The 2009 Tour de France was hailed as the return of The Boss, but it will be better remembered for crowning of a new King of cycling, Alberto Contador. The Spaniard ensured that the yellow jersey would remain on his shoulders all the way to Paris after recording victory in the final individual time trial, a 40.5km ride around Lake Annecy. Contador had enough strength and power left to produce a performance that was good enough to defeat two-time world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara by 3 seconds. Russian roluer Mikael Ignatiev filled the podium, finishing in third.
Contador's victory saw him gain more time on his rivals and now means he is a massive 4:11 lead over his nearest rival Andy Schleck, who could only mange 21st on the days stage. Lance Armstrong regained his podium position and moved up toe third despite finishing a perhaps disappointing 16th on the day. His main rival for the podium spot now looks to be Bradley Wiggins who moved to within 11 seconds of The Boss, 5:36 behind Contador in 4th place. Frank Schleck showed he still has a major weakness in the race against the clock. He finished over 2:30 back and has dropped from 3rd to 6th accordingly. He is still only 40 seconds behind Armstrong in third though so a big attack on Mount Ventoux on Saturday could see him move back up to the final podium in Paris.
In contrast, Contador is untouchable at the top of the standings and will be crowned the Tour de France Champion for the second time when the race comes to Paris on Sunday. It is likely we are seeing the next great multiple-champion in Tour history.
Yellow Jersey - Alberto Contador
Green Jersey - Thor Hushovd
Polka Dot Jersey - Franco Pellizotti
White Jersey - Andy Schleck
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