Contador bests Schleck, remains in yellow

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Alberto Contador (Astana) had trouble holding back his tears on the podium when the Spaniard was once again awarded the yellow jersey he is going to take to Paris tomorrow. In what was a truly memorable battle against the general classification runner-up Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank), the Astana leader withstood the pressure and extended his overall lead over the Luxembourger to 39 seconds, sealing his third Tour de France victory.

"I'm very happy," Contador said as he came down from the podium. "It's an emotional moment. I think it's the first Tour to leave me so emotional. You can't imagine how much."

Contador's superiority not being as clear in the 2010 edition than previously, the 27-year-old Spaniard was relieved not to have failed. "There were a few days when I wasn't in my best form and that might be why I'm so emotional," he said. "Up to the last moment it was a very hard Tour."

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Contador sealed his Tour victory with a 35th place on the stage, 5:43 down on stage winner Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank), where one had expected the yellow jersey wearer to do better taking into account his otherwise excellent capabilities against the clock. Perhaps fatigue and psychological pressure made Contador just a tad less competitive than in 2009 where he had won two stages, including the final time trial - which just proves the strain Schleck put on the multiple Grand Tour winner.

Polemics are sure to arise again over the final overall gap between Contador and Schleck: 39 seconds - exactly the same amount of time Schleck lost to Contador on stage 15 to Bagneres-de-Luchon when he suffered an untimely mechanical and lost the overall lead to the Spaniard that day. The Saxo Bank leader had difficulties fixing a dropped chain, while in front, Contador pressed on towards the finish.

But Schleck still had all the reason in the world to be satisfied with his performance, as he pulled off a major feat against the clock and is certain to be an even more dangerous threat to Contador next year. Using exactly the same Specialized time trial bike as his rival, the winner of the young rider competition created some surprise when he actually took a few seconds off Contador in the beginning of the course.

"I did the first 40km really, really fast," said Schleck. "I lost more in the final 10 kilometres than in the rest but I fought to the end."

The Luxembourger accepted his defeat, even more so because it did not come down to the mechanical. When asked about the 42 seconds he conceded to the Spaniard on the Tour's very first day, three weeks ago, Schleck said, "The prologue was terrible for me but it's part of the Tour de France. I haven't got any regrets. Anything can happen in the Tour. I know that. I'm satisfied and I'll be back next year to try and win," he said.

Cancellara claims another Tour TT

While all eyes were on Schleck and Contador in the final part of the 52km race against the clock, stage winner Fabian Cancellara waited on the hot seat for a long time until he was finally declared victorious. With a time of 1:00:56, Cancellara was 17 seconds faster than up-and-coming time trial talent Tony Martin (HTC-Columbia), also the runner-up to the Swiss time trial powerhouse in the prologue.

"I'm proud of my victory, as I spent a lot of energy on helping Andy get the yellow jersey," said Cancellara, the time trial world champion and Schleck's super-domestique throughout the race. "Now, we have to look to the future, to next year. To me, Andy did a great Tour de France, and in future, he will be winner one day. Tonight, we'll have a nice bottle of wine - we're just in the right region of France for this!"

Cancellara and Martin are certainly also candidates for great time trial battles in the future, as the pair again dominated the rest of the bunch, with third-placed Bert Grabsch (HTC-Columbia) 1:48 adrift.

The wind played an additional factor in the final time trial of the 2010 Tour de France. As the riders headed out of Bordeaux along the Garonne river delta to the Atlantic coast, the wind coming from the sea picked up as the afternoon unfolded, and the riders that had started early - such as Cancellara - had an advantage over later starters who had to fight stronger headwinds and crosswinds.

Final podium position decided

The fight for third spot on the podium in Paris was also on. At the beginning of the time trial, 21 seconds separated Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) from Denis Menchov (Rabobank), and even though the Spaniard was super-motivated to keep his third place, time checks showed that Menchov was having a better day. Menchov put on an excellent ride and finished 11th, 3:51 down on Cancellara, taking a full two minutes out of Sanchez, who will have to settle for fourth in Paris.

Menchov will thus be the third man to feature on the famed podium on the Champs-Elysées Sunday evening, with the rest of the top ten classification unchanged except for Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Transitions), who moved up from eighth to seventh: an excellent performance for the 29-year-old Canadian.