Sunday 27 July 2008

Carlos Sastre wins the Tour de France!

Carlos Sastre closed in on victory in the Tour de France by retaining the overall lead after Saturday's time trial, the next-to-last stage of the three-week race.
Sastre led his top rivals by slightly more than a minute after the 20th stage from Cerilly to Saint-Amand-Montrond, which was won by Stefan Schumacher. Pre-race favorite Cadel Evans couldn't overcome his deficit of 1:34 to Sastre entering the stage despite being considered a superior time trialer.
Overall, after more than 84 hours of racing since the July 5 start, Sastre led Evans by 1:05, while Bernhard Kohl was third, 1:20 behind.
Today's final stage — an 88.8-mile ride from Etampes to the Champs-Elysées in Paris — is mostly a ceremonial ride that won't change the overall standings. Traditionally, attacks on the leader are frowned upon and any breakaway attempts by a rival are easy to counter on the flat course.
Sastre is poised to become the third Spaniard in a row to win cycling's premier race. Alberto Contador won last year and Oscar Pereiro inherited the 2006 title that Floyd Landis lost in a doping scandal.

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