Free Republic

Heading into Saturday’s Stage 20 time trial, Cadel Evans faced a 57-second deficit on the leaderboard that provided further drama to one of the most memorable races in recent years. With confident, dominant performance, he not only made up the gap to catch Andy Schleck, but blew past the overall leader to claim the yellow jersey and ensure a calm, celebratory ride down the Champs Champs- Élysées — glass of champagne in hand. Evans, a 34-year-old Australian, became the first Aussie to capture the most prestigious title in the sport and the second oldest rider to win the race since...

♦ ♦ ♦ RACE PREVIEW Stage 14 would appear to be yet another one of those ostensibly flat transitional days which may nonetheless conceal a few challenges within the route. The first 50km out of Nîmes stretches across the flat Rhône delta before threading through some gentle Provençal hills along the way to the Durance Valley. It's only in the final 50 km the riders start meeting some real foothills of any consequence, including two moderate CAT 4 climbs, but the whole course from start to end will have taken the peloton from nearly sea-level at Nîmes to alt.735m...