Contador wins tainted tour
Afp, Paris
Spaniard Alberto Contador won the drug-tainted Tour de France here on Sunday when he held on to his 23sec lead overnight lead on Australia's Cadel Evans to secure the race's fabled yellow jersey.Contador, who rides for the Discovery Channel team, becomes the first Spaniard to win the three-week race since Miguel Indurain, the first ever five-time consecutive winner, in 1991-1995. The 24-year-old Contador, who hails from Madrid, virtually secured his first ever yellow jersey -- on only his second ride in the race -- after a fifth place finish in the penultimate stage time trial in Angouleme on Saturday. He finished 2min 18secs behind American teammate Levi Leipheimer after the 55.5km race against the clock, but was forced to dig deep to prevent the ever-present Evans from causing a major upset. The 30-year-old Australian, a former Commonwealth Games time trial champion, started the 19th stage with a deficit of 1min 50sec on Contador but kept the Spaniard on his toes by finishing just 51secs behind Leipheimer to close the gap significantly.In the end Contador held on to keep Evans off the top step of the podium, while the race's final stage on Sunday finished in a bunch sprint that was dominated by Italian Daniele Bennati of the Lampre team.
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Yellow Jersey holder Spaniard Alberto Contador of Discovery Channel team races as he drinks champagne with teammates before the start of the 146-km long 20th and last stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Marcoussis and Paris yesterday. Contador won the race by 23 seconds from second-placed Cadel Evans of Australia. PHOTO: AFP |
