Mont Ventoux Decides Tour Top Finishers

Garate Wins Ventoux, Contador Secures Yellow Jersey, Armstrong Gets Podium Spot

Spain’s Manuel Garate won a tough 103-mile stage up the famed Mont Ventoux in today’s penultimate day of the Tour de France. Germany’s Tony Martin finished a close second— an impressive feat for the young rider from team Columbia HTC.

Andy Schleck (L), Frank Schleck (C), Lance Armstrong (R)

The intense race for the top three podium spots played out just seconds behind today’s winner. Despite numerous attacks, Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck could not shake off yellow jersey holder Alberto Contador, who stuck to his wheel like a Spanish fly on a horse.

Schleck and his brother Frank also tried but failed to drop Lance Armstrong, who started the day in third place 15 seconds ahead of Frank. The seven-time Tour de France Champion, who finished second twice on Ventoux in 2000 and 2002, finished fifth today with the Schlecks, sealing a third place podium finish in Paris on Sunday. “For an old fart, ending on the podium with these guys is not so bad,” said the 37-year-old Armstrong.

Britain’s Bradley Wiggins suffered over the last miles on Ventoux, getting dropped and then pulling himself back into the fray. He finished a minute back and maintains his fourth place in the overall standings.

Contador, now the all-but-certified Tour Champion, leads second-placed Andy Schleck by 4:11, Armstrong 5:24, Bradley Wiggins in fourth at 6:01, and Frank Schleck in fifth, 6:04.

Tomorrow’s final stage in Paris will be a showdown for sprinters Mark Cavendish and green jersey holder Thor Hushovd. Plan to see the Astana and Saxo-Bank boys celebrate this year’s Tour with champagne during their ride on the Champs Élysées.

–Le Tour Babe

Tour de France: What’s Coming Up

There are two weeks and 1300 miles left to race in the Tour de France. There will be six sprint stages, five mountain stages, one more rest day and a relatively flat individual time trial. Nine men have dropped out, leaving 171 still in the race.

On Tuesday, the Tour resumes in Limoges, in central France, and follows with a stages in the northeast plains before turning south into the Alps. Expect to see some intense action among main contenders Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong and Andy Schleck when the race hits the high mountains. We may also see some surprises from underdogs Christian Vande Velde, Bradley Wiggins and Luis Leon Sanchez who are racing well.

The penultimate day of the Tour is going to decide who is champion. Stage 20 starts at Montelimar and ends 103 miles later at the top of Mount Ventoux. Never before has there been a mountain-top finish the day before Paris. This is sure to keep us watching.

–Le Tour Babe

Tour de France Stage 20: Sastre Assured Yellow Jersey

Carlos Sastre finished today’s 32-mile time trial fast enough to keep the yellow jersey. Barring an accident or surprise in tomorrow’s final stage in Paris, Sastre is the new Tour de France Champion. He is 65 seconds ahead of Cadel Evans, who pundits incorrectly predicted would overtake the yellow jersey today. But Evans didn’t have the legs and the pundits failed to consider the power of yellow, “when worn,” they say, “it gives a rider wings.”

The time trial is the “test of truth,” and today, new truths were revealed. World Time Trial Champion Fabian Cancellara learned there is someone faster than him in the game. Germany’s Stefan Schumacher beat Cancellara today by 21 seconds. When Schumacher beat Cancellara in stage four’s time trial, critics wrote it off as an unusually bad day for “Fabulous C.” But Schumacher’s victory today was no fluke.

Another moment of truth: America’s new tour hopeful Christian Vandevelde is one bad-ass time trialist– a necessary talent for any Tour champion. VdV finished fourth in the time trial– a minute ahead of the top contenders. His outstanding performance moves him up to fifth place in the overall standings. That’s great news for the new team in argyle, Garmin Chipotle, which touts its cleanliness and shows riders can do well at the Tour without dope.

Team Columbia‘s Kim Kirchen finished an impressive third place in the time trial. That moves him into the top ten. Kirchen was my pick to win the Tour. He wore the yellow jersey for four days and green sprinter’s jersey for six stages. He’s a good all-around rider and finished seventh in last year’s Tour. He won’t win this year, but he’ll have his day in yellow again.

Another name to remember: Bernhard “Burn Hard” Kohl. The German from team Gerolsteiner is one of the most clumsy-looking riders in the Tour, but he is “King of the Mountains.” Kohl is awarded the red and white polka dot jersey for earning the most points over the mountain climbs. He and teammate Schumacher will be a heck of a duo in the future.

Team CSC brothers Frank and Andy Schleck became household names in this Tour. Their leader Carlos Sastre owes them and the entire team a lot of thanks for all of the pulls and pushes in the mountains. Andy Schleck won the white young rider’s jersey– the shirt that indicates future Tour champions. Andy has earned his wings. The nine CSC boys will stand on the podium in Paris as the best team. They deserve it.

The final day of the Tour de France is more of a parade than a race. The sprinters will put on a show in the final laps through the Champs-Élysées, but the 89-miles will be essentially a time for riders to glow in glory and say goodbye. It’s been an intense three weeks of competition and it’s going to be a shame to see it end. Of course, there’s still tomorrow in Paris.