Tour de France Stage 20 Juan Manuel Garate Crosses First

In the deciding stage of the Tour de France Juan Manuel Garate(Rabobank) crossed the line first.  He and Tony Martin(Columbia) were part of a large breakaway that was slowly shaved down as the slopes of the infamous Mont Ventoux took their toll.  They were nearly caught by the leaders of the race, but managed to finish one, two.  Andy Schleck(SaxoBank) crossed third.

Traditionally, the ride into Paris is not contended except for the sprinters so we can expect the final five places in the Tour will be:

1.  Alberto Contador(Astana)

2. Andy Schleck(SaxoBank)

3.  Lance Armstrong(Astana)

4.  Bradley Wiggins(Garmin)

5.  Frank Schleck(SaxoBank)

There was lots of drama for today's stage of the Tour.  At the beginning of the stage less than two minutes separated the second place from the seventh.  The fight for positions held until the finish line was crossed.  Andy Schleck attacked the slopes which at times reached 10%, to try to drag his brother Frank to the third place.  Lance Armstrong showed his experience by sticking to Frank Schleck's back wheel.  Alberto Contador shadowed Andy Schleck.  Bradley Wiggins looked as if he would be dropped back one place in the race, but he dug deep and climbed back to the leaders.  The words to describe Armstrong's performance might well be outwit, outfox, outlast.

King of the Mountain, Franco Pellizoti(Liquigas) put on a display of mountain climbing and it looked as if he would place third in the stage, but he was passed in the last kilometre by the Tour leaders.

Lance Armstrong has shown that he is equal to the elite of world cycling.  After retiring for four years and suffering a broken collarbone this spring he has lifted himself back into the top contenders.  Already he is organizing a new racing team under the banner of RadioShack.

Amets Txurruka(Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Alan Perez Lezaun(Euskatel-Euskadi) were eliminated at the end of Stage 19.  Amets Txurruka who shone in an earlier stage, had a crash and his teammate slowed to assist him.

The unusual mountaintop finish so near to the end of the Tour brought an estimated 1 000 000 fans to the rocky peak to cheer on the riders.

Stage 21 of the Tour will Leave Montereau Fault Yonne and end on the cobblestones of Paris.