Three years ago Alberto Contador nearly died of a brain hemorrhage.

[alfredo]

Today he is the Tour De France winner. It was a race marred by drug scandal, but it would have been more of a scandal if the riders and teams had turned a blind eye to cheaters. So what some call a scandal I see as a sign of a sport fighting to clean up its act. Contador had some doping trouble in the past, but it appears he has cleaned up his act.

Kudos to Rabobank for doing the right thing. Rassmussen had the yellow jersey and Rabobank could have reaped the benefits of his win, but the team said no we don't want to win under a cloud of doping. They kicked Rasmussen off the team days before the end of the tour. The team has won by letting ethics rule.

Though Contador would not have won with Rassmussen in the race, he did prove that he was a champion with his performance in the mountains and in the last time trial. His only real competitor was Cadel Evans, a brilliant time trial rider. Contador is more of a climber than time trial specialist. But today he was good enough to keep Evans at bay. Though Evans reeled him in, it was still 23 seconds short.

So our winners are Contador, Evans, and Lepheimer, a Spainard, an Aussie, and an American. The American team Discovery won the team classification. This is their last year sponsoring the team, but I am sure they will find another sponsor, the team is just too good.

Let's hope the governing body of cycling keeps working at cleaning up the sport. It's too beautiful a sport to fall into disrepute. Let's also hope that the winners of this year pass their post race tests. If we have a reply of last year, the sport could be dealt a fatal blow.

[here_is_to_hope]

1. Contador's performance during one climb

was masterful, toying with the other rider! This was the first "Tour" I actually watched, I really found a new respect for these athletes and the sportsmanship most displayed.
Contador earned it!

[alfredo]

4. He's a young man too. Usually you have to ride several tours just to

get to know what you are up against. He did as a freshman. His mountain stages were a thing of beauty.

[Poiuyt]

2. I wish you had put "Spoiler" in your headline

[alfredo]

3. Oh sorry, but unless the last stage is a time trial, the standings will not

change. The last stage is traditionally a moving party, a time to enjoy surviving the grueling race. Sure there will be a few domestiques who want a bit of glory, but the standings are secure. The Discovery channel team is too strong to let Cadel Evans get away with anything.

[Poiuyt]

5. Traditionally, yes.

But the way things unfolded yesterday with the top three riders closing to withing seconds of each other, I thought there might be some action.

[alfredo]

6. Discovery was too strong and too smart to allow any challenger to

get away from the pack. Anyway, it is an unwritten rule not to spoil the day for the victor, unless it is a time trial. As exciting as the LeMond Fignon finish was in that 1989 tour, the traditionalist want the pageantry of the Champs-Elysees stage. The also rans and sprinters like the stage too. Let's face it, not many things are as exciting as a pack sprint on cobblestone roads.

[Poiuyt]

7. And Leipheimer said that he wouldn't spoiler Contador's day

Wasn't that LeMond Fignon race great? I remember it well.

[alfredo]

8. Yeah, one of the great moments in sport. I wonder who or when the

next superman will appear on the scene. Lepheimer was a true team playerl. He was supposed to be the star, but when Alberto appeared to be the strongest one, Lepheimer stepped back and played a supporting role. I was happy to see him win the final time trial. He earned it.

Contador will give his winnings to the team. He won't need it. He has millions of dollars in contracts to sign. When the new sponsor takes over for Discovery, he will be in a very strong bargaining position. I hope it is another US company. I'd like to see some of our tech companies jump in. It is a high tech sport.

It was also a good day for the Aussies. Evans rode a fine race. He's still got a few years left in his legs, so maybe he will win soon. He can do it. Work on his mountains and he could do it. He's already a fine climber, but he needs a bit more to take the pressure off his time trial, which is not shabby either.

One other thought. It seemed this tour had a lot of likable characters, even the ones who were caught doping. There were no villains, no obvious prima donnas. It was a good race, even with the scandals.