Week Three of The Tour de France

A Review of the Tour de France 2008 – Week Three

Jul 29, 2008

Suite 101 takes a look at the events of the third and final week of the 2008 Tour de France

The last week of the 2008 Tour de France saw Spanish rider Carlos Sastre hold on for a memorable victory after launching an impressive attack on the legendary climb to Alpe D'Huez.

Cadel Evans in Yellow, but for How Long?

The final week of the 2008 Tour de France started with pre-race favourite Cadel Evans wearing the leader's yellow jersey. The Australian, riding for the Silence-Lotto team, had taken the lead on the stage to Hautacam in the Pyrenees and had managed to keep hold of the jersey until the race entered the Alps.

However, it was widely considered that Evans would be vulnerable to attacks in the final mountain stages of the Tour. His Silence-Lotto team was perceived as being weak in the big mountains and the yellow jersey seemed to weigh heavy on the Australian's shoulders. Rather than relishing his time in yellow Evans appeared agitated, frequently clashing with media and giving the impression of someone feeling the pressure. The peloton could smell blood.

Sustained Alpine Assaults

It didn't take long for the attacks to come. On the first stage in the Alps, to the Italian ski resort of Prato Nevoso, Evans was unable to react when a number of contenders for overall victory disappeared up the road. He lost time to virtually all of his rivals, slipping to third in the standings, eight seconds behind yellow jersey Frank Schleck and one second behind new climbing sensation Bernhard Kohl.

With the second Alpine stage proving to be largely uneventful for the main contenders and with a final time-trial to come on the penultimate day of the Tour, a discipline at which Evans is recognised as being one of the best, there was only one realistic opportunity left for his rivals to gain time on him – the stage to the Tour's most iconic climb of all – Alpe d'Huez.

At the foot of the climb to Alpe d'Huez, a 14 kilometre ascent taking in 21 hairpin bends, CSC-Saxo Bank's leader, Spanish rider Carlos Sastre, launched the definitive attack of the Tour. He established a gap on the leading group, and with Sastre's team mates Frank and Andy Schleck marking the movements of Evans and the other contenders, Sastre simply rode away. He not only took victory in the Tour's most prestigious stage, winning by over two minutes, but also took custody of the leader's yellow jersey, most importantly leading Evans, now in fourth place, by one minute and 34 seconds.

Time Trial Verdict

All eyes then turned to the penultimate stage and the 53 kilometre time trial from Cerilly to Saint-Amand-Montrond. The question was could Sastre could hold off the predicted charge that Evans would make?

Unfortunately for the Australian's fans that charge never really materialised. Evans struggled to get into a rhythm and although he gained time on Sastre it was nowhere near enough. Evans' bad day, coupled with Sastre riding the best time trial of his life, resulted in Evans gaining just 19 seconds. It meant that Sastre would ride the final, largely ceremonial, stage into Paris proudly decked in yellow.

After the presentations in Paris Evans dwelt on what might have been saying 'having that stupid crash in the first week cost me a lot of energy...and I paid for that in the final time trial', before adding, somewhat ominously for his Silence-Lotto team 'I need to look to what my best opportunities are for winning the Tour de France and that's having a stronger team in the mountains.'

The man of the the moment though was Carlos Sastre. The 33 year old not only realised his dream of winning the world's biggest bike race but did so with real panache, attacking on the most famous climb of all. He was effusive in his praise for his team saying, "Winning the Tour de France is a dream come true. Above all, it’s a special day for the whole CSC-Saxo Bank team. It was impossible to do this without them. It is extremely motivating to know that all the riders were ready to be at my service...I’ve prepared better than ever for this race. I arrived at the Tour in the best shape of my career and what has happened is really a dream for every professional."

Final General Classification

Points Competition

King of the Mountains

Young Rider

Team Competition

References

The copyright of the article Week Three of The Tour de France in Bike Racing is owned by Giles Belbin. Permission to republish Week Three of The Tour de France in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.