Professional cycling’s biggest competition, the Tour De France, was won by BMC Racing team’s Cadel Evans, the first Australian in the race’s long history to have won the annual cycling spectacle.
Having finished runner up on two previous occasions at the 2007 Tour De France and 2008 Tour De France, respectively, unlike previous years, everything seemed to be going right in this year’s tour for the Australian.
Heading into stage 20, Evans was required to make up 57 seconds over Andy Schleck in the deciding stage of the Grenoble time trial.
It was the race’s only individual time trial with it coming down to a battle of wills between the two top contenders in Andy Shleck and Cadel Evans.
The shorter length of the 42km time trial, as well as its hillier terrain, casted doubt over whether Evans could win it.
Even though Cadel is considered to be a far better time trialist then Shleck, he would have preferred a flatter deciding stage, so it was always going to be a difficult challenge for the Australian to make up the time difference.
After the first 15km interval of the time trial, Evans was 36 seconds faster then his biggest rival Andy Shleck and the way he was riding he looked like a man possessed.
Before the Grenoble time trial was even half completed, Evans managed to bridge the gap on the yellow jersey rider, and it was looking like the previous two days in the mountains were taking their toll on the 26-year-old Leopard Trek rider
As it turned out, Cadel Evans did the time trial of his career, riding the second fastest time trial of the day, only 7 seconds slower then Tony Martin who won stage 20 to finally win his first Tour De France.
Interestingly, over the previous 3 weeks of racing, Evans did not wear the yellow jersey once, whether or not that was the master plan all along, we will have to wait to find out.
Both Luxembourg brothers will be standing on the final podium in Paris but will have to wait at least another year to push on to try and win the Tour.
Stage 20 results were as follows:
1. Tony Martin (Germany) HTC-Highroad 42.5km in 55’33”
2. Cadel Evans (Australia) BMC Racing Team @ 7s
3. Alberto Contador (Spain) Saxo Bank-Sungard @ 1’06”
4. Thomas De Gendt (Belgium) Vacansoleil-DCM @ 1’29”
5. Richie Porte (Australia) Saxo Bank-SunGard @ 1’30”