Spaniard Alberto Contador has secured his second Tour de France overall victory after finishing the 21st and final stage on Sunday. Today’s stage, that finished on the Champs Elysees, was won by Britain’s Mark Cavendish of the Columbia-HTC team bringing his tally to six stage wins, equalling the record for individual wins in a single Tour.
Contador finished the 96th edition of the Tour de France with a lead of 4min 11sec on Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck of Saxo Bank. At 26 years of age, the Spaniards dominance in the race could see him set his sights on the record of seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
Armstrong, Contador’s teammate at Astana, remarkably managed to secure third overall at 5:24 off the pace after coming out of a three-and-a-half year retirement. At 37 years of age, the American planning on coming back next year with his new Radio Shack team to try again for win number eight.
Schleck, 24, won the race’s white jersey for the best placed rider aged 25 and under for the second year in a row.
Norwegian Thor Hushovd finished well enough to keep the sprinters’ green jersey for the points competition, while Italian Franco Pellizotti of Liquigas won the polka dot jersey for the race’s best climber.
Full report to come.