With this year's tour starting in Monaco for the first time the organisers had decided to do something different for the first stage. Whereas the first day is normally a relatively short Time Trial and as such is usually designated as a prologue they had gone for a lot longer trial with some quite serious climbs and several hairpins on the descents and actually called it Stage 1.
There were a lot of national time trial champions in the field so a keen contest was expected and anticipation was heightened with the return of Lance Armstrong for his first ride in the race for 4 years. He was an early starter and set a respectable time but was soon overtaken by Tony Martin of Germany and then his team mate Levi Leipheimer. His time withstood several challenges until young German rider Andreas Kloeden went eight seconds faster.
Most of the race favourites and some exceptional time triallers were in the last group of riders to go and three of these provided the eventual top three, with Fabian Cancellara posting the fastest time and becoming the first rider to wear the yellow jersey. He was followed by another of Armstrong's team mates (Alberto Contador) and Britain's Bradley Wiggins.
The second stage was a more typical stage and featured the normal breakaway. Stef Clement, Cyril Dessel, Jussi Veikkanen and Stephane Auge led for most of the 187km stage from Monaco to Brignoles but were caught by the pack. There was a major problem just before the finish when several of the leading riders missed a right hand turn and went off course, thus ruining their chances of victory. As the leaders entered the final straight there were three riders from Team Columbia at the front, with the third in line being the team's star sprinter Mark Cavendish. With that sort of lead out the result was never in any real doubt and Cavendish won with a blistering sprint finish. American Tyler Farrar was second with France's Romain Feillu finishing third.
The two questions now are can Cavendish survive the mountain stages, and if he does can he win the Sprinters Green Jersey?
In the mean time the rest of the field came in with no significant time loss and Cancellara retained yellow.
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Congratulations to Alberto Contador
Congratulations to Alberto Contador for winning the tour.
As he stood proudly on the rostrum in Paris he must have been surprised when he was greeted by the sounds of the Danish national anthem.
Stage Three
With this stage being long and reasonably flat there were no real expectations of any surprises. The peloton seemed disinterested when Maxime Bouet, Samuel Demoulin, Ruben Perez Moreno and Koen de Koert broke away right at the start of the stage and their lead got up as far as 13 minutes. However that quartet led until around 30km from the end when Mark Cavendish's Team Columbia, who had been leading the chase, made their move.
The entire Columbia team raced clear and, while Armstrong and Cancellara were able to stay in touch, other contenders for the yellow jersey like Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador were unable to make up the gap. Team Columbia were taking advantage of a strong cross wind that was hampering the riders. That left the battle for the stage victory and yet again Cavendish found a superb finish when it mattered most to beat Thor Hushovd (known as The God of Thunder) on the line.
The Manxman won by only two bike lengths but he was moving away from Hushovd when he reached the line and looks in dominant form. His triumph justified the efforts of the Columbia team to force the pace on a day when other teams seemed to be conserving their energy for Tuesday's team time trial.
Cavendish therefore created another piece of history by becoming the first British rider to retain the Green Jersey.
Stage Four
Stage four was a team time trial and all eyes were on the Astana squad to see if they could lift Lance Armstrong into the lead and thus the oldest man to wear the yellow jersey. The teams went out in reverse order of their overall classification and thus Astana were the last to go.
The arcane system of timing meant that each team was given the time of the fifth rider from their squad to cross the line so it was imperative for them to work together. For a long time Katusha were holding the overall lead but eventually the stronger teams began putting down their markers. Mark Cavendish's Team Columbia put in another fine performance and race leader Fabian Cancellara's Saxo Bank team put in a storming finish. With only Astana out on the road the Garmin team (which includes both Bradley Wiggins and David Millar) had posted the fastest time. Astana knew exactly what time they had to post to put Armstrong in yellow - and missed it by one second. The times for Armstrong and Cancellara were so close it had to go to "countback" and in the end Cancellara had retained the yellow jersey by two tenths of a second.
Good news for GB in Bradley Wiggins and David Millar both being in the top ten and Mark Cavendish retaining the green jersey.The next stage is another 196.5km from Cap d'Agde to Perpignan - is it too much to hope for another Cavendish win?
Stage Five
Frenchman Thomas Voeckler celebrated his maiden Grand Tour victory on stage five of the Tour de France. Voeckler was part of a six-man break early in the 196.5km stage from Le Cap D'Adge to Perpignan. He made a dash for home with five kilometres remaining and held off the peloton to win by seven seconds.
Britain's Mark Cavendish came in third to retain the sprinters' green jersey and Fabien Cancellara kept the leaders' yellow jersey from Lance Armstrong.
After leading for most of the stage nobody could begrudge Voeckler his moment of glory.
It also seems that none of the other teams are really serious about helping Team Columbia at the front as none of their sprinters can live with Mark Cavendish at the moment. This reluctance could very well play into the hands of more breakaways.
Stage Six
Britain's David Millar was denied victory in the sixth stage of the Tour de France as he was caught with less than 2km left in Barcelona. Norway's Thor Hushovd won the sprint from Spaniard Oscar Friere, while Mark Cavendish finished 16th after the 181.5km journey from Girona.
The Manxman retained the sprinters' green jersey by a single point, while Fabian Cancellara stayed in yellow. Millar, 32, was part of a four-man break for around 130km of the stage.
He left Sylvain Chavanel, Amets Txurruka and Stephane Auge to go it alone but could not quite hold on in the climb to the finish in Montjuic.
Scant consolation for Millar was that he received the award for the most aggressive ride of the day. As the tour now enters it's first mopuntain stage Mark Cavendish can stop defending the green jersey and start worrying about getting home inside the time limit. These stages usually tend to be a nightmare for the sprinters
Stage Seven
Italy's Rinaldo Nocentini grabbed the yellow jersey on the first mountain stage of the 2009 Tour de France. But Spaniard Alberto Contador looks poised to take the lead in the next few days after a dramatic late break. His Astana team-mate Lance Armstrong came home 22 seconds behind Contador in a group with Britain's Bradley Wiggins.
Brice Feillu of France won the stage, a 224km trek from Barcelona to Andorra Arcalis, while former leader Fabian Cancellara dropped from contention. Although the little-known Nocentini has the race lead for now, Contador is just six seconds behind after a breathtaking late move on the main group. He moves above Armstrong, who is a further two seconds behind, while Wiggins is in fifth spot after an outstanding climbing performance kept him alongside the Tour's biggest names.
The first of three days of racing in the Pyrenees was also the longest stage in this year's Tour. Feillu was part of a nine-man breakaway that escaped early in the day and he outlasted his rivals on the climb up Arcalis to the finish. But the real drama was taking place down the road, where Contador produced an astonishing show of strength to decimate a group containing Armstrong and most of the other contenders for the General Classification.
A burst of acceleration inside the final two kilometres took the Spaniard clear of riders like Andy Schleck, Wiggins and two-time runner-up Cadel Evans, while Armstong could not - or would not - keep up.
Apart from Wiggins outstanding ride the other good news for GB was that Mark Cavendish came home well inside the cut off time.
Stage Eight
Spain's Luis Leon Sanchez timed his late burst to perfection to take the eighth stage of the Tour de France. Sanchez, part of a breakaway group of four riders, overhauled Vladimir Efimkin in the final 500m before outsprinting Sandy Cesar at the death.
Rinaldo Nocentini, who keeps the yellow jersey, and the other main contenders, including Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong, all finished in the peloton. But Britain's Mark Cavendish lost the green jersey to Norway's Thor Hushovd. There was also a change in the King of the Mountains standings with Christophe Kern taking the polka dot jersey from stage seven winner Brice Feillu.
Sanchez showed impressive instincts in the final few kilometres of the 176.5km stage as he kept out of trouble before powering off Casar's wheel at the death to cross the line in St Girons first in a time of four hours 31 minutes and 50 seconds.
Along with Casar, Efimkin and Mikel Astarloza, he had made a decisive break on the final climb, up the Col d'Agnes, then held off the peloton on a long descent to the finish line and fighting it out for the stage win. Without a summit finish, the Tour's second day in the mountains was never going to be as dramatic as Friday, when Contador surged away from his Astana team-mate Armstrong on the climb to the line.
There were no attacks from any of this year's big-hitters here as the main bunch of riders, which contained Nocentini, Contador and Armstrong, came home one minute and 54 seconds back.
Two-time runner-up Cadel Evans, who is almost three minutes behind that trio in the overall standings after a dreadful first week, had attempted to escape on the first climb - Port d'Envalira - but was soon hauled back.
Britain's Bradley Wiggins, who had climbed brilliantly on Friday, again impressed to keep in touch with his rivals in the general classification, and remains fifth overall. But Cavendish fell back in the day and, after wearing the green jersey every day since winning stage two on Sunday, he will relinquish it to his Norwegian rival.
Hushovd cleverly went for small wins in intermediate sprints rather than taking his chance at the end of the stage, and his tactics saw him pick up 12 points in total - enough to leapfrog Cavendish and move 11 points clear of him in the points category, with 116 points so far.
Stage Nine
Frenchman Pierrick Fedrigo produced a late burst to edge out Italy's Franco Pellizotti on stage nine of the Tour de France from Saint Gaudens to Tarbes. The pair, who broke clear of a four-man breakaway on the Col du Tourmalet, successfully held off the peloton's attempts to reel them in.
And Fedrigo outsprinted Pellizotti to the line with the peloton closing in.
Italian Rinaldo Nocentini finished in the peloton to keep the yellow jersey, with no change among the leaders. The 160.5-km stage, from St Gaudens to Tarbes, saw Fedrigo and Pellizotti form part of a 12-man breakaway group in the opening five kilometres. Jens Voigt and Leonardo Duque were also involved and they joined Fedrigo and Pellizotti before the day's climbing began with the category one slog up the Col d'Aspin. Duque was dropped near the summit, leaving three up front and when Fedrigo and Pellizotti attacked on their way up the fearsome Col du Tourmalet, Voigt faded too. They still had 70km to hold out from the summit of Tourmalet to the finish in Tarbes, some 1,800m beneath them.
The peloton, dragged along by the Caisse d'Epargne team, closed the gap with every passing kilometre, but as they entered the outskirts of Tarbes, the chase became disorganised allowing Fedrigo and Pellizotti to stay clear.
Tomorrow is a rest day before the next stage commences in Limoges, the first of another set of stages to favour the sprinters.
Stage Ten
After the rest day most of the teams had two things on their minds. How they were going to manage without the radios that the riders use to keep in touch with the team cars, which the organisers had banned for this stage and also on Stage 14. More importantly how to combat Mark Cavendish in the sprint finish.The riders seemed to make their feelings felt about the radios by virtually having a go slow but the teams failed to solve problem two.
Mark Cavendish produced another superb sprint finish to hold off Norway's Thor Hushovd and clinch his third stage win of this year's Tour de France. The Manxman attacked in the last 200m and was accelerating away from Hushovd, his main rival for the green jersey, when he crossed the line in Issoudun. Italy's Rinaldo Nocentini keeps the yellow jersey, with a six-second lead. But Britain's Bradley Wiggins was caught up in a crash near the finish and drops out of the top five overall. Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong and 2007 winner Alberto Contador both finished with Nocentini, safely near the front of the peloton. But their Astana team-mate Levi Leipheimer was affected by the split in the main group that delayed Wiggins, and he also lost 15 seconds on the other contenders in the general classification.That, and Cavendish's superb victory, added some late drama to what had been a dull day.
Fourteen of the 20 teams participating in the 2009 Tour had lodged official protests about the ruling on radios, which is also in place for Friday's stage between Vittel and Colmars, but they also seemed to take matters into their own hands.
The first 150km of the race saw little action, apart from an early break by four riders - Benoit Vaugrenard, Mikhail Ignatiev, Thierry Hupond and Samuel Dumoulin - soon after the race left Limoges. That quartet - including three Frenchmen chasing a stage win on Bastille Day - maintained a steady 90-second lead for much of the day and were only caught inside the last 2km.
The mass sprint finish was ideal for Cavendish, and his Team Columbia team-mates again set their man up perfectly for what was the seventh Tour stage win of his career. The lead he got from firstly George Hincapie and then Mark Renshaw could not have been bettered.
Hushovd keeps the green jersey, although the 24-year-old Cavendish has closed the gap to just six points at the top of the standings in the points category.
Stage Eleven
Mark Cavendish again left his rivals in his wake to win stage 11 of the Tour de France and equal Barry Hoban's British record of eight stage wins. The Manxman also takes back the green jersey from Thor Hushovd who, along with Tyler Farrar, attacked him in the last 200m but was beaten to the line.
Italy's Rinaldo Nocentini keeps the yellow jersey, with a six-second lead. Britain's Bradley Wiggins is fifth overall after race judges returned time he lost in a crash in stage 10. Pre-race favourite Alberto Contador is Nocentini's closest challenger, while his team-mate Lance Armstrong is in third place, eight seconds off the lead.
The early part of Wednesday's 192km route from Vatan to St Fargeau was marred by several crashes, before Belgian rider Johan Van Summeren and Marcin Sapa of Poland broke away. That duo stayed clear until the final 4km, setting up the sort of bunch sprint finish that has become Cavendish's territory, but, with the finish on an incline, he was not the overwhelming favourite to triumph.
For the first time in this year's Tour, the 24-year-old and his Team Columbia team-mates were given a tough test in the closing stages but they adjusted their tactics accordingly. Several Milram riders attempted to crowd out the Team Columbia contingent at the front of the peloton in the final 300m. Hushovd also attacked early, about 200m from the line, but Cavendish was able to stay clear and he also held off Farrar's late surge before again accelerating away over the finish line.
Stage Twelve
Denmark's Nicki Sorensen fought off the challenge of six other breakaway riders to win the 12th stage of the Tour de France to Vittel. On a subdued day's racing, the peloton allowed the escapees to get away from them and Sorensen's brave final attack from 20km out proved decisive. Britain's Mark Cavendish was eighth to extend his lead in the sprint standings and Bradley Wiggins came in 17th. Italy's Rinaldo Nocentini was 48th but safely retained the yellow jersey.
Sorensen, along with Sylvain Calzati, Egoi Martinez, Remi Pauriol, Laurent Lefevre, Markus Fothen and Franco Pellizotti, opened up a lead over the rest of the pack after clearing the Cote de Essoyes. The seven worked well to gradually expand the gap and with 20km remaining Sorensen and Calzati struck out for home. With the threat expected to come from either Liquigas' Pellizotti or Euskaltel's Martinez, the pair's surprise move soon established a 30-second advantage over the lead group. The pace proved too severe for Agritubel's Frenchman and Sorensen broke clear with five kilometres remaining to maintain the pressure and resist the response from the rest. The two-time Danish national champion was able to coast over the line for his maiden Tour win in his 10th year as a professional.
Lefevre came home second, 48 seconds later, with Pellizotti claiming third.
Cavendish, who had earlier beaten Thor Hushovd, his Norwegian rival for the green jersey, in the first intermediate sprint of the day, led in the peloton five minutes further back after again outsprinting Hushvod to the line. He finished eighth overall to boost his tally by 13 points and the Isle of Man rider's lead in the race for the green jersey now stands at 10 points.
Stage Thirteen
Heinrich Haussler registered the first Tour de France stage win of his career with victory in a wet, mountainous slog between Vittel and Colmar on Friday. The Cervelo rider came home more than four minutes ahead of his rivals. Haussler had been one of the leaders from the very start of stage 13, while late challengers Amets Txurruka and Brice Feillu took second and third.
Franco Pellizotti took the polka dot jersey and Thor Hushovd replaced Mark Cavendish, who struggled, in the green. Sprinter Cavendish finished well back following a stage marked by five climbs, including the category one Col du Platzerwasel, and Hushovd now has a lead of five points.
Cavendish's fellow Briton, Bradley Wiggins, remained anonymous for most of the stage but kept in touch with the front of the peloton to finish eighth.
Haussler broke away from the peloton after just a few kilometres, alongside Sylvain Chavanel and Ruben Perez, forming a trio who extended their lead over the pack to some nine minutes in the opening 50km. ut while the peloton slowly gained ground on the latter duo, Germany's Haussler, 25, continued to hold his advantage, and was left largely alone for the final quarter of the stage.
Just how Thor Hushovd managed to finish sixth on what was essentially a climbers stage is a question that will worry Mark Cavendish as it puts a whole new complexion on the race for the Green jersey.
Stage Fourteen
Serguei Ivanov broke away at a key stage to claim victory in the 14th stage of the Tour de France, which was marred by the death of a spectator. The Russian champion from the Katusha team escaped from a group of 12 riders with just over 10km left on the 199km route from Colmar to Besancon.
American George Hincapie finished in the breakaway group to move from 28th to second behind Rinaldo Nocentini. Mark Cavendish lost his stage points for barging Thor Hushovd in the sprint.
Hushovd, who leads the Briton in the green jersey competition, lodged a complaint which was upheld by race officials. Cavendish, who crossed the line in 13th ahead of the Norwegian, was then disqualified from the stage and placed last, allowing Hushovd to increase his lead in the points race to 18.
The stage was dominated by a breakaway group which formed within the first 20km and initially contained Cavendish. The Briton dropped out of the group before the first intermediate sprint at 34km, at which point the gap was allowed to open up by the peloton and the remaining 12 riders stretched their advantage. The best placed rider in the break was Columbia-HTC's Hincapie, who began the stage 5'25" down on the yellow jersey wearer, Nocentini of AG2R. With his team-mate Irishman Nicolas Roche, son of former Tour winner Stephen, also in the break it was left to the Astana team leaders Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador to ensure it was not given too much time as neither Columbia or AG2R would chase their own riders. With 73km remaining, the gap had crept up to in excess of eight minutes before Astana and AG2R started working to reduce the deficit, but at 30km to go Hincapie was heading for the yellow jersey as they struggled to reduce the gap. The American attempted to drive the break on but, as it was clear that the other escapees would be contesting a stage victory, they were unwilling to help him.
Coming into the final 15km a flurry of attacks culminated in a decisive move from Ivanov, who quickly opened up a gap of 30 seconds on his rivals. Despite efforts from Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano) and Hayden Roulston (Cervelo) they were unable to bring him back and he crossed the line 16 seconds ahead of Roche of AG2R, with Hincapie finishing eighth. Behind them the main peloton had reduced the deficit to less than six minutes but it remained to be seen whether Nocentini could retain the overall lead. He crossed the line in the main bunch, 5'36" back from the winner, and thus held on to the yellow jersey by five seconds.
Hincapie now sits second overall, one second ahead of Contador and three ahead of Armstrong, his close friend who he rode for in the American's seven consecutive wins. Britain's Bradley Wiggins drops to sixth overall but maintains his 46-second gap to the race leader.
The stage was earlier marred by the death of a female spectator and injury of two more in an incident involving a police motorcycle. The woman, who was in her 60s, was hit as she crossed the road along the route near Colmar in north-eastern France.
Stage Fifteen
Spaniard Alberto Contador launched a major attack on the climb up to Verbier to win Stage 15 and put himself in pole position to win the Tour de France. The 2007 champion left Astana team-mate Lance Armstrong in his wake with 5.6km left to take over the yellow jersey. He opened up a lead of one minute, 37 seconds over Armstrong in the overall standings, with Bradley Wiggins moving up to third, nine seconds further back. A superb display of climbing saw the Briton take fifth in the Alpine stage. Armstrong, who some predicted would mount a strong challenge on the final climb, could only finish ninth, one minute 35 seconds adrift, to leave his hopes of an eighth Tour victory looking remote.
After days of little movement in the race for overall victory, Contador's explosive charge 5.6km from the finish injected much-needed momentum into this year's Tour. Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck finished closest to the Spaniard, 43 seconds behind, to move up to fifth overall, with Vincenzo Nibali third and Frank Schleck fourth on the day. The previous yellow jersey holder, Italian Rinaldo Nocentini, dropped down to sixth overall.
It was also a stunning performance by Wiggins, who finished the stage alongside the defending champion Carlos Sastre, the pair having pulled away from a small group containing Cadel Evans, Armstrong and Kloden in the final two kilometres. Wiggins, a three-time Olympic gold medallist in individual and team pursuit events, is contemplating quitting the track to concentrate on more major road races.
It is a rest day tomorrow before two more mountain stages and then what could be a decisive time trial.
Further to the disqualification of Mark Cavendish yesterday the Race Commissioner has stated that there is no possibility of an appeal thus effectively deciding the fate of the Green jersey as there is only one more stage that favours the sprinters. How anybody can take such an autocratic attitude is beyond me especially as having seen the incident from an overhead camera it appears that he made a massive error. I don't blame Thor Hushovd for the protest but I strongly condemn the arrogance of the officials who appear to be more interested in making their mark than in justice.
Stage Sixteen
Spain's Alberto Contador remained in possession of the Tour de France's yellow jersey after the 16th stage, from Martigny to Bourg St Maurice. With five stages of the race remaining, the 26-year-old leads Lance Armstrong by one minute and 37 seconds after finishing 10th in the Alpine stage. The top five remain the same, with Britain's Bradley Wiggins in third.
Mikel Astarloza escaped a four-man breakaway group at the end of the 159km stage for his first win of the season.
Contador and his Astana team-mate Armstrong finished in the same group as Wiggins and Andy Schleck, 59 seconds back.
The stage was made up of two big climbs, including the highest point of this year's Tour at the top of the Col du Grand St Bernard, and ended with a long descent from the smaller Col du Petit St Bernard. Schleck, who lies fifth overall, chose the second ascent to attack Contador but, despite the help of his brother Frank, the Luxembourger could not shake the 2007 champion or Wiggins, who doggedly stayed on his wheel throughout. Armstrong did lose touch when Schleck went off the front of the peloton, however, and was 35 seconds adrift of the yellow jersey group at one stage but the seven-time champion kept his nerve and impressively clawed back the lost ground. Carlos Sastre, last year's Tour winner, was also dropped but, although he took longer than the Texan to recover, fought his way back to the bunch containing the other contenders for this year's crown before the summit.
The race downhill to the finish was less eventful but still proved perilous as Schleck's Saxo Bank team-mate, German ride Jens Voigt, came off his bike when he hit a bump at high speed and was immediately taken to hospital.
Stage Seventeen
Spain's Alberto Contador moved a step closer to victory in the Tour de France after a gruelling 17th stage, from Bourg St Maurice to Le Grand Bornand. The Astana rider survived attacks by the Schleck brothers, Frank and Andy, to cross the line second behind Frank and extend his overall lead. Andy and Frank are now second and third respectively in the overall standings with Lance Armstrong fourth. Britain's Bradley Wiggins has dropped to sixth after a seventh-place finish.
Wiggins again demonstrated his improved climbing ability as the race left the Alps but his day became an exercise in damage limitation as he was dropped by Contador and the Schleck brothers on the penultimate climb of the day, the Col de Romme. Armstrong, too, was also unable to stay with the leading group, which also contained Andreas Kloden, as the Schlecks piled on the pressure. Somewhat unexpectedly, Contador launched his own attack, losing his Astana team-mate Kloden in the process and leaving himself dangerously exposed. But, despite the best efforts of the Schleck brothers, who both ride for the Saxo Bank team, the 2007 champion never looked like losing time to his rivals.
Back down the road, Wiggins was able to stick with Armstrong until the final kilometre of the last ascent of the day - the Col de la Colombiere - before a surge from the seven-time champion saw him accelerate away. Both Wiggins and Armstrong drop out of the podium positions but will look to Thursday's time trial in Annecy as a way of clawing back some of the time they have lost.
Defending champion Carlos Sastre also lost more ground as he was unable to keep up with the Schlecks after launching a succession of unsuccessful attacks of his own lower down the Col de Romme. And Australia's Cadel Evans continued to suffer - the 2007 and 2008 runner-up finishing the stage 29 minutes and 43 seconds after Frank Schleck.
Earlier, Thor Hushovd all but sealed victory in his battle for the green jersey with Britain's Mark Cavendish by winning both the day's intermediate sprints.
Stage Eighteen
Bradley Wiggins gave himself a good chance of a podium finish at the Tour de France after making ground on his rivals in Thursday's time trial. The British Garmin rider moved from sixth to fourth spot overall, just 11 seconds behind Lance Armstrong, who moved up one place to third. Champion-in-waiting Alberto Contador was fastest over the 40.5km course, finishing in 48 minutes 30.72 seconds. Saxobank rider Andy Schleck lies second overall, just over four minutes adrift.
Friday's largely flat stage is likely to have little impact on the final placings but the 20th stage on Saturday, 167km (103.8 miles) from Montelimar to Mont Ventoux, is likely to decide who takes the other two podium spots on Sunday behind Contador. The Spaniard produced a remarkable performance on Thursday and he is now set to win his second Tour, having previously triumphed in 2007. Having proved he is the master of the mountains he showed he is also one of the best time triallists. Contador finished three seconds ahead of Olympic champion Fabian Cancellara and one minute 45 seconds ahead of nearest rival Andy Schleck.
Schleck's brother and fellow Saxobank rider Frank dropped from third overall down to sixth while Astana's Andreas Kloeden remains in fifth, two seconds behind Wiggins. Wiggins, a three-time Olympic track cycling champion, will find it difficult to close the gap on Armstrong, who will have the might of his Astana team-mates to help him during Saturday's slog up Mount Ventoux.
Nevertheless, the 29-year-old has impressed in the mountains and will look to his Garmin team-mate Christian Vande Velde to help him stay in touch with his rivals. Time-trial dangerman Wiggins was looking to eat into the advantage his rivals had over him and midway through the Annecy route it appeared that the Londoner was set to post a fast time, but in the final few kilometres the Briton faded to finish 43 seconds behind Contador.
Compatriot and time-trial specialist David Millar came home fifth on a course he believed favoured the climbers because of the category three climb over the Bluffy pass, which wound upwards for 3.7km (2.3 miles) three-quarters of the way through the stage.
It does seem strange that both the prologue/Stage One and this stage (which were the two individual time trials) had quite severe climbs included - not the norm!!
Stage Nineteen
Mark Cavendish produced a trademark stunning sprint finish to clinch his fifth stage win of the 2009 Tour and a British record ninth in total. The Manxman overtook Barry Hoban's record, adding his fifth win to the four victories he claimed last year. Norway's Thor Hushovd could not match Cavendish's surge to the line but came in second to keep the green jersey.
A split in the peloton saw Britain's podium hopeful Bradley Wiggins lose four seconds to rival Lance Armstrong. Armstrong came home 12th, only two places in front of Wiggins, but with a big enough gap to be given a separate time. The seven-time champion, who lies third in the general classification, is now 15 seconds ahead of fourth-placed Wiggins.
Spain's Alberto Contador retained the leader's yellow jersey after finishing the 178km stage from Bourgoin Jallieu to Aubenas in the same group as Wiggins and second-placed Andy Schleck.
The day had begun with Britain's David Millar joining a 20-strong breakaway and he was one of five riders that stayed clear until the bottom of the Col d'Arenier with 35km to go. Thanks to his Columbia team-mates, Cavendish stayed near the front of the peloton up to the summit and they again lined him up for the victory on the descent. World road-race champion Alessandro Ballan and Laurent Lefevre, who had attempted to escape, were caught inside the last two kilometres to leave Cavendish to battle it out with Hushovd for the stage win.An uphill finish was far from ideal for the Manxman, who had Hushovd on his shoulder, but, led out by Tony Martin, he went for the line with 200m to go and again easily saw off his Norwegian rival - accelerating away from him at the end to win by almost a bike's length.
Stage Twenty
Bradley Wiggins delivered a heroic ride on Mont Ventoux to keep fourth place in the Tour de France as Alberto Contador all but sealed overall victory. In the closing kilometres of stage 20, Wiggins was dropped by Contador, Lance Armstrong and Andy and Frank Schleck. But he did just enough to hold on to fourth overall and is set to equal the best finish by a Briton in the race.
Contador shadowed second-placed Andy Schleck to the line to preserve his commanding lead with one stage left.
Juan Manuel Garate was first to the finish at the top of Ventoux after breaking away from the peloton early in the race with 15 other riders and, along with Tony Martin, staying clear until the end. Garate pulled away from the German right at the death to become the first Spaniard to win on one of the Tour's most famous - and formidable - climbs. With Contador, the 2007 champion, comfortably holding on to the yellow jersey, Andy Schleck and Armstrong remain in second and third respectively. During the ascent of Ventoux, fifth-place Frank Schleck attempted to snatch a podium place from Armstrong, but the seven-time champion kept a careful eye on the Luxembourg rider, always responding to the Saxo Bank rider's attacks.
Wiggins was dropped three times by Armstrong and Frank Schleck on Ventoux but recovered each time before finally losing touch with 1.4km to go. He battled on, however, to finish 20 seconds behind Frank Schleck in 10th place, meaning he stays above him in the general classification by three seconds.
Sunday's final stage will be a procession to Paris for Contador and the rest of the top riders overall, meaning only an accident will prevent Wiggins crossing the line in Paris to equal Robert Millar's fourth place finish in the 1984 Tour.
Stage Twentyone
Alberto Contador earned his second Tour de France victory after seeing out the 21st and final stage, won in stunning style by Manxman Mark Cavendish. Spaniard Contador held off Luxembourg's Andy Schleck with American Lance Armstrong edging out Bradley Wiggins. Wiggins equalled the best Tour finish by a Briton with his fourth place matching Robert Millar in 1984.
Cavendish's win was his sixth of the 2009 Tour and he became the first Briton to win on the Champs Elysees. The 24-year-old, who now has 10 Tour stage wins to his name, was an easy winner in Paris. He was led out by his Columbia team-mates George Hincapie and Mark Renshaw and was helped on the final turn when the Garmin team of his rival Tyler Farrar took the wrong line and also blocked Thor Hushovd. Cavendish was suddenly several metres clear and, with only Renshaw near him, was able to raise his arms to the sky in triumph as he crossed the line.
He was pipped to the green points jersey by Norwegian Hushovd, who finished with 10 more points.
With all the work that Mark Renshaw has done in the lead up to Cavendish's previous stage wins it is fitting that he finally got a good placing. The amount of effort put in by particularly Renshaw and George Hincapie defies belief at times particularly when you consider that George has ridden the last few stages with an injured collar bone. Team Columbia deserve immense praise for the number of times they put their sprinter into the ideal place - and were repaid with the win.