Stage Twenty

Well, we said that the Alpe d’Huez stage was the one we were all waiting for. But somehow we knew deep down that it would come down to the last time trial.

Cerilly to Saint Amand-Montrond Time Trial 53km

Well, we said that the Alpe d’Huez stage was the one we were all waiting for. But somehow we knew deep down that it would come down to the last time trial. Did Cadel Evans give Sastre too much time on stage seventeen, or did he calculate it correctly?

Carlos Sastre did hardly anything in the Tour until that stage, so would he have fresher legs or would Cadel, who has basically fought against the entire CSC team, have enough left in the tank?

One hundred and forty five riders began the time trial from the 180 who began the Tour in Brest. Early in the day there was some rain, making the roads wet. But it passed and the roads were perfectly dry for the ‘race of truth’.

Advertise Here

For a long time Danny Pate of Garmin Chipotle held the fastest time of 1:06.44, until he was passed by Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner) who rode in at 1:06.09. British champ David Millar was flying along and took first place but unfortunately for him, he was only to hold the position for 44 seconds. Fabien Cancellara the World Champion started two minutes behind Millar but pulled back 1:16 over the course to smash Millar’s first place and set the benchmark for everyone else.

Eventually we got down to the pointy end of the race. Christian Vande Velde rolled down the start ramp and then Menchov. Cadel Evans appeared very nervous on the start ramp. I could have sworn he was shaking. But also he was looking extremely focussed. Meanwhile, Stefan Schumacher who had a wonderful Tour, had beaten Fabien Cancellara’s time by 21 seconds and Bernhard Kohl had somehow fallen off the start ramp.

Then Carlos Sastre, with the yellow jersey on his back began his defence.

At the first time check Evans was 16 seconds slower than Menchov who was only 1:05 behind him at the start of the day. Bernhard Kohl went through four seconds faster than Evans and Frank Schleck was way off the pace. Sastre was riding well losing only 12 seconds to Evans at the first check. It had become a race of four riders, Evans, Menchov, Kohl and Sastre.

Cadel was not gaining enough on Sastre during the first quarter of the course. Could he do it on the second half? At the second time check he had stopped losing time to Menchov and had started to put a few seconds into Kohl. But Sastre, with history beckoning, had only lost 23 seconds at the first time check. The effort was beginning to tell on Cadel and his shoulders were rocking badly. Twenty three seconds was about a third of what he needed if he was going to win the Tour.

The second half of the course was the most difficult being hilly and into a headwind. Evans was gaining on Kohl but ever so slowly. Coming over the finish line in seventh place. He held off Menchov, he held off Kohl, just. But the yellow jersey inspired Sastre to ride the time trial of his life and hold onto it into Paris one minute and five seconds ahead of Cadel Evans.

“Ultimately, I am grateful because I knew that I was going to keep the yellow jersey,” the Spanish rider said. It was very difficult to retain it but still I managed to do it. Now I’m happy because I have a guarantee that it will all end well tomorrow.

“Winning the Tour de France is a dream come true. Above all, it's a special day for the whole CSC-Saxo Bank team. It was impossible to do this without them. It is extremely motivating to know that all the riders were ready to be at my service.”

Cadel Evans was philosophical after the time trial. “You know, first I've got to be happy that I finished the race. I’m still a bit sore and aching in places. After that crash I was lucky to be able to finish the stage.”

A lot has been made of the weakness of the Silence-Lotto team. Evans has been saying for years that he would like more help and this year he was supposed to have got it. But the results proved otherwise with Popovych the most notably absent.

“I would have liked some more support in the high mountains. At least one team member to ride with me and help at the tough end of a climbing stage,” Cadel said. “I would also have expected a bit more help from some other key riders when the pressure was on in the big climbs.”

Results