Tour de France 2008

Carlos Sastre at the top of the Eiffel Tower!

After three weeks of tiring race around France, a Quick Step's cyclist - Belgian Gert Steegmans won the last stage on the Elysees Fields, and the overall winner of the most significant bicycle race in the world is Spaniard Carlos Sastre, the member of CSC team. It is the first overall victory for a 33-year-old veteran and the third successive for Spanish cyclists. Danish team CSC scored also a team victory, and it also has the best young cyclist - Andy Schleck. The best mountain climber was Austrian Kohl, while Oscar Freire was the most successful among sprinters


By MARKO ANDREJIĆ
from Belgrade, SERBIA


The overall winner of the most significant bicycle race in the world, the 95th Tour de France, became, somewhat unexpectedly, Spaniard Carlos Sastre, the member of Danish CSC team. Although everyone had included Cadel Evans and Denis Menchov into favourites, and as surprises they had prognosticated "some new boys" such as Mark Cavendish or Stephen Schumacher, a 33-year-old veteran scored his first overall victory and the third successive for Spanish cyclists (Pereiro 2006, Kontador 2007). After a chronometer rode last but one day, Sastre saved 65-second lead over Cadel Evans, so that the last stage almost had a festival character.

CSC also scored team victory, and it also has the best young cyclist Andy Schleck. The best mountain climber was Austrian Bernard Kohl, while Oscar Freire was the most successful among sprinters. This year's Tour revealed doping scandals again, but the organizers had much less problems than last year - three riders were suspended.

This year's Tour de France started on 5th July from Brest, and it ended on Sunday, 27th July, traditionally on the Elysees Fields in Paris. After 42 years, this year, for the first time, prologue was not rode (an introductory race, which started from London last year). The total length of a path was 3560 kilometres, with 5 mountain stages during the race, 4 mountain finishes and 2 speed exams (chronometer). According to the race director Christian Prudhomme, the idea of a this-year race was to catch the rhythm on various terrains through which cyclists pass in the first race week and that each stage implies fight till the last meter.

Tour de France is always a great chance for marketing and promotion, so that this year about 200 cars which represented 43 brands were in an advertising caravan. Hosts tried to mark each piece of land through which stages were rode, and thrill and happy audience who applauded competitors could be seen everywhere around.

The very fight for the positions was extremely uncertain, and tactics appeared to be very important in such a tiring and long race in which cyclist rode even 150-200 kilometres per day. In the "winners" of the 95th Tour, apart from those who were officially decorated with awards, we certainly should include 23-year-old Mark Cavendish, a sprinter star, who won four stages and approved his potential. German Stephen Schumacher was well placed and very noticed during the whole race, no matter whether it was the mountain finish, sprint, or chronometer that should have been won. Christian Vandevelde went out of Lance Armstrong's shadow, and Luxembourger Kim Kirchen dominated during a whole first week.

The greatest loser was young Italian Ricardo Ricco, the winner of two stages to whom many, after those successes, prognosticated high placement, but he disappointed everyone when it was found that he had used doping. Because of that, he was suspended from the race and expelled from Saunier Duval team, while he put another stain on a rich tradition of Tour de France. In "losers", so to say, we may include Alejandro Valverde, who wore "yellow jersey" in the first half of the race; Denis Menchov who was one of sportsbetters' favourites all over the world; Columbian Juan Soler who was seriously injured after his fall in the hills and Christophe Moreau, a French veteran to whom this was probably the last Tour, and who mysteriously gave up the competition.

Figures

This year 20 teams and altogether 180 cyclists, who were followed by 17 referees, took part in the competition. A great media attention is approved by the figure of 1990 journalists accredited to follow this year's Tour de France. Radio broadcast was given on 91 local and national stations, and television broadcast on even 95 channels. Altogether it presents 180 countries and 3200 hours of programme, while cycling fans could watch their idols also on the Internet on the official site www.le-tour.fr, which gave an abundance of additional information, too. As for the organisation and security, it was performed by 14,000 police officers, 9,000 policemen and 45 policemen on bikes.

Teams: AG2r-La Mondiale, Bouygues Telecom, Cofidis, Credit Agricole, Francaise des Jeux, Agritubel (Continental Pro), Caisse d'Epargne, Euskaltel-Euskadi, Saunier Duval, Gerolsteiner, Milram, Quick Step, Silence-Lotto, Lampre, Liquigas, High Road Team, Slipstream (Continental Pro), CSC Team, Rabobank and Barloworld (Continental Pro).


(Published: 10.08.2008.)