Do you remember in 1989 when Laurent Fignon lost his healthy lead over Greg LeMond in the final time trial to the Champs Elysées?
LeMond won le Tour by eight seconds, the slimmest margin on record. LeMond wore an aerodynamic helmet and used triathlon bars; Fignon just got his bike with his blond ponytail flowing behind him. It has been argued that the Frenchman's ponytail lost him the tour. It just went to prove that it "ain't over 'til the fat lady sings".
Carlos Sastre didn't make that mistake yesterday. He rode like a champion giving very little of his lead away to the challenger Cadel Evans. Evans had banked upon winning the tour by putting in a much better time but it wasn't to be. Evans never really got going whereas Sastre rode the time trial of his life.
Sastre's reward will be, barring incidents, riding into Paris as the third Spaniard to win the tour in successive years.
Coverage of the final stage starts at 1:30pm on Eurosport.
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