Contador's finest hour ... and Cavendish's

It was their finest hour to date. Alberto Contador of Spain won his third Tour de France after having increased his lead over Andy Schleck of Luxembourg on Saturday to 39 seconds.

And Britain’s Mark Cavendish, who had said he intended to win in Paris on Sunday, did just that. He sprinted over the finishing line on the Champs Elysées leaving his rival sprinters behind him to obtain his fifth stage win so far this year.

With a total of 15 Tour de France stage victories in all, “Cav” is fast becoming one of the greatest of all Tour de France champions.

Sunday’s final 102 kilometre stage from Longjumeau in the southern Paris suburbs to the Champs Elysées for the traditional eight-round sprint.

But Cavendish failed to pick up the green jersey after finishing the Tour de France 11 points behind AlEssandro Petacchi of Italy in the points table. He said this was a disappointment but admitted that he was more than happy with the way his HTC Colombia team had performed and with his five stage victories.

So Alberto Contador has signed his third Tour de France victory, even though he has admitted that he had performed slightly less well this year due to problems including an upset stomach and a sleepless night.

Contador’s main rival, Andy Schleck of Luxembourg riding for Saxo Bank finished second and took the award for best under-25 rider in this year’s Tour.

Both Schleck and Contador will be back next year, and Schleck, who is two years younger than Contador, has all the potential to win a Tour de France. So an interesting duel is probably in the offing.

Sensing that Contador is not as strong as he used to be, Schleck who has made no secret of the fact that he intends to win the Tour de France may adopt a more ruthless approach.

Despite the difficulties including the numerous crashes, the heat and the difficult cobblestones stage in northern France, this has been a Tour de France for French riders who secured six stage victories.

It was another Frenchman, Anthony Charteau who won the polka-dot jersey for best mountain climber. Twenty-five years after Bernard Hinault was the last Frenchman to actually win a Tour, these victories have given the French supporters something to celebrate and the renewed hope that may be soon, another French rider will again win the race.

One person who will no longer be winning a Tour de France is the seven times Tour winner Lance Armstrong who bowed out for the last time on Sunday.

Armstrong, who finished 23rd overall, may not have won this year’s Tour but he and his Radio Shack team did have something to celebrate as they won the award for best team.

Lance may be gone but the Tour de France will be back next year for its 98th race which kicks off in the Vendée region. The full route will only be announced in October.