THE RACE LIVE
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Landis’ actually finished in a group that was eight seconds behind the stage winner. He was 69th in the stage but has won the Tour de France with a time of 89 hours, 39 minutes, 30 seconds (40.784km/h).
The top order of the general classification is:
1. Floyd Landis (USA - PHO)
2. Oscar Pereiro (ESP - CEI) at 57"
3. Andreas Kloden (GER - TMO) at 1’29"
4. Carlos Sastre (ESP - CSC) at 3’13"
5. Cadel Evans (AUS - DVL) at 5’08"

The top five in the final stage of the 2006 Tour de France is:
1. Thor Hushovd (NOR - C.A)
2. Robbie McEwen (AUS - DVL)
3. Stuart O’Grady (AUS - CSC)
4. Erik Zabel (GER - MRM)
5. Luca Paolini (ITA - LIQ)

Floyd Landis finished with the same time as the stage winner. He is the third American to win the Tour de France.

Thor Hushovd surged ahead of McEwen in the final 250 meters. It’s the first time that a Norwegian rider has won the stage on the Champs-Elysees and could be the first time that some who won the prologue also claimed the final stage.

Hushovd has beaten McEwen to the line to end the Tour in a winning way! The prologue winner is also the champion on the Champs-Elysees...

The peloton is all together in the final kilometer of the 2006 Tour de France.

The peloton is all together on the Rue de Rivoli and there are two riders from the Discovery Channel team at the front: Hincapie and Popovych...

Ekimov won his first world time in the pursuit 20 years ago. The grand old man of the peloton is now on the attack with 2.5km to go.

Flecha has attacked with 3.7km to go. He has been chased down by the peloton and we’re likely to see a bunch sprint conclude the 93rd Tour.

Come on Mr Wiggins: there are four kilometers to go, the distance of the pursuit that you dominated at the Olympics in Athens. You promised an attack on the last day... or are you working for Jimmy Casper?

The Davitamon-Lotto team has four riders at the front of the peloton. Tucked in behind Vansummeren, Vansevenant and Aerts is the green jersey of their team-mate McEwen.

The peloton is all together with just 5km to go in the stage. There are riders form the FDJ, Davitamon-Lotto and Credit Agricole teams at the front of the bunch... now Jens Voigt is trying his luck with a last-minute escape bid.

With just one lap to go, Agritubel’s Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez has attacked the peloton.

The peloton is now being led by riders from the Credit Agricole and Davitamon-Lotto teams. There are 7.5km to go...

The manager of the Quickstep team, Patrick Lefevere hinted that he had a surprise plan for today’s stage. Vasseur’s attack didn’t last long but could it be that Tosatto is ready to swap roles: from lead-out man, to opportunistic stage winner... to sprinter?

There are two Francaise des Jeux riders at the front of the peloton with 10km to go... they have just been passed by Cedric Vasseur (QSI).

“I’m relaxed as far as the green jersey is concerned but there’s a stage to win up for grabs in Paris," said Robbie McEwen after the time trial yesterday. "It’s the most prestigious one and I’ve won it before twice. I’ve already won three stages in this year’s Tour and am about to win my third green jersey… but with two wins already on the Champs-Elysees, I have the chance to maintain the three-theme, but turn it into four stage wins in the 2006 Tour.
“We’re going to go into the final stage with a strong focus. We want to try and hold it all together for a sprint and, if I’ve got the legs, I could be up for another victory."

The peloton is all together with just 12km to go in the 93rd Tour. Vansummeren (DVL) is setting the tempo and his team is committed to trying to keep it all together for a bunch sprint.

Astarloza attacked the lead group which is now down to four riders: the aggressor, Horner, Charteau and one more... but it doesn’t matter anymore the peloton is all together at the 139km mark.

Of the six riders in the lead group - Astarloza, Horner, Garcia Acosta, Charteau, Millar and Mengin - only Charteau is not collaborating with the pacesetting duties. Clearly Credit Agricole have faith in the sprinting power of Thor Hushovd and Charteau would prefer to see his escape fail...

One of the riders who were on the attack, Fedrigo, has punctured his rear tire.

Astarloza, Horner, Garcia Acosta, Charteau, Millar and Mengin are the only riders who are now ahead of the peloton...

The escapees have just crossed the site of the finish for the sixth time. Millar and Voigt were the first over the line which marks the 20km to go point. They are 13" ahead of the peloton.

The peloton is now 15" behind Popovych (DSC), Voigt (CSC), Astarloza (A2R), Horner and Vansummeren (DVL), Garcia Acosta and Portal (CEI), Charteau (C.A), Hernandez (EUS), Millar (SDV), Gilbert and Mengin (FDJ), Fedrigo (BTL), Knees (MRM) and Duenas Nevado (AGR).

The peloton is now being led by riders from the Liquigas team. They are 20" behind the 15 escapees who have recently regrouped.

At the 128km mark, Gilbert and Horner lead the 13 other escapees by 5" and the peloton by 25".

Horner and Gilbert have attacked the lead group.

The 15 riders who are now 20" ahead of the peloton are:
Popovych (DSC)
Voigt (CSC)
Astarloza (A2R)
Horner and Vansummeren (DVL)
Garcia Acosta and Portal (CEI)
Charteau (C.A)
Hernandez (EUS)
Millar (SDV)
Gilbert and Mengin (FDJ)
Fedrigo (BTL)
Knees (MRM)
Duenas Nevado (AGR)

The Cofidis team has led the peloton’s pursuit of the three counter-attackers. There are now 15 riders 30" ahead of the peloton.

Popovych, Voigt, Astarloza, Horner, Vansummeren, Garcia Acosta, Portal, Charteau, Hernandez, Millar, Gilbert, Mengin, Fedrigo, Knees and Duenas Nevado are 20" ahead of Da Cruz, Albasini and Botcharov and 40" ahead of the peloton.

Duenos Nevado’s escape group also includes Fedrigo, Knees, Portal and Mengin. They are 12" ahead of the peloton.

Popovych, Voigt, Astarloza, Horner, Vansummeren, Garcia Acosta, Charteau, Gilbert and... Moises Duenas Nevado of the Agritubel team! This is the first time in the 93rd Tour de France that the Spaniard from the wild-card team has been mentioned in a newsflash.
Bravo Moises - you’ve picked a good time to attack!

Voeckler was caught by the peloton after the 3rd pass of the ’Haute des Champs’ (116.5km) Wegmann, Voigt and Astarloza were caught 500m later...

The points for the second intermediate sprint have been won by:
1. Fabian Wegmann (GST) 6pts
2. Mikel Astarloza (A2R) 4pts
3. Jens Voigt (CSC) 2pts

Cunego is being helped back to the peloton by three Lampre team-mates. The Italian leads the youth classification, 30" ahead of Fothen (GST).

The rider in the white jersey, Damiano Cunego (LAM) has punctured. He has had a quick wheel change and is now in pursuit of the peloton that’s 15" behind Voeckler, Wegmann, Voigt and Astarloza.

There are a number of riders in pursuit of Voeckler and Wegmann. Astarloza (A2R) is 7" behind the leading pair and has been caught by Voigt (CSC).

Voeckler has been joined by Wegmann (GST) at the front of the stage. They have a lead of about 8" at the 113km mark.

Voeckler (BTL) is now trying his luck. He raced past Horner (DVL) who was leading but looking back with the hope that another rider would join him... no one did.

Millar and Commesso have been caught by the peloton.

Commesso is now on the attack on the left side of the road. Millar has come up the right and their pair have joined forced and lead the bunch by about 100m.

The escape by Beneteau and Da Cruz didn’t last long. They were quickly caught by the peloton but now there’s a Euskaltel rider on the attack. It’s Aitor Hernandez who is about to come out of the tunnel that leads to the Rue de Rivoli.
The peloton is led by the Phonak team which is only about 50m before Hernandez.

Walter Beneteau (BTL) has surged ahead of the peloton near the Arc de Triumph. He has been chased down by Carlos Da Cruz (FDJ)...

Although the peloton has been rolling along for 52.5km, the racing is about to start in the 20th stage. After Ekimov received the honor of leading the bunch over the line on the Champs-Elysees, the Phonak squad is back in charge... but we can expect the attacks to start soon.

The oldest rider in the 93rd Tour has come to the front of the peloton. Viatcheslav Ekimov has already retired once but the Russian couldn’t resist the temptation to return to racing again in 2002. The 40-year-old Discovery Channel rider contested his first Tour de France in 1990. Here is a summary of the veteran’s Tour results:
1990 – 55th overall
1991 – 42nd overall (one stage win)
1992 – 65th overall
1993 – 35th overall
1994 – 36th overall
1995 – 18th overall
1996 – 21st overall
1997 – 44th overall
1998 – 38th overall
1999 – Did not start
2000 – 55th overall
2001 – 82nd overall
2002 – 58th overall
2003 – 76th overall (member of team time trial winning formation)
2004 – 80th overall (member of team time trial winning formation)
2005 – Did not start
2006 – 84th overall after 19 stages…

The Phonak squad has led the peloton onto the Rue de Rivoli. The first passage of the Champs-Elysees circuit is about to begin and Viatcheslav Ekimov is now rolling forward...

The peloton is rolling alongside the River Seine with 60km to go. Phonak is still at the front...

The results of the intermediate sprint in Boulogne-Billancourt (at 92km) were won by:
1. Wim Vansevenant (DVL) 6pts
2. Robbie McEwen (DVL) 4pts
3. Victor Hugo Pena (PHO) 2pts

Robbie McEwen is being led to the site of the first intermediate sprint by his team-mate Wim Vansevenant. It’s the leader of the points classification and the ’Lanterne Rouge’ of the 2006 Tour... the first-place points were won by the ’domestique’.

“The biggest memory of this year’s Tour was the night after Floyd lost his yellow jersey at La Toussuire,” said the manager of the Phonak squad, John Lelangue. “It was a very somber moment but we rallied together and after dinner we concluded that the race was not yet over and we had some fight left in us. We had to attack even if it was to end badly but we refused to give in without a fight.”

Unlike recent years, the winner of the points classification has been decided before the final stage. Still, we may start to see the pace pick up soon because the first of two intermediate sprints in stage 20 is due soon. The bunch is at the 87km mark; the first sprint is at 92km...

The Phonak squad is back at the head of the peloton which is about to reach the streets of Paris.

The peloton is still cruising along but the Saunier Duval team has come to the front of the pack. They’re at the 84km mark and Simoni and Ricco are setting the tempo.

“It’s been a Tour of quality with plenty of anticipation right up until yesterday. There was not a convincing leader for most of the race,” said the manager of the Euskaltel-Euskadi team, Miguel Madariaga. “Of the six times that our squad has participated in the Tour, this is the most complete. We have been involved in a number of escapes and also have a rider in the top 10 of the general classification with Haimar Zubeldia.
“It’s very important for our fans who always expect a lot. I’m happy to thank them for their good attitude during the stages in the Pyrenees.”

The points at the top of the Mont-Valerien (at the 72km mark) were won by:
1. Victor Hugo Pena (PHO) 3pts
2. Ronny Scholz (GST) 2pts
3. David Arroyo (CEI) 1pt

The voice Radio Tour for the past two years had to take a break from his job yesterday. Sebastian Piquet has called all the time gaps and race information from the red car that follows the peloton since the start of the 2004 Tour. Yesterday his wife Helene gave birth to their first child, Theo.
Sebastian has just returned to his usual position in the passanger seat of the number-two car. His dulcet tones can be heard on the airwaves once again.
Congratulations Seb and Helene!

The peloton is near the site where the last climbing points for the 2006 race will be given to the first three at the summit. The Mont-Valerien is in the suburbs of Paris not far from the headquarters of ASO, the company responsible for the Tour de France. It is at the 72km mark of the 154.5km 20th stage.

The peloton is still all together with 89km to go in the 2006 race. The pace is tranquil and the average speed for the 2nd hour was 34.0km/h. For the first two hours, the average is 32.0km/h.

“We were happy to win a stage in the last week," said Wilfried Peeters of the Quickstep-Innergetic when LeTour.fr asked for his appraisal of this year’s Tour.
"In the first week we didn’t have any luck but we did spend four days with the yellow jersey and I’m really happy with that. We had to control the race in the first week and in the second week we were a little bit down. Without Tom it was a bit difficult to fulfill our real objectives but I’m satisfied at the end..
“For today, it’ll be difficult to control the race. We’re looking for the last lap to see if something is possible for Tosatto."

“This is a Tour in a period of transition,” said the team director who guided Lance Armstrong to his seven successive victories, Johan Bruyneel.
“We wore the yellow jersey and won a stage but our objectives were greater than that. Popovych is a rider with a lot of class who is also very aggressive. Right now, however, we will consider some changes that should allow us to be better next year. I believe we need to be more focused on having just one leader.”

The peloton is at the 54.5km mark in today’s stage. There is just 100km remaining in the 93rd edition of the Tour de France. There have still been no attacks...

The peloton is still strolling along without any hint of any attacking intentions. The riders have ridden 50km and are currently in the town of Jouy-en-Josas.

“It was a crazy Tour,” said the manager of the Saunier Duval-Prodir team, Mauro Gianetti. “The first 10 days should not have been as hard as they were but with the heat and the speed of the race, a lot of riders arrived for the crucial phase with tired legs. I was a little disappointed that Jose Angel Gomez Marchante didn’t do better but nothing is certain in cycling and he just didn’t have a good race. It was also a shame that David Canada had his bad crash… there was, however, the consolation of the performance by David (De la Fuente) who was always aggressive.
“Finally, the fact that David Millar reached the finish is very encouraging. It proves that he has made his return.”

At the 43.5km mark, the points for the first climb were won by:
1. Mickael Rasmussen (RAB) 3pts
2. Koos Moerenhout (PHO) 2pts
3. Bert Grabsch (PHO) 1pt

Mickael Rasmussen (RAB) has rolled to the front of the peloton to take first-place points at the top of the first climb of the 20th stage.

The first of two category-four climbs in the final stage is at the 43.5km mark. The Cote de Gif-sur-Yvette is a small ascent that is just 1.4km long with an average gradient of 5.6 percent.

The Phonak team is still at the head of the peloton. Right now Nicolas Jalabert is leading the pack through the town of Bures-sur-Yvette at the 36.5km mark. As you would expect in the early phaze of the final stage, there have been no attacks yet.

“It was a very interesting Tour,” said one of the directeur sportifs of the Davitamon-Lotto team, Hendrik Redant. “Something happened at the start that affected the field and we had no idea what to expect. A lot of things occurred that I found surprising for example a few presents were given to riders like Pereiro. We also saw some tactical mistakes like letting Landis goes on the stage over the Joux-Plane… I saw some great moments as well like Landis winning after the Joux-Plane. At the end we’ve seen a really good winner of the Tour.”

The peloton continues to pedal along at a casual pace. They have 130km to go in the 93rd Tour. The first lap of the Champs-Elysees is at the 102.5km mark... Phonak is still at the head of the bunch and no one has been prepared to upset the gentle tempo.

“We have experienced a lot of joy: a stage victory, the yellow jersey the good positions in the general classification for both Cyril Dessel and Christophe Moreau," said the AG2R team manager, Vincent Lavenu.
"I will always remember the moment when my team was defending the yellow jersey on the road to Pla-de-Beret. There were just 40 riders still in the peloton and six AG2R riders were at the front of the pack. It’s a way to appreciate how much this team has improved. This Tour has been great boost of confidence for us."

“We are satified,” Hans Holczer told LeTour.fr about his team’s performance in this year’s race. “We didn’t quite reach the ambitions that we had for Levi but these things happen. We had to suffer the set back of some riders being sick… at one stage we had to have separate rooms for each rider because they all had one problem or another and we didn’t want them to pass on any infection, but that’s life.
“I have to say that I’m very content with Marcus Fothen. He didn’t lose the white jersey rather he was beaten by a better rider in the final stages. Cunego was very good in the final time trial but I think we have a real star of the future with Marcus.”

It should be some time before we see any attacks in the final stage. Right now the peloton is near the 14km mark and it is being led by riders from the Phonak team: Victor Hugo Pena, Bert Grabsch, Nicolas Jalabert, Axel Merckx, Koos Moerenhout, Alexandre Moos and the yellow jersey wearer Floyd Landis.

“It’s been a very interesting Tour de France with a lot of changes in the classification and a few good surprises,” said Theo De Rooij the veteran of six Tours as a rider who is now in charge of the Rabobank team. “There’s no way that a rider who lost 30 minutes would have worn the yellow jersey in the era of Armstrong, Hinault or Indurain.
“For Rabobank it has been a very satisfying Tour with stage wins, the polka-dot jersey and a high classification for Menchov. Next year we know that we can put more support in for Menchov because he has proven that he deserves it.”

“Our best memory is the victory of Pierrick Fedrigo,” said the manager of the Bouygues Telecom squad when asked by LeTour.fr for his thoughts on the 93rd Tour. “It was a first for our team in the Tour de France. It was a very emotional day in the Tour. Fedrigo was aggressive in the final kilometers and outwitted his Italian rivals. It was a victory of the legs and the head…”

“What will remain in our memory will be the stage victory of Mercado in Pau,” said the director of the only wild-card invitee at the 93rd Tour de France, Agritubel. “It was also our ambition to be present in escapes during the first week and we achieved that objective. We have shown that we deserved the wild-card invitation and look forward to another such opportunity in 2007.”

Throughout the live coverage of the final stage of the 2006 Tour de France we will post a number of interviews that LeTour.fr has done with the managers of the teams represented in the 93rd edition.
The peloton is currently at the six kilometer mark and still enjoying the festive spirit of the final stage so it’s a good chance to reflect on the past three weeks of competition...

Michel Battiono, the man responsible for showing the time checks from the back of the motorcycle throughout the Tour, has just presented his thoughts on the race to the rider in the yellow jersey: "Impeccable Floyd!"
Short, sweet and honest.

Floyd Landis has been joined by Oscar Pereiro and Andreas Kloden at the front of the peloton. The American, Spaniard and German will stand on the podium as first, second and third in the 2006 Tour de France.

Florent Brard (CEI) was not at the sign on this morning. The French champion is the last rider to quit the 2006 Tour de France.
There are 139 riders in the peloton for the final stage. The other rider who started stage 19 but is not present today is Robbie Hunter (PHO). The South African finished outside the time limit in the time trial yesterday.

"Topp! Depart reel donne..." The race director of the Tour de France since 1989, Jean-Marie Leblanc has just dropped the flag to signal the official start of the final stage of his last Tour in his current position. The start was at 1.55pm.

The festive spirit of the final stage is on display in the neutral zone. Juan Antonio Flecha is wearing a cardboard cut-out of an image of Fabian Wegmann’s face as they approach the site of the official start.

The peloton is still in the neutral zone and on their way to the site of the official start. The flag is expected to fall from the race director’s car to signal the beginning of racing in stage 20 at about 1.50pm.

The peloton is currently rolling along slowly in the 5.7km neutral zone on the way to the site of the official start of the final stage of the 2006 Tour de France.
Floyd Landis, Robbie McEwen, Mickael Rasmussen and Damiano Cunego are at the front of the bunch posing for photos in their prize jerseys.

This is the first time in over five years that the winner of the green jersey has effectively been determined prior to the final stage. Robbie McEwen (DVL) - the winner of stages two, four and six -has an unbeatable advantage over the six-time points classification champion Erik Zabel (MRM). They have 254 points and 175 points, respectively. In third place is last year’s green jersey winner Thor Hushovd (C.A) with 160 points.
There are two intermediate sprints in the final stage. There are six, four and two points on offer for the first three riders across the line. The sprints are in Boulogne-Billancourt (at 92km) and on the Champs-Elysees during third of eight laps (116.5km).

Thee are still a handful of climbing points to be won in the 2006 Tour de France. Both the categorized hills on this final Sunday of the 93rd edition are ranked category-four. They are the Cote de Gil-sur-Yvette (at the 43.5km mark) and the final ascent, the Mont-Valerien (at 72.0km).
Mickael Rasmussen (RAB) will win the polka-dot jersey for a second successive year. He has a tally of 163 points, 32 more than the race leader Floyd Landis (PHO). In third place in the mountains classification is David De la Fuente (SDV) who was 113 points.

The final day of the 93rd Tour de France is the shortest non-time trial stage. The 154.5km journey from Antony to Paris is scheduled to begin at 1.35pm. The conditions are warm but clouds are lingering over the site of the start.
The race leader, Floyd Landis (PHO) is posing for photographers along with the other classification leaders, Mickael Rasmussen (RAB), Robbie McEwen (DVL) and Damiano Cunego (LAM).
Live coverage of the stage that concludes on the most famous avenue in the world, the Champs-Elysees, will begin shortly.