At 5.50pm Parisian time on a glorious Sunday afternoon Cadel Evans stood on the most majestic podium in world sport and made it official. On the most famous avenue in the world, with the Arc de Triomphe as a backdrop, Cadel Evans, in the famous maillot jaune, was crowned Tour De France Champion of 2011.
Fittingly, the vanquished Schleck brother stood on either side him.
To make the almost surreal picture complete, Parisian resident, Tina Arena, resplendent in Aussie flag t-shirt, stepped out from the throng and jumped on to the podium to belt out a version of Advance Australia Fair.
Cadel had just completed a 95km lap of honour which also included eight circuits of the Champs Elysees.
It also happened to be the final stage, the twenty first, of the 2011 Tour de France.
There was also a race to be won on the streets of Paris.
The Champs Elysees became a demonstration ground for the HTC Highroad Team road train and carried the fastest sprinter of modern times to his first ever green jersey win.
Mark Cavendish saluted the finish line as stage winner for the fifth time in this year’s tour.
The Manxman also made it an astounding twentieth stage win in four consecutive tours.
It was special day for Cavendish. For the first time in his remarkable career he got a stand on the podium on the final day in the green jersey he has always coveted.
Evans and Cavendish were joined on the podium by the best climber of the tour, polka dot jersey winner Samuel Sanchez, white jersey winner for the best young rider, Frenchman, Pierre Roland and best overall team winner, Team Garmin Cevelo.
The final chapter of the 2011 Tour de France is now complete with the happiest of endings for Cadel Evans and his ever growing legion of Australian cycling fans.
The Champs Elysees: Boulevard of Australian Dreams.
Art Sapphire is the pseudonym for Athas Zafiris, and is on Twitter @ArtSapphire
Tour de France Overall Yellow Jersey Standing – FINAL
Rider Team Time Gaps
1. EVANS Cadel BMC RACING TEAM 83h 45′ 20″
2. SCHLECK Andy TEAM LEOPARD-TREK 83h 46′ 54″ + 01′ 34″
3. SCHLECK Frank TEAM LEOPARD-TREK 83h 47′ 50″ + 02′ 30″
4. VOECKLER Thomas TEAM EUROPCAR 83h 48′ 40″ + 03′ 20″
5. CONTADOR Alberto SAXO BANK SUNGARD 83h 49′ 17″ + 03′ 57″
6. SANCHEZ Samuel EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI 83h 50′ 15″ + 04′ 55″
7. CUNEGO Damiano LAMPRE – ISD 83h 51′ 25″ + 06′ 05″
8. BASSO Ivan LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE 83h 52′ 43″ + 07′ 23″
9. DANIELSON Tom TEAM GARMIN – CERVELO 83h 53′ 35″ + 08′ 15″
10. PERAUD Jean-Christophe AG2R LA MONDIALE 83h 55′ 31″ + 10′ 11″
Stage 21 Results
Rider Team Time Gaps
1. CAVENDISH Mark HTC – HIGHROAD 2h 27′ 02″
2. HAGEN Edvald Boasson SKY PROCYCLING 2h 27′ 02″ + 00′ 00″
3. GREIPEL André OMEGA PHARMA – LOTTO 2h 27′ 02″ + 00′ 00″
4. FARRAR Tyler TEAM GARMIN – CERVELO 2h 27′ 02″ + 00′ 00″
5. CANCELLARA Fabian TEAM LEOPARD-TREK 2h 27′ 02″ + 00′ 00
Overall Green Jersey Standing – FINAL
Rider Team Points
1. CAVENDISH Mark HTC – HIGHROAD 334 pts
2. ROJAS Jose Joaquin MOVISTAR TEAM 272 pts
3. GILBERT Philippe OMEGA PHARMA – LOTTO 236 pts
4. EVANS Cadel BMC RACING TEAM 208 pts
5. HUSHOVD Thor TEAM GARMIN – CERVELO 195 pts
6. HAGEN Edvald Boasson SKY PROCYCLING 192 pts
Overall Polka Dot Climber Standing
Rider Team Points
1. SANCHEZ Samuel EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI 108 pts
2. SCHLECK Andy TEAM LEOPARD-TREK 98 pts
3. VANENDERT Jelle OMEGA PHARMA – LOTTO 74 pts
4. EVANS Cadel BMC RACING TEAM 58 pts
5. SCHLECK Frank TEAM LEOPARD-TREK 56 pts
6. CONTADOR Alberto SAXO BANK SUNGARD 51 pts
Overall White Jersey Youth Standing (Best Rider Under 25)
Standing Rider Team Time
1. ROLLAND Pierre 188 TEAM EUROPCAR 86h 23′ 05″
2. TAARAMAE Rein 151 COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 86h 23′ 51″ + 00′ 46″
3. COPPEL Jérôme 211 SAUR-SOJASUN 86h 30′ 58″ + 07′ 53″
Overall Team Standing (Combined Times of Best 3 Riders)
Team Time Gaps
1. TEAM GARMIN – CERVELO 258h 18′ 49″
2. TEAM LEOPARD-TREK 258h 29′ 53″ + 11′ 04″
3. AG2R LA MONDIALE 258h 30′ 09″ + 11′ 20″
4. TEAM EUROPCAR 259h 00′ 42″ + 41′ 53″
5. EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI 259h 10′ 49″ + 52′ 00″
Schtumpy
Guest
Thanks Art. Looking forward to tomorrow morning.
nordozzz
Roar Guru
:) actually made the race no less interesting ... he was hovering behind Lorenzo and Pedrosa for a bit, so it kept me interested knowing what was to come! And then that pass down the outside! Nice!!!
Rhys
Guest
Congrats on a great series of articles Art. There was something just right about Tina Arena belting out the national anthem with such gusto. I hope even after the initial hoopla has settled that the achievement of Cadel Evans winning the Tour is afforded the place of prominence it deserves in the pantheon of great Australian sporting moments.
sheek
Guest
Art, Thanks for your wonderful writing on the Tour - both informative & instructive. I actually love the conventions of the final stage/day. Only the French could dream up something like this, & it works in its own quirky way. I attempted to google the convention of the last stage last night & had a mixed bag of rather uninformative responses. But lo, one of the options was a piece by Spiro (on The Roar) from the 2007 last day, which he titled 'the Tour de Farce'. This was the Tour when Cadel finished 23 secs behind Contador & Spiro queried the stupidity of Evans not challenging, or being able to challenge Contador on the last day, being only 23 secs in arrears. It was the convention! Funny how the green jersey is up for grabs (which you can understand by the nature of the repeat circuits), but the yellow jersey can't be challenged (but for the odd occasion) unless there is some kind of calamity. Then he is also immune inside the last 3kms if he falls. You can see how the convention works. After 20 days/stages of brutal riding, everyone is pretty well knackered anyway. And with 8 tight laps around the environs of the Champs Elysees, it's hard to get a breakaway & maintain it (as last night showed). Let's say Andy Schleck tried to breakaway & couldn't, even if he was at the head of an 80 man peloton & Cadel at the rear, my understanding is they would get the same time, so Schleck would gain nothing by this. So as I said, the convention works in its own quirky way. I was in Paris last December, so it was great seeing some of the sights I had visited just 7 months prior. I must say I love Paris, I love rural France, I love the French for their beautiful language, architecture, food & wine & remaining true to their values (mostly), & I am now a convert to the Tour de France.....!
Redb
Roar Guru
Outstanding work Art, look forward to it. Cadel's red & black livery saved Saturday night for this Bomber fan.
Brett McKay
Guest
Sorry Nordz!! Um, I actually meant "with Stoner winning the Moto GP this morning" as a rhetorical question!?! :oops:
Alfred Chan
Expert
Thanks for the update each day Art. As Brett said, required reading each day. Especially for those of us who have to get up early in the morning and can't watch it live. Well done Cadel!
boes
Roar Pro
A well earned rest - I am shattered after watching it - but to write a piece ready for the morning each stage as well - massive. You have been single handedly dragging your own peleton along the tour and left your rivals behind. Maillot Jaune for you Art. It has been an awesome 3 weeks and rivetting to watch. Go Cadel - champion.
Decs
Guest
Thanks for all the reviews Art. Behind Rupert Guinness, this is where I came next. A truely great moment for cadel and Australia. From the stage 3 Mur, it always looked like Cadel could give this a shake. The rides on Thurs and Fri were pure guts and his TT was just memorable. I'm off to the tab to collect my 29-1 for the win. Happy Days.
jameswm
Guest
Thanks again Art It was a nice touch having Tina singing. I lived in Paris in 1999, when she was just starting to get big over there. She then married a Frenchman and has a couple of kids I think. Like her or not, it was a nice touch to have her sing the anthem rather than listening to some soulless recorded version, and it's not like she can't sing.
nordozzz
Roar Guru
phew i luckily must have missed that era ... just ... did get subjected to plenty of my sister's Bros records though! Don't google it in case u end up with one of their songs in your head. Yikes!
Thanks to everyone who has followed and supported my tour diary over the last 3 weeks. I hope to have one final piece, a Tour review, ready for Wednesday morning. I'm taking the day off to rest, reflect and also sort out my dysfunctional sleeping patterns :)
nordozzz - Secret fan? Hardly. More like irreparably scarred by being force fed Young Talent Time in the family home. And people wonder why Gen X'ers are so cynical ;)
nordozzz
Roar Guru
LOL spoiler alert Brett ... its recorded on my IQ ... anyways given his pace late in the qualifying session he did look to be getting the times down. No points updates pls, and don't wanna know if anyone went down :-)
Brett McKay
Guest
Art, thanks for the series of articles, it's been required reading each day. Just a fantastic effort from Evans, and with Stoner winning the Moto GP this morning, Australia is rocking the two-wheeled world right now..
punter
Guest
Well done Cadel, the ride around Paris was (as history deems it) a celabration. Both Andy & Frank Schleck were both very gracious in their defeats, admitting the best person won. Oustanding performance by the great man & has sealed his place as one of the greats of Australian sport.
nordozzz
Roar Guru
Tina Arena ... for shame Art ... how did you know it was her? Secret fan? ;) was a really moving scene on the podium ... and that embrace just after the finish with his BMC team ... if there's one thing Cadel understands after his journey over the years is the value of a good team supporting their GC guy 100pc. Lovely stage to watch... especially the start, never thought i'd find a neutralised section so riveting.
Redb
Roar Guru
I thought the stage 20 time trial was the peak event over the weekend, just loved the way Cadel tore back into contention metre by metre. Talk about a gruelling event. The last stage like a curtain call :)
Midfielder
Guest
Art Thanks for the articles ... what a great race this year has been.. Had to laugh maybe cry at Ch 9 news last night.. hopeless in not understanding most things and trying to pick up on key points the SBS folk were saying .... Ch 7 the same... meaning outside RL, Cricket, Tennis & AFL the news sports departments of these stations are almost devoid of general sporting understanding ... see the rugby bloggs on the 9 coverage of the RU test matches... Art my last last yell for Cadel ... YYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaa well for this year anyway...
Fake ex-AFL fan
Guest
How weird was it when Tina Arena appeared? I was watching the US coverage thinking 'who's this girl in the weird Aussie flag top?' and then it gradually dawned on me that it was Tina Arena, who I remember reading some time ago was now a successful singer in France. Fantastic effort by Cadel in what is probably the toughest single athletic event on the planet.