In the finishing sprint, Cavendish enjoyed a fine lead-out from his HTC-Highroad squad across the Place de la Concorde.

Cadel Evans has become the first Australian to capture cycling’s most prestigious title.

The 34-year-old Evans crossed the finish line on the Champs-Elysee at the end of the largely ceremonial final stage. He had virtually secured the title with his ride in the time trial in Grenoble a day earlier.

Andy Schleck of Luxembourg finished second overall for the third straight year, with brother Frank Schleck in third.

Evans’ triumph avoided heaping yet more controversy on cycling, for had pre-race favourite Contador won, the result would have been decided by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Mark Cavendish’s fifth stage win of this Tour affords him his first ever victory in the points classification, a prize that had eluded him in his three previous participations in the race.

The polka-dot jersey – awarded to the best climber – went to Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez of Spain, while the best young rider was Pierre Rolland of France.

Post race interview with Mark Cavendish:

Final GC standings after Stage 21:

1. Cadel Evans (AUS/BMC) 86h12min 22sec – winner
2. Andy Schleck (LUX/LEO) at 1:34.
3. Frank Schleck (LUX/LEO) 2:30.
4. Thomas Voeckler (FRA/EUC) 3:20.
5. Alberto Contador (ESP/SAX) 3:57.
6. Samuel Sanchez (ESP/EUS) 4:55.
7. Damiano Cunego (ITA/LAM) 6:05.
8. Ivan Basso (ITA/LIQ) 7:23.
9. Tom Danielson (USA/GRM) 8:15.
10. Jean Christophe Peraud (FRA/ALM) 10:11.
11. Pierre Rolland (FRA/EUC) 10:43.
12. Rein Taaramae (EST/COF) 11:29.
13. Kevin De Weert (BEL/QST) 16:29.
14. Jrome Coppel (FRA/SAU) 18:36.
15. Arnold Jeannesson (FRA/FDJ) 21:20.
16. Haimar Zubeldia (ESP/RSH) 26:23.
17. Christian Vande Velde (USA/GRM) 27:12.
18. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN/GRM) 27:14.
19. Peter Velits (SVK/HTC) 28:54.
20. Jelle Vanendert (BEL/OLO) 32:41.
21. Rob Ruijgh (NED/VAC) 33:04.
22. Hubert Dupont (FRA/ALM) 36:54.
23. Vladimir Gusev (RUS/KAT) 42:26.
24. Rigoberto Uran (COL/SKY) 42:48.
25. Gorka Verdugo (ESP/EUS) 43:06.
26. Nicolas Roche (IRL/ALM) 46:23.
27. Sandy Casar (FRA/FDJ) 50:28.
28. Vladimir Karpets (RUS/KAT) 52:25.
29. Maxime Monfort (BEL/LEO) 53:16.
30. Yury Trofimov (RUS/KAT) 56:46.
31. Geraint Thomas (GBR/SKY) 1h00:48.
32. Levi Leipheimer (USA/RSH) 1h03:58.
33. Robert Gesink (NED/RAB) 1h05:09.
34. Egoi Martinez (ESP/EUS) 1h08:28.
35. Carlos Barredo (ESP/RAB) 1h12:58.
36. David Arroyo (ESP/MOV) 1h14:40.
37. Chris Anker Srensen (DEN/SAX) 1h14:42.
38. Philippe Gilbert (BEL/OLO) 1h14:51.
39. Remy Di Gregorio (FRA/AST) 1h22:04.
40. Julien El Fars (FRA/COF) 1h24:21.
41. David Moncouti (FRA/COF) 1h25:25.
42. Sylvester Szmyd (POL/LIQ) 1h25:37.
43. Cyril Gautier (FRA/EUC) 1h27:43.
44. Tony Martin (GER/HTC) 1h30:56.
45. Andrej Zeits (KAZ/AST) 1h31:48.
46. Dries Devenyns (BEL/QST) 1h34:06.
47. Yannick Talabardon (FRA/SAU) 1h34:51.
48. Xavier Zandio (ESP/SKY) 1h35:18.
49. Steve Morabito (SUI/BMC) 1h37:57.
50. Jakob Diemer Fuglsang (DEN/LEO) 1h39:58.
51. Christophe Riblon (FRA/ALM) 1h43:47.
52. Anthony Charteau (FRA/EUC) 1h43:49.
53. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR/SKY) 1h44:39.
54. Jrme Pineau (FRA/QST) 1h44:41.
55. Maxime Bouet (FRA/ALM) 1h44:45.
56. George Hincapie (USA/BMC) 1h45:16.
57. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP/RAB) 1h46:09.
58. Laurens ten Dam (NED/RAB) 1h47:02.
59. David Loosli (SUI/LAM) 1h51:08.
60. Linus Gerdemann (GER/LEO) 1h51:19.
61. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA/QST) 1h52:21.
62. Daniel Navarro (ESP/SAX) 1h53:22.
63. Thomas DE GEN (BEL/VAC) 1h54:11.
64. Christian Knees (GER/SKY) 1h56:12.
65. Amal Moinard (FRA/BMC) 1h58:43.
66. Gorka Izagirre (ESP/EUS) 1h59:47.
67. Jens Voigt (GER/LEO) 1h59:56.
68. Thor Hushovd (NOR/GRM) 2h03:15.
69. Maciej Paterski (POL/LIQ) 2h03:56.
70. Bauke Mollema (NED/RAB) 2h06:35.
71. Grischa Niermann (GER/RAB) 2h07:26.
72. Richie Porte (AUS/SAX) 2h09:24.
73. Egor Silin (RUS/KAT) 2h10:05.
74. Johnny Hoogerland (NED/VAC) 2h11:51.
75. Ruben Perez Moreno (ESP/EUS) 2h12:28.
76. David Millar (GBR/GRM) 2h14:56.
77. Gianni Meersman (BEL/FDJ) 2h17:27.
78. Stuart O’Grady (AUS/LEO) 2h17:58.
79. Tony Gallopin (FRA/COF) 2h18:19.
80. Jos Joaquin Rojas (ESP/MOV) 2h22:54.
81. Sergio Paulinho (POR/RSH) 2h24:29.
82. Tejay Van Garderen (USA/HTC) 2h25:49.
83. Ivan Santaromita (ITA/BMC) 2h27:12.
84. Markel Irizar (ESP/RSH) 2h27:13.
85. Jrgen Roelandts (BEL/OLO) 2h27:28.
86. Jeremy Roy (FRA/FDJ) 2h28:27.
87. Kristjan Koren (SLO/LIQ) 2h29:24.
88. Imanol Erviti (ESP/MOV) 2h29:47.
89. Marco Marcato (ITA/VAC) 2h30:09.
90. Rui Costa (POR/MOV) 2h31:34.
91. Adriano Malori (ITA/LAM) 2h31:47.
92. Jesus Hernandez (ESP/SAX) 2h32:00.
93. Matteo Bono (ITA/LAM) 2h35:45.
94. Alan Perez Lezaun (ESP/EUS) 2h36:14.
95. Nicki Srensen (DEN/SAX) 2h36:26.
96. Simon Gerrans (AUS/SKY) 2h37:25.
97. Jonathan Hivert (FRA/SAU) 2h37:37.
98. Juan Antonio Flecha (ESP/SKY) 2h41:04.
99. Maartens Tjallingii (NED/RAB) 2h41:41.
100. Daniel Oss (ITA/LIQ) 2h47:07.
101. Anthony Roux (FRA/FDJ) 2h47:49.
102. Ivan Gutierrez (ESP/MOV) 2h49:23.
103. Michael Schr (SUI/BMC) 2h49:37.
104. Arthur Vichot (FRA/FDJ) 2h49:49.
105. Maxim Iglinskiy (KAZ/AST) 2h53:50.
106. Dmitriy Fofonov (KAZ/AST) 2h53:59.
107. Alessandro Petacchi (ITA/LAM) 2h54:20.
108. Joost Posthuma (NED/LEO) 2h55:25.
109. Danilo Hondo (GER/LAM) 3h00:00.
110. Sbastien Minard (FRA/ALM) 3h00:04.
111. Sbastien Hinault (FRA/ALM) 3h00:44.
112. Roman Kreuziger (CZE/AST) 3h00:59.
113. Sebastian Lang (GER/OLO) 3h01:51.
114. Brent Bookwalter (USA/BMC) 3h03:47.
115. Manuel Quinziato (ITA/BMC) 3h04:47.
116. Benjamin Noval (ESP/SAX) 3h06:29.
117. Blel Kadri (FRA/ALM) 3h07:07.
118. Tristan Valentin (FRA/COF) 3h07:10.
119. Fabian Cancellara (SUI/LEO) 3h07:31.
120. Sbastien Turgot (FRA/EUC) 3h08:34.
121. Fabio-Leonardo Duque (COL/COF) 3h08:41.
122. Laurent Mangel (FRA/SAU) 3h10:19.
123. Matteo Tosatto (ITA/SAX) 3h10:36.
124. Fabrice Jeandesboz (FRA/SAU) 3h11:47.
125. Brian Vandborg (DEN/SAX) 3h13:43.
126. Paolo Longo Borghini (ITA/LIQ) 3h13:44.
127. Grega Bole (SLO/LAM) 3h14:15.
128. Lieuwe Westra (NED/VAC) 3h14:15.
129. Dmitry Muravyev (KAZ/RSH) 3h14:29.
130. Mark Cavendish (GBR/HTC) 3h15:05.
131. Michael Buffaz (FRA/COF) 3h15:12.
132. Mickael Delage (FRA/FDJ) 3h15:39.
133. Alessandro Vanotti (ITA/LIQ) 3h16:00.
134. Niki Terpstra (NED/QST) 3h16:38.
135. Anthony Delaplace (FRA/SAU) 3h16:58.
136. Borut Božic (SLO/VAC) 3h17:11.
137. Ben Swift (ENG/SKY) 3h18:07.
138. Jeremie Galland (FRA/SAU) 3h19:46.
139. Francisco Ventoso (ESP/MOV) 3h20:02.
140. Tomas Vaitkus (LTU/AST) 3h20:07.
141. Marcel Sieberg (GER/OLO) 3h21:39.
142. Matthew Goss (AUS/HTC) 3h22:32.
143. Maciej Bodnar (POL/LIQ) 3h23:30.
144. Andriy Grivko (UKR/AST) 3h26:22.
145. Julian Dean (NZL/GRM) 3h28:00.
146. Addy Engels (NED/QST) 3h29:04.
147. Mikhail Ignatiev (RUS/KAT) 3h29:07.
148. Arnaud Coyot (FRA/SAU) 3h29:20.
149. Pablo Urtasun (ESP/EUS) 3h30:17.
150. Gerald Ciolek (GER/QST) 3h30:22.
151. Perrig Quemeneur (FRA/EUC) 3h30:35.
152. Romain Zingle (BEL/COF) 3h31:30.
153. Denys Kostyuk (UKR/LAM) 3h31:42.
154. Lars Ytting Bak (DEN/HTC) 3h33:25.
155. Vincent Jrme (FRA/EUC) 3h34:37.
156. Andr Greipel (GER/OLO) 3h35:04.
157. Ramunas Navardauskas (LTU/GRM) 3h36:53.
158. Yohann Gene (FRA/EUC) 3h38:13.
159. Tyler Farrar (USA/GRM) 3h38:32.
160. Jimmy Engoulvent (FRA/SAU) 3h38:34.
161. Bernhard Eisel (AUT/HTC) 3h39:56.
162. Samuel Dumoulin (FRA/COF) 3h43:17.
163. Mark Renshaw (AUS/HTC) 3h44:00.
164. Marcus Burghardt (GER/BMC) 3h44:08.
165. Danny Pate (USA/HTC) 3h45:26.
166. Audrey Amador (CRC/MOV) 3h54:35.
167. Fabio Sabatini (ITA/LIQ) 3h57:43.

BMC leader Evans started the 42.5km race against the clock with a 57-second deficit to Schleck in the overall standings but easily erased that on his way to second place behind stage winner Tony Martin of Germany. Last years winner Alberto Contador had a strong ride for third in the stage.

Barring catastrophe, Evans will take the podium for the overall win on Sunday, thirty years after fellow countryman Phil Anderson became the first Australian to wear the yellow jersey of the Tour de France.

“Really, I can’t quite believe it,” Evans said. “I rode the best time trial I could today. Every day, we rode the best we could. Every day, the team did 99.9 percent, if not 100 percent. I had a couple of off days, a couple moments of bad luck. But we just kept to our plan and every day we kept working.”

Andy Schleck finished 1’34″ back from Evans and fell to second place in the general classification. Andy and brother Frank will have the small consolation of being the first set of brothers to feature in the same Tour de France podium after Frank successfully defended his third place in the overall standings.

“I was really focused on this time trial,” said Andy. “I realized the full importance of it. We did the reconnaissance this morning and remained committed to leaving everything out on the course.”

“Cadel did the time trial of his life, and he deserves to win the Tour,” noted Andy. “We know we did everything we could do in the mountains and today. Both Fränk and I probably did the best time trials we have ever done, but it wasn’t good enough. We don’t have any regrets in this perspective.”

Post race interview Cadel Evans:

Stage 21 preview:

For much of the peloton the first part of the final stage is usually spent celebrating having survived the carnage, with the overall champion likely to get a first taste of champagne on the way. Once Paris is in sight, however, the sprinters teams will start winding up the speed before what should be a bunch finish on the Champs-Elysees. Watch out for Mark Cavendish, Andre Greipel, Tyler Farrar and Thor Hushovd.

Video of Stage 21 route:

Overall standings after Stage 20:

1. Cadel Evans (AUS/BMC) 83h45min 20sec
2. Andy Schleck (LUX/LEO) at 1:34.
3. Frank Schleck (LUX/LEO) 2:30.
4. Thomas Voeckler (FRA/EUC) 3:20.
5. Alberto Contador (ESP/SAX) 3:57.
6. Samuel Sanchez (ESP/EUS) 4:55.
7. Damiano Cunego (ITA/LAM) 6:06.
8. Ivan Basso (ITA/LIQ) 7:23.
9. Tom Danielson (USA/GRM) 8:15.
10. Jean Christophe Peraud (FRA/ALM) 10:11.
11. Pierre Rolland (FRA/EUC) 10:43.
12. Rein Taaramae (EST/COF) 11:30.
13. Kevin De Weert (BEL/QST) 16:29.
14. Jérome Coppel (FRA/SAU) 18:36.
15. Arnold Jeannesson (FRA/FDJ) 21:21.
16. Haimar Zubeldia (ESP/RSH) 26:24.
17. Christian Vande Velde (USA/GRM) 27:12.
18. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN/GRM) 27:15.
19. Peter Velits (SVK/HTC) 28:54.
20. Jelle Vanendert (BEL/OLO) 31:43.
21. Rob Ruijgh (NED/VAC) 33:04.
22. Hubert Dupont (FRA/ALM) 36:54.
23. Vladimir Gusev (RUS/KAT) 42:27.
24. Rigoberto Uran (COL/SKY) 42:48.
25. Gorka Verdugo (ESP/EUS) 43:07.

Schleck was only denied the overall lead by a late surge up the climb from yellow jersey wearer Thomas Voeckler.

The French rider put up a successful effort to retain the yellow jersey on the punishing second of three day’s riding in the Alps, crossing the 2 645 metre Col du Galibier summit in fifth.

Schleck, who began the day 2min 36sec behind Voeckler, gambled with a solo attack on the gruelling 23km climb up Galibier, and he rounded the final bend with yellow in his grasp.

But Voeckler gritted his teeth to hold onto the lead by 15sec.

Schleck’s brother, Frank, took second in the stage to be third in the overall standings, 1:08 adrift, with Australian Cadel Evans, third to cross the line, 1:12 off the lead in fourth.

Alberto Contador, bidding for a fourth successive title, was the day’s biggest loser.

The Spaniard started out on the gruelling 200.5km run in sixth, 3:15 off the pace, but dropped back to seventh to lie 4:44 behind Voeckler after failing to keep tabs with his main yellow jersey contenders in the closing kms.

Post race interview Andy Schleck:

Stage 19 preview:

A total of three climbs are on the menu, the Col du Telegraphe, the Col du Galibier — for the second day in a row and in reverse — and the Alpe d’Huez. It is a fairly short stage, meaning nerves could be frayed before the start as early escapes have a chance of going all the way. Watch out for all the GC contenders making their move in the final Alp stage Keep an eye on the Schleck brothers, Cadel Evans and Thomas Voeckler.

Video of Stage 19 route:

Overall standings after Stage 18:

1. Thomas Voeckler (FRA/EUC) 79h34min 06sec
2. Andy Schleck (LUX/LEO) at 0:15.
3. Frank Schleck (LUX/LEO) 1:08.
4. Cadel Evans (AUS/BMC) 1:12.
5. Damiano Cunego (ITA/LAM) 3:46.
6. Ivan Basso (ITA/LIQ) 3:46.
7. Alberto Contador (ESP/SAX) 4:44.
8. Samuel Sanchez (ESP/EUS) 5:20.
9. Tom Danielson (USA/GRM) 7:08.
10. Jean Christophe Peraud (FRA/ALM) 9:27.
11. Rein Taaramae (EST/COF) 9:36.
12. Pierre Rolland (FRA/EUC) 10:09.
13. Kevin De Weert (BEL/QST) 11:21.
14. Haimar Zubeldia (ESP/RSH) 12:01.
15. Rigoberto Uran (COL/SKY) 12:46.
16. Jelle Vanendert (BEL/OLO) 13:08.
17. Jrome Coppel (FRA/SAU) 15:30.
18. Arnold Jeannesson (FRA/FDJ) 15:32.
19. Nicolas Roche (IRL/ALM) 16:43.
20. Rob Ruijgh (NED/VAC) 20:05.

“We have developed our new team, aiming for a fresh and innovative style”, general manager Brian Nygaard told a news conference in Luxembourg.

“With riders on the roster who can win from the first race of the season to the final, we are looking to be competitive in a lots of races,” said Nygaard.

Team kit looks very slick, no leopard spots!

2011 Team Leopard Trek Madone road bike

Full team roster:
Daniele Bennati (ITA) (age 30)
Fabian Cancellara (SUI) (age 29)
Will Clarke (AUS) (age 25)
Stefan Denifl (AUT) (age 23)
Brice Feillu (FRA) (age 25)
Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) (age 25)
Linus Gerdemann (GER) (age 28)
Dominic Klemme (GER) (age 24)
Anders Lund (DEN) (age 25)
Maxime Monfort (BEL) (age 27)
Martin Mortensen (DEN) (age 26)
Giacomo Nizzolo (ITA) (age 21)
Stuart O’Grady (AUS) (age 37)
Martin Pedersen (DEN) (age 27)
Joost Posthuma (NED) (age 29)
Andy Schleck (LUX) (age 25)
Fränk Schleck (LUX) (age 30)
Tom Stamsnijder (NED) (age 25)
Bruno Pires (POR) (age 29)
Davide Viganò (ITA) (age 26)
Jens Voigt (GER) (age 39)
Robert Wagner (GER) (age 27)
Fabian Wegmann (GER) (age 30)
Wouter Weylandt (BEL) (age 26)
Oliver Zaugg (SUI) (age 29)

I cant wait to watch this team ride this year, the Tour sure is going to be interesting. The team makes it first appearance at the Tour Down Under next week.

The 30-year-old from Canberra, a three-time world time trial champion, brings a wealth of stage-racing experience as a veteran of nine Grand Tours.

Sports director Sean Yates is delighted to have Rogers on board and feels he can be a great role model for the younger riders on the team.

He said: “Michael is a consummate professional and great addition to the team. He has proven himself in big races right throughout his career and that experience will be an invaluable asset to us.

Rogers is excited to begin this new chapter of his career at Team Sky and has no qualms about taking a central role within the squad.

He said: “I like the direction and general outlook of the team and am delighted to be here. Having ridden against them this year it was clear to see the team were learning and improving all the time and I expect that to continue next season.

“I’ve been lucky enough to ride with some great riders in the past and have learned a lot from them. If they want me to, I am more than happy to pass some of that experience along and I will do whatever I can to help the team’s progression.”

In other news, seasoned Tour de France campaigner Stuart O’Grady has confirmed his departure from Saxo Bank by signing with the Luxembourg Cycling Project being led by Schleck brothers Andy and Frank.

The Schlecks caused a minor upset recently by quitting Saxo Bank, owned and managed by former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis, and many of their former team-mates have followed suit.

O’Grady, a former winner of the gruelling Paris-Roubaix one-day classic, has also been instrumental in Saxo Bank’s successes on the Tour de France in recent years, displaying leadership qualities in his role as road captain.

Looks like its going to be a potent team.

Schleck, born June 10, 1985, is preparing for the Tour of Spain which kicks off in Seville on Saturday and runs through until September 19, and also hopes to race the Tour of Lombardy in Italy on October 16.

But the Luxembourg cycling federation announced on Tuesday that Schleck would not be representing the country at the championships.

Courtesy AFP

When I was a young lad my maths teacher asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up. I was 14 and thought I knew it all. At that age studying took a back seat and when you’re in love with cycling as much I as was back then, there’s only one distraction on your mind: Girls.

I digress. So, for whatever reason the teacher pulled me up for misbehaving in class and when he asked, I replied, ‘win the Tour de France.’

“Well Andy, you win the Tour and I’ll come to Paris to see you in yellow and then walk back to Luxembourg. Until then behave in my class and study hard. Do we have a deal?”

This summer, my old maths teacher was a pretty nervous guy. He still teaches at the same school and everyone there knows about our agreement. ‘Got your walking boots ready, sir? Hope you’re feeling fit…’ He’d been watching the television coverage throughout the race.

Well, in the end my teacher got off and didn’t have to walk the 400-plus kilometres back home, but there’s always next year and I hope to see him in Paris with his walking shoes!

It was a pretty hard Tour but I hope that everyone who watched it at the side of the road, on the television or the internet, enjoyed the action. Right now I’m sitting on a bed in a hotel room in Eindhoven. Jakob Fulgsang is lying on a bed next to me and we’re about to get up and head to a post-Tour criterium.

Tomorrow I’ll head home and do a criterium there, too. The post-crit series are almost obligatory for riders who’ve performed well at the Tour. They’re fast and furious but a lot of fun. They’re a great way of getting closer to the public, which is something I really enjoy. At the Tour you’ve got to be totally focussed and can’t stop for autographs and photos as much as you’d like to, but at the crits the atmosphere is far more relaxed.

I’ll also be riding San Sebastian on the weekend, while I can also confirm that I’ll be riding the Vuelta alongside my brother Fränk. I rode part of the race last year but had to pull out through illness. This year I’ll go in with a relaxed mood but hope to still have some of my form from the Tour. Fränk could do a very good ride there so I’ll be trying to support him as much as I can.

But before I get ready for the Vuelta I’m in desperate need of some me-time. I’m going to take few days off when I get home and shut myself away from the outside world. The Tour is just one big stress-fest with action from start to finish so I’m looking forward to sitting back and doing what I want for a change. Maybe I’ll go fishing, maybe I’ll just sit around and chill out, I really don’t know but the mere thought of kicking back without a plan makes me smile.

I guess I should talk about what happened at the Tour in a bit more detail. You’ve probably seen me on TV or read my comments in the press enough already but I want to say a couple of things. The first is a big thank you to my team. There was lots of speculation at this year’s race with regards to next year, but everyone on the team from the riders, to the cooks, to the management all acted in a really professional way. The team were fantastic in supporting me and I have to say a big thank you to them publicly.

The best moment for me personally at the Tour has to be when I took the yellow jersey. I’ve won big races before and been on many podium but pulling on that yellow jersey was such a special moment. It brought me to a place I’ve never been before.

When I was that young kid in school the Tour was all about the yellow jersey. I used to ride home from class pretending I was wearing it, sprinting up climbs as if they were the Tourmalet. The day I pulled on yellow is a day I’ll never forget.

Moving to the final time trial before Paris I knew that I could ride a good stage. I think the course suited me in the sense that it was constant, even if it was pancake-flat.

When I heard that I was just a couple of seconds down on the jersey I knew I was close, I gave it everything, thinking about how it felt pulling on yellow, how deflated I felt when I lost it, and my mind flicking back to when I was kid and pretending to race in yellow. In the end Alberto just went fast. He’s a lot more aerodynamic than me but I believed in myself until the end.

Next year I can turn the tables and win the Tour. I did a bad prologue this year and I have to admit that, but Fränk crashing out was a big loss. If there were two of us in the mountains it could have been so different. But now I know that I can beat Alberto and that gives me huge confidence and motivation for next year.

Who knows, maybe my maths teacher will have to do the long walk after all…

Image courtesy Getty Images

“It’s official that we will not be riding with  Bjarne  next season,” Andy Schleck said.  “We are going to leave at the end of the year,” he added.

Both brothers have had good seasons so far with Andy finishing 2nd overall in this years Tour with Frank winning this years Tour of Switzerland. Unfortunately for Frank he crashed out of the Tour sustaining a broken collar bone.

With Saxo Bank set to leave the sport at the end of 2010, many rumours have been flying around as to where they will end up. Both brothers firmly believe that they need to race in the same team meaning there would need to be space for two riders in whichever team they choose.

“We’re not going to stay. We’re going to leave at the end of the year. All the doubts and news about us racing in the same team as (Tour de France champion Alberto) Contador are now finished. We’re not going to continue.”

Both brothers have spent a long time with Riis. Andy has spent five years and Frank eight years. Riis admits that he has known about the brothers move for a while , “I can not imagine a new Luxembourg team without Frank and Andy Schleck in it.”

The Schlecks confirmed as much when they said: “We can’t say where we’re going but of course there’s a team in Luxembourg coming up … we made our mind up and Bjarne knows.”

Alberto Contador (Astana) and Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) once again delivered an exciting duel for the overall win in the Tour de France, with the Spaniard narrowly holding on to his lead in the final time trial of this year’s race. In the end, Contador had increased his lead over his younger rival from 8 seconds to 39 seconds, going into Sunday’s final stage. At one point though Contador’s lead was down to just a handful of seconds.

Fabian Cancellara wins -Courtesy AFP

In the battle for third place, Denis Menchov (Rabobank) used his superior time trial skills to overtake Euskaltel’s Samuel Sanchez. Trailing by 31 seconds coming into the stage, the Russian rode to a large enough lead to knock the Spaniard off the final podium.

Other big names finished further down than expected. RadioShack’s Lance Armstrong, who for so many years dominated the Tour time trials, finished more than seven minutes slower than the winning time. Bradley Wiggins of Sky was 3:33 down, and Garmin-Transition’s David Millar was at 4:20.

Lance Armstrong waits to start - Courtesy AFP

Cancellara took to the course as the 39th of 170 riders at 11:21, and arrived at the finish almost exactly one hour later. That gave him a long wait in the “hot seat” until the end of the race, although no one came close to his time.

STAGE 19 RESULTS:

1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank 1:00:56
2 Tony Martin (Ger) Team HTC – Columbia 0:00:17
3 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Team HTC – Columbia 0:01:48
4 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Cervelo Test Team 0:02:34
5 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin – Transitions 0:03:00
6 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank 0:03:03
7 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Caisse d’Epargne 0:03:10
8 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank 0:03:21
9 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:03:33
10 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:03:38
11 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0:03:51
12 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:04:00
13 Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 0:04:06
14 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team HTC – Columbia 0:04:14
15 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Team Katusha 0:04:15
16 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
17 David Millar (GBr) Garmin – Transitions 0:04:20
18 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:04:33
19 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Team Radioshack 0:04:38
20 Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:04:39
35 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 0:05:43
44 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:06:14

GC after stage 19:

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 89:16:27
2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:39
3 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0:02:01
4 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:03:40
5 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:06:54
6 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0:09:31
7 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin – Transitions 0:10:15
8 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha 0:11:37
9 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas-Doimo 0:11:54
10 Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack 0:12:02
11 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 0:14:21
12 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 0:14:29
13 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack 0:14:40
14 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack 0:16:36
15 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:16:59
16 Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 0:17:46
17 Thomas Löfkvist (Swe) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:20:46
18 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step 0:21:54
19 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:24:04
20 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:26:37

Courtesy AFP

Spaniard Alberto Contador retained the yellow jersey with his eight-second lead on Andy Schleck still intact, a day ahead of the race’s final time trial over 52km.

Cavendish meanwhile gave a sprinting master class to his rivals on what was one of the last stages likely to finish in a bunch sprint. The HTC-Columbia rider, who has been missing lead-out man Mark Renshaw since the Australian’s exclulsion from the race last week, came over the line with room to spare after following Alessandro Petacchi’s wheel in the last 400 metres.

Lampre rider Petacchi finished third behind Kiwi Julian Dean, of Garmin-Transitions, but did enough to take back the green jersey for the sprinters’ points competition from Norwegian Thor Hushovd. The Cervelo sprinter was well placed in the final kilometre but lost ground when two-stage winner Petacchi veered to the left of the road, creating a new echelon which an alert Cavendish did well to follow.

Cavendish takes his 14 Tour stage victory, 4th this year - courtesy AFP

Cavendish then powered past Petacchi with relative ease, and had time to sit up and look back at his rivals before crossing the finish line in victory. Isle of Man rider Cavendish has now won four stages on the race, to go with the six he won in 2009 and four he won in 2008. He is also back in the running for the green jersey, an objective he began the race with but had to forget about after a disastrous first week of racing.

Alberto Contador and Tom Cruise - courtesy Sirotti

After the time trial on Saturday, the sprinters are likely to be back in action on Sunday when the race finishes on the Champs Elysees in Paris, where Cavendish won his sixth stage of last year’s edition.

© AFP 2010

STAGE 18 RESULTS

1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team HTC – Columbia 4:37:09
2 Julian Dean (NZl) Garmin – Transitions
3 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
4 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha
5 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
6 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team
7 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
8 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
9 Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre-Farnese Vini
10 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi

GC after stage 18

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 88:09:48
2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:08
3 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:03:32
4 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0:03:53
5 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:05:27
6 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0:06:41
7 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha 0:07:03
8 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin – Transitions 0:09:18
9 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas-Doimo 0:10:12
10 Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack 0:10:37