He's done it! Cadel Evans has taken second place in the Tour. What a legend. If you haven't seen the time trial there's some great video footage at SBS where you can see one of the grittiest, gutsiest rides to hold out Levi Leipheimer for second place. Evans is now part of Australian cycling folklore and is sure to inspire lots of young riders to get on their bikes and get fit.
Cadel, we salute you.
Could the Tour de France get more fascinating - or more farcical? Firstly Alexandre Vinokourov has been expelled from the race for failing a doping test, and now the leader, Michael Rasmussen, has been sacked by his own team for breaking team rules and lying to them about his whereabouts during a time he was to have submitted to a drugs test. Rasmussen must be feeling shattered! Two years ago he had a time trial from hell in the penultimate stage of the Tour which cost him a place on the podium. And now, with the yellow fleece glued firmly to his back, he's been sacked, costing him an almost certain win in the most prestigious bike race in the world.
Now all that remains is to see if Cadel Evans can bridge a gap of just under 2 minutes in the final time trial of the Tour. If Evans stands on the podium in Paris, it will be the best result by an Aussie ever. C'mon Cadel, you can do it!
How good is Cadel Evans?! Now only 1:14 seconds from having the leader's yellow jersey on his back after a magnificent time trial, where he finished second, Evans now has a real chance of winning the Tour. If he can do well in the Pyrenees over the next few days we may be seeing an Aussie on the podium in France.
And congratulations to SBS for a the terrific coverage of every stage live. It's great to see some of the worlds great athletes battle it out in one of the worlds most grueling sporting events.
