Key moments

The final stage is all about enjoying the arrival in Paris and then contesting the bout for stage honors but by the time the peloton reaches the French capital the fight for the yellow jersey had already concluded. Alberto Contador would end the 21st stage in 97th place but first overall. He is the second Spanish rider to claim more than one titles in the Tour de France, successfully backing up after his previous appearance and victory in 2007. The final stage, however, provided Mark Cavendish with another chance to show that he is indeed the fastest man in the world when it comes to sprinter. If you ever doubted it, watch the finale of stage 21 and again and count the time it takes for the rest of the riders to cross the line… his nearest rival was the Australian lead-out master Mark Renshaw who celebrated an emphatic victory, the sixth for the Columbia team – all of them claimed by Cavendish.

The Progress Report
The official start of the 164km 21st and final stage of the 2009 Tour de France began at 1.35pm. There were 156 riders at the start with no one eliminated during the race to Mont Ventoux yesterday. The stage featured no climbs but included two intermediate sprints, the first on the second passage of the Haut des Champs-Elysées (120km), the second on the fourth lap (133km).

First Attack… At 111km
After the flag fell to signal the start of racing, there was a brief mock attack from Contador but from the first kilometer until the 111th, the peloton rode at a tranquil pace. Once on the streets of Paris, however, the attacking began. The first to surge ahead was Calzati (AGR) but he was quickly chased down. Then Beppu (SKS) launched an attack before the Haut des Champs and took six others with him. The escape was: Veikkanen (FDJ), Coyot (GCE), Dumoulin (COF), Pichot (BBO), Barredo (QST), Wegmann (MRM) and Beppu (SKS). By the third of the eight laps they were ahead by 35”. Ignatiev (KAT) made a bid to try and join the leaders but failed. Columbia took control of the peloton and all nine riders from Cavendish’s team stayed on the front of the bunch from the moment it arrived on the Champs-Elysées.

Cavendish 1st, Renshaw 2nd… Daylight Third
The peloton was led by Columbia-HTC since it arrived on the streets of Paris. There was only one instance when another squad took over the pacesetting and it was Garmin for about three kilometers. The team of Farrar spent a few minutes ahead head of the peloton moments after the capture of the escapees (5km from the finish). After passing under the ‘Flamme Rouge’ it was all over for all teams but Columbia. Hincapie bolted to the front of the bunch and set things up perfectly for the final two men in the impressive lead-out train: Mark and Mark… Renshaw set things up so well for Cavendish that the Australian got to celebrate second place behind his team-mate who claimed a sixth stage victory in the 2009 Tour.
The victory was so comprehensive that there was daylight between the two Columbia riders and the rider in third, Garmin’s sprinter Tyler Farrar.

Contador Takes His Second Title
Alberto Contador finished the final stage in 97th place but, as expected, there was no lost time in the general classification. He became the second Spanish rider to win more than one title of the Tour de France, finishing 4’11” ahead of Andy Schleck and 5’24” ahead of his American team-mate Lance Armstrong.
Pellizotti (LIQ) was crowned the King of the Mountains, the first time an Italian has won the polka-dot jersey since 1992. And Andy Schleck earned his second successive white jersey as the leader of the youth classification. Finally, Thor Hushovd may not have been able to challenge Cavendish for the stage but he was sixth and is now a two-time winner of the green jersey.

The King of the Mountains of the 2009 Tour de France is Franco Pellizotti. The Liquigas rider dreamed of the polka-dot jersey when he last saw an Italian win it and now it’s become a reality. He did more than that though; he was also voted the winner of the Fighting Spirit award as the most aggressive rider in the 96th edition.

"I felt many different emotions during this Tour. Above all, I had the ambition to win a stage. I tried several times but I could not achieved that goal even if I did come close. But the other objective was to win the polka-dot jersey and I’ve realized that. With the ‘Fighting Spirit’ as well, I’m leaving this Tour with two awards which proves that I was present every day. Along with my team-mates we helped to animate this race.
“Going up on the podium of the Tour de France, with my wife Claudio and my two children just near by is an incredible feeling. I had already finished the Tour on the Champs-Elysées in the past but I’ve never gone through this ceremony.
“The battle for the polka-dot jersey went on for quite some time. I was very demanding to get it, and just as though to keep it. I am the first Italian to win this title after Claudio Chiappucci and that means a lot to me. When I saw him on the roads of the Tour all those years ago with this jersey… it was one of the images that remained with me; I wanted to win it one day.”

He effectively claimed his second title at the top of Mont Ventoux in stage 20 but Alberto Contador had to survive the last stage without complications. He did just that and the emotion he has is relief.

“My thanks go out to many people after achieving this victory; I want to express my appreciation to all those who supported me as well as all the riders who rode the Tour in 2009. On a personal level, I had a difficult Tour and now I’ll be sure to enjoy this win. I’m extremely happy. The last day was great. Unbelievable! The champagne was good. I times I felt like a child again. I feel a great sense of relief; a release of tension. Next year it will be different, perhaps less complicated than this time…”

As Mark Cavendish was being escorted to the formalities after the final stage, he caught a glimpse of the final rankings in the points classification and exclaimed: “Just 10 points… I could have won it.” He was talking about the green jersey and had he taken points in the intermediate sprints on the final day he could have indeed taken the sprinters prize but for that to happen, Thor Hushovd needed to not take a single point… the Norwegian is too cunning and strong for that. He’s the points classification champion for a second time.

“When you get to the finish of a bunch sprint, you always have a lot of adrenaline. There are a lot of things that happen in that final rush to the line and it’s easy to say a lot of things to your rivals immediately after. Mark [Cavendish] and I have already forgotten about all the incidents; we’ve shaken hands, talked about it and put it all behind us. We both had a good Tour this year, he won a lot of stages and I’ve got the green jersey.
“I think I won this jersey because I’m more experienced. I know how to win it. I’ve done it before and I fought for the jersey for many, many years. Cavendish is the fastest sprinter but I’m the most consistent one… and that’s why I won this jersey. His goal is to win the green jersey and I know he’s going to win many of them in the future but I’m going to give him a big fight in the next few years.
“It’s very emotional to stand on the podium and receive this jersey. I’m proud of what I’ve done. It was a hard battle to get more points than Cavendish but that’s what I’ve done in the end.
“We talk a lot when we’re riding but we had a big battle during the Tour de France – especially after he was relegated, that was a hard time – but we’ve talked about it and have forgotten it. The last few days we had a good ride and good race for this important jersey.”

Each time a stage concluded with a bunch sprint, one rider was in control at the 96th Tour de France. Mark Cavendish insists that each of his six victories were achieved by the whole Columbia-HTC team; he “just finished it off”. In Paris, however, he and his lead-out man, Mark Renshaw, were able to celebrate first and second place after an emphatic effort from a squad committed to winning stages…

“I’ve always said that I wanted to win on the Champs-Elysées. Every sprinter dreams of putting their hands up in the air as they cross that line, seeing the Arc de Triomphe in the foreground and it’s an amazing feeling to do so. It didn’t disappoint at all.
“I am going to do a few criteriums in the coming days but I truly am exhausted. It was a close competition in the green jersey competition and my team rode perfectly so it will be a great relief to celebrate with them tonight before I think about having a break. For Mark [Renshaw] to get second as well, is the perfect way to end this Tour.
“I don’t care about that the statistics say that no other rider has won six stages in their second attempt at the Tour; I don’t think anyone else had had the sort of team that I’ve had this year. It’s not me winning it, it’s the team and we’ll have a good celebration and then we all deserve a good rest.
“We saw a perfect George Hincapie today. He was in an incident yesterday and was in a lot of pain here on the cobbles of the Champs-Elysées but he went so, so hard under the ‘flamme rouge’ – he was just so fast that no one else could do anything… it showed too because otherwise we wouldn’t have got first and second.
“No one was willing to work with us the whole time. It left to us and the whole team rode and rode and rode and we were able to finish it off.
“It’s been an amazing Tour for British cycling. Bradley [Wiggins] did an incredible job; he’s been consistent throughout even though it’s his first time he’s really contended the GC and I’m really proud of him. We can both go home with our heads held high.
“Tonight I just want to be with my team-mates. We’ve been through a lot at this Tour, we’ve shared a lot of emotions, and had a lot of special moments so to finish it off well tonight will be perfect.”