How the Tour was won (and lost)

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A fan holds on(Image credit: AFP)

Tales from the peloton, August 2, 2007

The 2007 Tour de France began being lost back in 2006 when more than 100 athletes visited a Madrid clinic to enlist the services of Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes. Had a few not been caught with their names (or their dogs' names) on bags of blood, the 2007 Tour might not have come down to mere seconds separating the top three on the podium. But with Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso out of the picture come July 6, 2007, it was anybody's guess who would win this Tour.

Set amid the terrorist plot and natural disaster which befell the Grand Départ's host country prior to the Tour's arrival, doping seemed like a minor problem, and the prologue in London was a smashing success. Huge crowds lined the eight kilometre course which wound past all the hot tourist spots: Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the day was won by the World Champion, Fabian Cancellara (Team CSC).

As the Tour wound through Belgium and into France, the Alps began to loom larger and larger until finally, the race hit the mountains on stage 7 and the fireworks began. While it was true that the Alps weren't as decisive as they'd been in past years, in that big time gaps didn't open between the men who stepped onto the final podium in Paris, they would have decided the final winner had other forces not intervened.

The second Alpine stage to Tignes was an entirely different plot. Rabobank threw all its efforts into bringing a 16 man breakaway to within striking distance for an attack by Michael Rasmussen on the Cormet de Roselend, and successfully launched the 'chicken' to what looked like just another bid for the polka dot jersey. With the maillot jaune's T-Mobile team and the Rabobank squad stepping off the gas, the peloton eased and allowed Rasmussen to open up the gap. Normally Rasmussen wouldn't worry the GC contenders, but this was no normal Tour.

The descent of the Cormet de Roselend spelled the end of T-Mobile's GC hopes when Michael Rogers crashed and had to abandon. At the end of the descent, Levi Leipheimer had a mechanical that dropped him out of the select chase group with 44 kilometres and two climbs to go. He quickly regained the group, but when they hit the final climb, an attack by Dauphiné Libéré winner Christophe Moreau (Ag2r) drew Evans away. Contador was strong enough to bridge to the Australian, but Leipheimer was left chasing and would lose 46 seconds to the Australian by the line.

The final Alpine stage to Briançon saw the Discovery Channel team attempt to blow the race apart by sending Yaroslav Popovych up the road on the first climb. With five kilometres to the top of the final climb of the day, the monstrous Col du Galibier, Contador attacked, taking Evans along, but the young Spaniard was too strong and left Evans in 'no-man's land' as he flew over the top and joined his team-mate in a two-man time trial on the descent.

With the physical difficulties of the Alps behind, the Tour embarked on a surreal and convulsive week filled with not only with sporting drama but the agonising scourge of doping scandals. It began with the announcement that T-Mobile, a team which has proudly proclaimed to be leading the way to a clean sport, received news that Patrik Sinkewitz tested positive for testosterone in a June out-of-competition test. The news overshadowed stage wins by Cédric Vasseur and South African Robert Hunter.

Tom Boonen took out the final transitional stage as the rest of the GC contenders rested their legs for the stage 13 time trial, where they expected Rasmussen to give up the golden fleece. Evans may have gone to bed dreaming of yellow, but other forces were gathering strength to take down the yellow jersey. Rumblings from Denmark about Rasmussen's failure to notify antidoping authorities of his whereabouts spilled over into the Tour, and the press grilled 'the chicken' relentlessly.

Despite the increasing unpopularity of the scrawny Rabobank man, Evans, Leipheimer and Contador all put in solid performances but failed to unseat an unwavering Rasmussen in Albi, who conceded just 1'41" to second placed Evans. Contador lost 1'04 and Leipheimer 1'25" to the Predictor-Lotto man, while pre-race contender Carlos Sastre lost nearly three minutes to Evans, effectively ending his hopes for a podium finish. A storming Vinokourov rounded the slippery, rain-soaked course like a lightning bolt, and came home victorious with a 48.66 km/h effort.

The second day in the Pyrénées was a Contador/Rasmussen battle again, but this time the Discovery team had its secret weapon, George Hincapie, in the breakaway that stayed clear until the final climb. Contador's relentless attacks left Evans in the unfortunate position of chasing with Leipheimer, who had two team-mates up the road, and three Astana riders, who were content to see Vinokourov solo to victory out of the breakaway.

The rest day in Pau was anything but peaceful. While the riders went through the paces of riding, getting massages and holding press conferences, news came out that Vinokourov had tested positive for a blood transfusion after his stellar stage 13 time trial. The Astana team packed up and left the race before the final mountain stage could even begin, taking fifth placed Klöden out of the picture.

While the press took pot-shots at Contador for an alleged involvement in Operación Puerto, Evans was resorting to ruthlessness to stay at the front of the race on stage 18 - even bashing shoulders with a spectator on the run-in to Angoulême to stay tight on the Quick.Step train. The heavy hearts of Tour fans were lightened a bit when Sandy Casar won the stage after battling back from a crash with a dog. Even with his shorts ripped open he got the better of Michael Boogerd, Axel Merckx and Laurent Lefevre from the breakaway. With a tough uphill finish, Contador lost the wheel of Evans despite a massive effort of Hincapie to move his man forward, and wound up losing three precious seconds to the Aussie.

The final time trial from Cognac to Angoulême was the one chance for Evans to unseat Contador, but with Leipheimer only 59 seconds behind, one wrong move - one missed turn, flat tyre, bad patch along the route - could drop him down to third or worse. Contador was under enormous pressure, but had a secret weapon: seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong was in the team car to shout encouragement and give advice.

Meanwhile Evans was closing in on Contador - 22 seconds, 32 seconds, 1'18" - eating into his gap with increasing ferocity throughout the second half. But in the end, Contador pulled out the time trial of his life and held on to his yellow jersey, while Leipheimer came within eight tiny seconds of taking second overall. Just 23 seconds separated the first two - and 31 seconds separated the top three overall riders after more than 87 hours of racing - the difference of less than 0.01% of the total time.

On the Tour's final day, the much bandied about race for intermediate sprint bonuses never materialised, and the three riders finished safely in the main bunch to complete the Tour like gentlemen. The margin wasn't the closest in the Tour's history, but it certainly created plenty of opportunity to wonder, "what if?" The Tour also raised larger issues about the future of the sport with the three doping positives announced during the Tour [and one more afterward], the exit of the yellow jersey wearer, and the withdrawal of two teams from the race. On the bright side, the ridiculousness actually created a sympathetic reaction from the fans who all hope that real change can come out of this year's circus.