Steegmans Closes Tour As Sastre Carries Yellow To Paris

The 2008 Tour de France came to a close with Gert Steegmans rescuing Quick Step's tour by taking the famous sprint on the Champs Élysées in Paris. Carlos Sastre lost a handful of seconds as the peleton split on the run in to the finish but it was not enough to seem him lose the overall title. He proudly wore the yellow jersey during the day's race from Étampes to Paris becoming the third consecutive Spanish rider to take the title since Lance Armstrong's seven year reign ended (Oscar Pereiro won in 2006, Alberto Contador in 2007).

As is almost always the case the stage came down to a sprint finish and it was Steegmans, taking on his teams sprinting duties in the absence of Tom Boonen, who finally got it right to land the victory. He beat home Gerald Ciolek and green-jersey winner Oscar Freire who filled the podium just behind Australian Robbie McEwen who had to leave the 2008 Tour without a stage win to his credit. In what was possibly his last Tour, German veteran Erik Zabel finished 11th.

So with the Tour done and dusted for another year it is time for a rundown of the competitions. The yellow jersey goes to Carlos Sastre who finished 58 seconds ahead of Cadel Evans. Bernhard Kohl filled the podium in Paris finishing third some 73 seconds behind Sastre. The green jersey goes to Oscar Freire, the first Spaniard to win the points classification. He was dominant in the 2008 Tour taking the title by 50 points from Thor Hushovd, with Erik Zabel a further 3 points in arrears. The polka dot jersey was also won comprehensively by Bernhard Kohl, by 48 points from CSC teammates Carlos Sastre and Frank Schleck. CSC also has a white jersey to go with their yellow, as Andy Schleck won the Best Young Rider classification by 1 minute 27 seconds from Roman Kreuziger. Vincenzo Nibali was third in the competition, 17 minutes 1 second behind Schleck.

Looking back over this years event there are a number of highlights and (unfortunately) low lights to recall. Feel free to choose your own but here are mine:

Highlights:

1. Stage 17 - Carlos Sastre wins on L'Alpe d'Huez - Sastre climbs to a solo victory that not only puts his name alongside the greats who have conquered the Alpe, but also laid the foundations for his overall victory.
2. Mark Cavendish - 4 stage wins - The 23 year old Brit proved himself the fastest man on two-wheels with 4 dominant stage wins. If he was there at the finish there was no one who could match him. Enjoy this guy for years to come.
3. Stage 15 - Simon Gerrans wins at Prato Nevoso - Simon Gerrans becomes the first Australian to win a high mountains stage, clawing himself up to the Italian ski resort before unleashing a devastating sprint to defeat his breakaway companions.

Honourable mentions go to Andy Schleck (watch out next year), Oscar Freire (first Spaniard to win the Green Jersey), the whole of Team CSC, and Tour organisers for a very creative course this year.

Low lights:

1. Riccardo Ricco - tests positive for EPO - Fairly obvious. Lights up the first week with climbing displays one could only dream of, then tests positive to the latest advanced strain of EPO. Good riddance!
2. Cadel Evans - deja vu - There was enough hype to fill a hot air balloon but after pushing motorbike riders, headbutting cameras, and carrying his dog around like a Hollywood starlet we were left with the bitter taste of defeat in the final time trial yet again.
3. Silence Lotto - conspicuous by their absence - Sure Evans was disappointing but his team were a disgrace. They disappeared faster than last weeks pay any time the road tilted upwards and big $ man Yaroslav Popovych was about as effective as a UN peace-keeping force.

In conclusion, the 2008 Tour was certainly one to remember and with a host of new young riders coming through the greatest race on earth looks set to enter another golden era. My early tip for 2009? Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador to fight it out all the way to Paris.

And stay tuned for The Falcons Definitive 2008 Olympics Guide in coming weeks.