came LiveStrong and seven consecutive Tour de France Championships (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005)! Even if cycling fans were never fans of his, or no longer follow him - or support him (such as myself), who can deny the legacy that is Lance Armstrong in the world of cycling! No he is not a superhuman, he never claimed to be, but he is a human who was once and continues to be super! FIN!

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*Floyd Landis is an American rider who won the 2006 Tour de France but was stripped of the title after he was found to have been doping after tests taken immediately post stage 17. He suffered a complete meltdown and lost almost 10 minutes during stage 16 as the entire world of cycling watched. Suspicions almost surely and quickly arose during stage 17 when he made a super come-back - one which indeed was too good to be true.
Óscar Pereiro was eventually declared the winner of the 2006 Tour de France
**Greg LeMond is another American rider who has won the Tour de France 3 times (1986, 1989, 1990). He was the first American to ever win a Tour. He was shot and seriously injured during a hunting trip in 1987 with his brother-in-law. It took him two years to fully recuperate before he could return to the Tour.

2010 Le Tour de France: Stage 19, Saturday, July 24th: STAGE WINNER-INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIALS!

Bordeaux to Pauillac 52 km (32 miles)
Today's stage winner of the Individual Time Trials was Fabian Cancellara (Fabulous Fabe)!
Fabian is a Swiss rider and rides for Team SaxoBank, Congratulations to him!
Other Top 10 finishers in today's ITT are:
2) Martin, 3) Grabsch, 4) Konovalovas,
5) Zabriskie (American rider with Team Garmin Transitions),
6) Moerenhout, 7) Kiryienka,
8) Tjallingsii, 9) Wiggins, 10) Thomas
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Tidbit of the ITT (Individual Time Trials): Starting times are at equal intervals, usually 1 or 2 minutes apart - each rider goes out alone during this stage ITT and goes out fast almost at a sprint through-out the entire race, this year they covered a distance of 52 kms or 32 miles. They head out in the reverse order of GC standings meaning this year Schleck went out 2nd to last with Contador being the last rider to head out as he was in 1st place overall in GC. Contre la montre is the French version of the ITT which literally means "against the clock".

2010 Le Tour de France: Stage 19, Saturday, July 24th: GC!

In GC (General Classification=Overall Leader):
1) CONTADOR 2) SCHLECK 3) *MENCHOV
4) *S. SÁNCHEZ 5) VAN DEN BROECK 6) GESINK
7) *HESJEDAL 8) *RODRIGUEZ OLIVER
9) KREUZIGER 10) HORNER.

*Top 10 changes: Sammy Sánchez lost his GC position and a podium finish to Denis Menchov. Denis, being the stronger rider, slides into 3rd and he will now have his podium finish on Sunday. Sammy drops to 4th which is still a position of pride and success but perhaps one which just may bring the biggest sting because the rider knows that he narrowly missed a podium Tour finish. Especially stingful for Sánchez as he was holding that position for several stages until today's ITT. Other changes, Hesjedal takes over 7th place as Rodriguez Oliver slips to 8th.

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Action resumes on Sunday, July 25, 2010 with Stage 20.
It is dubbed the "grand finale", the final stage of the Tour.
It will begin in beautiful Pauillac towards the
most picturesque city in the world/en le monde, Paris.
It will consist of 102.5 km or 64 miles.
*************************************************
********************************************
The 2010 Tour de France marks the 97th edition and runs 21 days starting
Saturday July 3rd to Sunday July 25th 2010.
It will be made up of 1 prologue and 20 stages and covers a total distance of 3,642 km (2,263 miles).