TdF: Cadel Evans storms in to yellow as Tony Martin wins Stage 20

Cadel Evans put on a stunning performance, to become the first Australian to win the Tour de France, as Andy Schleck cracked under pressure.

Evans came in to the individual time-trial with a 57 second deficit to the younger Schleck, after failing to make any time during the mountains. Many people predicted he would overhaul the gap, but nobody would have believed how much time he did take. The Australian had already taken 30 seconds out of the Luxembourgish rider, by the 15km mark.

By the final intermediate check he was only two seconds down on, the stage’s eventual winner, Tony Martin. He eventually crossed the line seven seconds down, but put a massive 2 minutes 31 seconds on Andy Schleck. Emotional scenes on the podium followed, as Evans had tears in his eyes, while the crowd gave him a huge cheer. The Australian will be the first from the Southern Hemisphere to win the tour, if he can stay on his bike until Paris.



Martin takes his first
Martin showed he had got through the mountains better than some of the other time-trial specialists. The German’s time looked almost unbeatable, until Evans rolled off the starting ramp, to win his first ever tour stage. His normal foe, Fabian Cancellara, put in the best time early on, but the big Swiss rider looked to have suffered hard in the mountains. The man, known as Spartacus, finished 1:42 off the pace down in 8th.


Voeckler misses the podium
There were also some tense moments, as Frank Schleck rode to the line, as he rode to keep his third place from Thomas Voeckler. The elder brother managed to hold on and keep the gap to Voeckler at a minute. Voeckler will ride in to Paris with his highest ever tour position, until this year, his highest position was 66th. His wingman Pierre Roland held out to keep hold of the white jersey, ahead of Rein Taaramae. The Frenchman may have slipped out of the top-ten, but he certainly looks like one of France’s big hopes for the future.

Alberto Contador and Samuel Sanchez both managed to move themselves up the GC, with Damiano Cunego losing loads of time. The Spaniards both finished in the top ten, but Voeckler’s efforts prevented them from moving up the rankings. Contador finished 1:06 down on Martin, in third, while Sanchez slotted in to 7th, 1:37 down.

The road to Paris
While most of the jerseys have been decided, the green jersey is still up for grabs on the Champs-Elysees. Mark Cavendish holds a 15 point lead over Jose Joaquin Rojas, after being docked points in the last few stages. He just has to finish in front of Rojas, in both sprints, which is easier said than done. There will be many riders hoping for a victory on the famed cobbles and both will have to be careful, not to get taken out.