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Our Tour de France rider report card

The Tour de France wrapped up on the Champs-Élysées yesterday amid all the pomp and ceremony a bike race could muster. The usual parade ensued with the ubiquitous posing with the glass of champagne, the three jerseys all together and enemies as friends. With that done the ride got a little serious until then end where Mark Cavendish took the stage but kept the handkerchief in his pockets.

A couple of interesting points to come out of the stage was the Radio Shack jersey change when the race officials threatened to DQ the team for changing their strip. They ended up doing an embarrassing roadside change and then there was the fake sprint. Mugging for the cameras Schleck and Contador had a fun sprint but had to stop when Schleck dropped his chain and had to get a new bike... hmmmm.

From loose dogs to headbutts to dropped chain this Tour has been eventful to say the least.

Our Tour de France report card;

The course - Brilliant. There were howls of protest at the cobbles but they did their job. They sorted out the riders. If it was good enough for Contador to enlist some expert help to ride the cobbles then other teams might need to be more switched on. And for the problems that riders had the Tour's route was a success with the race still undecided by Stage 19. A

The Coverage - The SBS crew were at it again and had a good Tour. Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin, lead out by Matt Keenan (Aussie coverage) were a nice mix. A

The Riders...

• Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 88:09:48 - After 3500+ Km Alberto Contador gets the nod for his great ride. It was his Tour to lose and the man from Spain marked himself as one of the greats in the sport of cycling. A third win could stretch further into the next few tours. His one mistake was 'Chaingate' but he was right in doing that. A+
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• Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank (2nd@0:39) - Provided the good guy side of this race. Andy Schleck rode the time trial of his life in Stage 19 and still lost time giving him some work do over the Winter. A new team for Schleck next season will mean a new start and the loss of the Saxo Bank armada that surrounds him. How he responds will be the true test. A
• Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank (3rd @0:02:01) - The silent assassin let his wheels do the talking in this Tour. A masterful time trial got him onto the podium. A great result for a guy who was much maligned in July. A
• Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions (7th@0:10:15) The big Canadian had his coming out party this year. We laughed when his director told the media that Hesjedal would make the top 5. He got close and sometimes we get it wrong. A
• Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack (10th@ 0:12:02) A great ride by Horner. He was the number one man on the RadioShack after his team started the implosion. Horner will take this top 10 on top of a brilliant domestic career. B
• Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack (13th@ 0:14:40) - Inherited the team once the Lance Armstrong challenge faltered. He was really a non entity and while Radio Shack won the team prize Leipheimer had no influence on any of the stages. The window for him winning Grand Tours is all but shut. D
• Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana (16th@ 0:17:46) Let's be honest here we are not fans of this guy. But he has shown himself to be a good team mate of Alberto Contador which is what we did not expect. He won a stage and didn't get caught taking anything he shouldn't so he passes on our books... for now. B
• Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervelo Test Team (20th@0:26:37) - There is nothing left in his bag of tricks. Sastre, when he was going, was brilliant. He won a Tour (much to the pain of Cadel Evans) and used his window of opportunity to his advantage. The window is closed for overall wins but maybe in the future he might take a stage. C
• Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack (23rd@0:39:20) - What can you say about Lance? Literally crashed himself out of the Tour. The 7 years of good luck compounded in this Tour. Once it did he was left with nothing except the job of following wheels and enjoying his last ride into Paris. he leaves with his Tour in tatters but his record speaks for itself. Version 2.0 of the Lance sporting career is over. Now we move on to 3.0 and triathlon time. D
• Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team (24th@0:39:24) If there could be a Tour from Hell then maybe this was it for Brad Wiggins. It started badly in the prologue when he tried to be cute with the weather and failed (riding his race in the rain and losing 30 seconds). Wiggins spent the Tour suffering and dodging the media. He called his 4th place in '09 a fluke which is crazy talk but goes to show where his confidence was at. He is a good rider but he now knows that the Giro and Tour do not go together. The final insult was his time trial ride where he lost another 3 minutes to Cancellara. D
• Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team (26th@0:50:27) Let's start by saying the Tour de France was not the target of the World Champion the Giro d'Italia was. That being said he was in the hunt until another big crash ended his run. But he was brave in wanting to continue. His Yellow Jersey in the early part of the Tour was great boost for his team. Cadel's window might be shut but he has plenty of scope in the other two Grand Tours and the Classics. One of the most talented riders in the world, he may well defend his World Title in Geelong. C
• Robbie McEwen. The unluckiest rider on Tour. McEwen was knocked off his bike AFTER the stage finished. He fumed about this for days and said that the crash cost him $1.5m in bonuses and contract earnings. He was brave to finish and his grade is not too reflective of his determination. C
• Mark Cavendish - The Cav, The Manx Missile call him what you want, clocked another win on the Champs-Élysées again to round out his tremendous Tour. And while he has the bragging rights it would be nice if the other main 3 sprinters in the field were under 35. A
• Stuey O'Grady - The best domestique in the race. Captain on the road for Team Saxo Bank O'Grady is the most versatile rider in the world. He showed how tough he was during this race by taking long turns at the front of the field and driving the bunch with turn of high speed. Superman on a bike. A+

Final General Classification
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 91:58:48
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

23 Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack 0:39:20
24 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:39:24
26 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:50:27

Points Classification (Green Jersey)
1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 243 pts
2 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team HTC - Columbia 232
3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team 222
4 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 179
5 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha 179

Mountains Classification (Polka Dot Jersey)
1 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 143 pts
2 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 128
3 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 116
4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 112
5 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 99