Contador wins Tour de France, Schleck 2nd, Menchov 3rd (LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images)

Alberto Contador has won the Tour de France for the third time; Andy Schleck is in 2nd place and Denis Menchov in 3rd. Mark Cavendish sprinted to win the final stage in Paris, making it his 5th stage win in this Tour.

Cavendish wins last stage of Tour de France 2010 (PASCAL PAVANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Cavendish sprints to finish line (PASCAL PAVANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Green jersey: Alessandro Petacchi
Red peas jersey: Anthony Charteau
White jersey: Andy Schleck
Team: Radio Shack

Most significant moments in this year’s Tour:

• Cobblestones stage in Belgium causing many riders to crash including Frank Schleck, Andy’s brother, who broke his collarbone and had to leave the Tour.
• Disqualification of Mark Renshaw who was caught on camera headbutting Julian Dean at the finish of stage 11 (Mark is Cavendish’s teammate and the one who had been protecting him at the end of each sprint). However, it did not matter in the end. Cav won just about every sprint after that including the final in Paris.
• The chain that caused Andy Schleck to lose the Tour: Andy’s chain fell off in stage 15 as he was attacking up the mountain. Contador saw Schleck in trouble and counterattacked and that was more or less the end of Andy Schleck’s chance to win the Tour.
• End of Lance Armstrong’s TdF adventures: Armstrong announced this is his last Tour. After crashing several times and finishing in the middle of the peloton, it’s time to hang up the bike.

Disappointments of this year’s Tour:

• Why is it Cav wins the sprints and he does not get the green jersey?
• How can a guy like Contador not win a single stage and still win the Tour?
• Why, after a very exciting start, did the Tour become boring in the middle and final stages, except for the Andy-Alberto battle? There weren’t enough attacks, the riders seemed to be kicking back too much.

Andy Schleck congratulates Alberto Contador (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Tour de France peloton rides into Paris (JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images)

The peloton rides towards the Arc de Triomphe (JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images)

See great Tour de France 2010 last stage photos:
http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/gallery

General classement Stage 15 Tour de France 2010

Luck plays a huge role in winning the Tour de France and Andy Schleck’s bad luck may determine the winner. Today, as Andy Schleck (yellow jersey holder as of the start of this stage) was making his way almost at the summit of the Port de Balès suddenly his chain came off. What horrible timing! Contador was right behind him. Seeing Schleck in mechanical trouble, Contador just took off and naturally, finished ahead of him, taking the yellow jersey. Now, Schleck is 8 seconds behind Contador in the general classement. There are still two stages in the Pyrenees so the race is not yet over. Debate is raging as to whether he should or should not have waited for Schleck. However, when Schleck did get his chain back on, he attacked like a madman, showing what an amazing rider he is.

Thomas Voeckler (BTL) won this stage 15; Alessandro Ballan came in second.

I’ve been reading the comments submitted by readers on Dutch and German cycling websites, and the vast majority agree with the Tour de France’s decision to expel Renshaw. The French and the Belgians, however, are divided on the issue.

Mark Cavendish wins stage 11 of Tour de France 2010 (photo: Reuters)

Another victorious stage for Cavendish and it wasn’t even close. In a post-race interview, Cavendish remarked: “It was really more like a breakaway than a sprint, at least for me.” Cavendish has won 3 stages in this year’s Tour de France, making it his 13th Tour de France win (beating the record of Erik Zabel, his coach at HTC Columbia). Andy Schleck keeps the maillot jaune. Alessandro Petacchi surprisingly takes the green jersey (from Thor Hushovd).

UPDATE: Oh no, Mark Renshaw, who has been crucial in protecting Cavendish and getting him in the right spot to finish first, has been kicked out of the Tour for head-butting Julian Dean in the final seconds of the race, so as not to allow Dean to get his teammate, Tyler Farrar, in position. This is a very unfair decision, in my view, absolutely excessive. Remember only a few days ago, two riders – Barredo and Costa – were beating up one another after the race. They got away with fines.

Notes about this stage from Sisteron to Bourg-Les-Valence: The scenery changes from Alpine to Mediterranean, from lush steep mountainsides to dry, shrubby plains and valleys, with craggy hillsides topped by ruins of  fortified batiments and towers. The peloton rode past endless fields of lavender and sunflowers. The area is north of Avignon and the Luberon.

Andy Schleck in the yellow jersey after stage 9, Tour de France 2010

Finally, Andy Schleck is in the yellow jersey. Cadel Evans had to give it up after a terrible finish in today’s ninth stage (Morzine-Avoriaz to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne) which featured climbs up the Col de la Madeleine and Col de la Colombiere. It turns out that Evans was riding with a fractured elbow and the pain must have been immense! Evans has little chance of winning the Tour this year even though he entered it as one of the favorites and even got the yellow jersey last Sunday. Evans is 7 minutes and 47 seconds behind Andy in the general classement.

The battle is now between Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck who rode up the last climb, the Col de la Madeleine, together and finished very close in time. Contador trails Schleck by only 41 seconds in the general classement. I am looking forward to an epic battle!

Andy Schleck wins stage 8 Tour de France 2010

What an exciting finish in today’s punishing mountain stage from Station des Rousses to Morzine-Avoriaz! This area is a popular ski resort with two category 1 climbs, the Col de la Ramaz (9 percent grade) and Morzine-Avoriaz (at the end). This stage covered 189 kilometers. Andy Schleck (Team Saxo Bank) battled it out in the last minute with Sammy Sanchez (Euskatel-Euskadi) and powered past him to win. Robert Gesink (Rabobank) came in third place. Below are the individual standings for stage 8.

Tour de France 2010 stage 8 individual standings

Cadel Evans (BMC) takes the yellow jersey for the first time in this Tour, leading Andy Schleck (20 seconds behind) and Alberto Contador (Astana) (1 minute, 1 second behind). I was shocked to see Contador not challenge Schleck and Sanchez when the two men began pulling away towards the end of the race. Contador is the favorite to win this year’s Tour de France and his team, Astana, performed superbly today. Perhaps he’s conserving his strength for the other mountain stages, notably the Pyrenees.

Stage 8 Tour de France 2010 general standings

The other surprise of the day is Lance Armstrong’s very “un-Armstrong” like performance. He fell twice, faded away on the way up the Col de la Ramaz, and ended up in 39th place out of 50 riders, 13 minutes and 26 seconds behind Cadel Evans. It is highly unlikely Armstrong will pull his 8th Tour de France win. Of course, if by divine intervention, the 38 other riders are attacked by a pack of wild boar or get hit by lightning in the Pyrenees, then Lance will truly make history.

Lance Armstrong in 39th place at stage 8 Tour de France 2010

Temperatures flared at stage 6 of the Tour de France 2010 when, after the race was over, Carlos Barredo (Quick Step) and Rui Costa (Caisse d’Epargne) began fighting one another over an alleged violent elbow thrown by Costa into Barredo’s ribs, nearly causing the latter to fall. Both riders were fined 400 Swiss francs (just about the only currency that’s not depreciating these days).

Top 10 finish, stage 6 Tour de France 2010

Another stunning win by Mark Cavendish, who won stage 6 of the Tour de France today from Montargis to Gueugnon, the longest stage of the Tour. This time no tears, just big wide smiles. Mark is back in the running for the green jersey, at this stage held by Thor Hushovd. Teammate Mark Renshaw has been critical to Cavendish’s two wins.

Fabian Cancellara keeps the maillot jaune. See the overall standings as of Stage 6 below.

General classement Tour de France 2010 Stage 6

I’d be crying too if I were Mark. He’s taken a lot of flak from fellow riders, and from cycling fans who wonder if he’s still got “the legs”. Apparently he does and he won decisively over rival Thor Hushovd. It wasn’t even close. He stood on the podium crying big fat tears of joy and went on to shake hands with the Tour dignitaries, crying all the way.

It was a very hot day, but it was dry and flat, so no more nasty crashes. The peloton wound its way across the Seine through some of the most beautiful countryside in France, past endless fields of sunflowers, chateaux like the famous Fontainebleu; and abbeys, some in ruins like the Abbaye Notre Dame de Preuilly, others carefully restored and still in use today, such as the Collégiale Notre Dame et Saint-Loup in Montereau-Fault-Yvonne.

Here’s a short guide to watching the Tour de France on the Internet. I don’t have a TV because I hate TV so I watch everything online.

• Watch the Japanese live stream because it has the highest quality video. All TV programs in Japan are in high definition, unlike in other countries where the TVs are high-def but the programs are not broadcast in high-def.
• Turn off the audio on the Japanese live stream, but click on an audio feed in your language.
• I also like to watch the French TV channel, France 2, if the Japanese live stream does not come through, or to use the audio from the French channel because you learn a lot about French history, geography and architecture from the French commentators. They tell you about Napoleon’s stay in Montereau, the history of the chateau of Fontainebleu and more. And you get to improve your command of the French language.
• The English commentary is very good too, with its own brand of English humor, which I like, but warning: it is interrupted by too many ads!
• Ads on France 2 are funnier especially the ones for AG2R. Hysterical!

Results at end of Stage 5:

Fabian Cancellara keeps the maillot jaune.

Thor Hushovd keeps the green jersey.

Jerome Pineau is in the red peas jersey.