And so the 2007 Tour de France is over!

Alberto Contador takes first.
Cadel Evans takes second.
Levi Leipheimer takes third.

Here are the final standings all riders who finished this great race...

1 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 91:00:26.000 00:00:00.000
2 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 91:00:49.000 00:00:23.000
3 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 91:00:57.000 00:00:31.000
4 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC 91:07:34.000 00:07:08.000
5 071 ZUBELDIA, Haimar ESP EUS 91:08:43.000 00:08:17.000
6 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 91:12:03.000 00:11:37.000
7 027 KIRCHEN, Kim LUX TMO 91:12:44.000 00:12:18.000
8 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 91:12:51.000 00:12:25.000
9 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 91:14:40.000 00:14:14.000
10 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 91:14:51.000 00:14:25.000
11 219 SOLER HERNANDEZ, Juan Mauricio COL BAR 91:17:17.000 00:16:51.000
12 052 BOOGERD, Michael NED RAB 91:21:41.000 00:21:15.000
13 012 ARROYO, David ESP GCE 91:22:15.000 00:21:49.000
14 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 91:24:41.000 00:24:15.000
15 044 HORNER, Christopher USA PRL 91:25:45.000 00:25:19.000
16 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 91:27:35.000 00:27:09.000
17 036 SCHLECK, Frank LUX CSC 91:32:14.000 00:31:48.000
18 153 BELTRAN, Manuel ESP LIQ 91:34:40.000 00:34:14.000
19 088 VALJAVEC, Tadej SLO LAM 91:37:34.000 00:37:08.000
20 204 COBO ACEBO, Juan Jose ESP SDV 91:37:40.000 00:37:14.000
21 174 GARATE, Juan Manuel ESP QSI 91:38:42.000 00:38:16.000
22 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 91:46:08.000 00:45:42.000
23 078 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP EUS 91:50:00.000 00:49:34.000
24 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 91:55:16.000 00:54:50.000
25 037 VANDEVELDE, Christian USA CSC 91:56:16.000 00:55:50.000
26 106 FOFONOV, Dmitriy KAZ C.A 91:56:49.000 00:56:23.000
27 068 GOUBERT, Stephane FRA A2R 92:06:56.000 01:06:30.000
28 038 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 92:08:48.000 01:08:22.000
29 089 VILA ERRANDONEA, Patxi ESP LAM 92:10:03.000 01:09:37.000
30 107 HALGAND, Patrice FRA C.A 92:13:11.000 01:12:45.000
31 095 KOHL, Bernhard AUT GST 92:13:53.000 01:13:27.000
32 218 SIUTSOU, Kanstantsin BLR BAR 92:15:42.000 01:15:16.000
33 103 BOTCHAROV, Alexandre RUS C.A 92:22:51.000 01:22:25.000
34 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 92:30:38.000 01:30:12.000
35 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 92:31:00.000 01:30:34.000
36 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 92:31:13.000 01:30:47.000
37 061 MOREAU, Christophe FRA A2R 92:33:32.000 01:33:06.000
38 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 92:34:16.000 01:33:50.000
39 133 DUENAS NEVADO, Moises ESP AGR 92:36:59.000 01:36:33.000
40 177 TANKINK, Bram NED QSI 92:37:10.000 01:36:44.000
41 084 BRUSEGHIN, Marzio ITA LAM 92:37:10.000 01:36:44.000
42 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 92:37:12.000 01:36:46.000
43 076 LANDALUZE, Inigo ESP EUS 92:37:16.000 01:36:50.000
44 069 TURPIN, Ludovic FRA A2R 92:45:20.000 01:44:54.000
45 158 WEGELIUS, Charles GBR LIQ 92:46:51.000 01:46:25.000
46 123 FLORENCIO, Xavier ESP BTL 92:52:45.000 01:52:19.000
47 185 KNEES, Christian GER MRM 92:53:49.000 01:53:23.000
48 079 VERDUGO, Gorka ESP EUS 92:53:58.000 01:53:32.000
49 205 DE LA FUENTE, David ESP SDV 92:55:16.000 01:54:50.000
50 077 PEREZ, Ruben ESP EUS 92:56:41.000 01:56:15.000
51 034 CUESTA, Inigo ESP CSC 92:59:11.000 01:58:45.000
52 062 ARRIETA, Jose Luis ESP A2R 93:00:33.000 02:00:07.000
53 202 CAMANO, Iker ESP SDV 93:05:43.000 02:05:17.000
54 066 GADRET, John FRA A2R 93:07:16.000 02:06:50.000
55 179 VASSEUR, Cédric FRA QSI 93:08:40.000 02:08:14.000
56 043 CIONI, Dario ITA PRL 93:11:08.000 02:10:42.000
57 017 PORTAL, Nicolas FRA GCE 93:15:40.000 02:15:14.000
58 125 LEFEVRE, Laurent FRA BTL 93:15:43.000 02:15:17.000
59 152 ALBASINI, Michael SUI LIQ 93:19:01.000 02:18:35.000
60 098 WEGMANN, Fabian GER GST 93:20:02.000 02:19:36.000
61 115 MARTINEZ, Egoi ESP DSC 93:20:42.000 02:20:16.000
62 028 MERCKX, Axel BEL TMO 93:21:26.000 02:21:00.000
63 048 VAN SUMMEREN, Johan BEL PRL 93:22:23.000 02:21:57.000
64 168 LÖVKVIST, Thomas SWE FDJ 93:23:16.000 02:22:50.000
65 117 PAULINHO, Sergio POR DSC 93:23:57.000 02:23:31.000
66 129 VOECKLER, Thomas FRA BTL 93:25:00.000 02:24:34.000
67 032 ARVESEN, Kurt-Asle NOR CSC 93:25:02.000 02:24:36.000
68 126 PINEAU, Jérôme FRA BTL 93:25:25.000 02:24:59.000
69 201 MILLAR, David GBR SDV 93:32:33.000 02:32:07.000
70 042 AERTS, Mario BEL PRL 93:33:24.000 02:32:58.000
71 161 CASAR, Sandy FRA FDJ 93:34:12.000 02:33:46.000
72 016 PEREZ SANCHEZ, Francisco ESP GCE 93:37:51.000 02:37:25.000
73 159 WILLEMS, Frederik BEL LIQ 93:37:56.000 02:37:30.000
74 065 ELMIGER, Martin SUI A2R 93:38:07.000 02:37:41.000
75 082 BENNATI, Daniele ITA LAM 93:38:56.000 02:38:30.000
76 154 CARLSTRÖM, Kjell FIN LIQ 93:40:00.000 02:39:34.000
77 208 RINERO, Christophe FRA SDV 93:41:25.000 02:40:59.000
78 184 GRIVKO, Andriy UKR MRM 93:42:07.000 02:41:41.000
79 181 ZABEL, Erik GER MRM 93:42:54.000 02:42:28.000
80 131 MERCADO, Juan Miguel ESP AGR 93:44:53.000 02:44:27.000
81 097 SCHOLZ, Ronny GER GST 93:45:05.000 02:44:39.000
82 074 AZANZA, Jorge ESP EUS 93:50:56.000 02:50:30.000
83 169 VAUGRENARD, Benoît FRA FDJ 93:51:20.000 02:50:54.000
84 121 FEDRIGO, Pierrick FRA BTL 93:54:08.000 02:53:42.000
85 055 FLECHA, Juan Antonio ESP RAB 93:56:24.000 02:55:58.000
86 057 NIERMANN, Grischa GER RAB 93:56:35.000 02:56:09.000
87 091 SCHUMACHER, Stefan GER GST 93:56:56.000 02:56:30.000
88 081 BALLAN, Alessandro ITA LAM 93:57:31.000 02:57:05.000
89 156 KUSCHYNSKI, Aleksandr BLR LIQ 93:59:12.000 02:58:46.000
90 075 ISASI, Inaki ESP EUS 94:00:03.000 02:59:37.000
91 013 GARCIA ACOSTA, Vicente ESP GCE 94:01:04.000 03:00:38.000
92 139 VOGONDY, Nicolas FRA AGR 94:01:16.000 03:00:50.000
93 128 TSCHOPP, Johann SUI BTL 94:07:45.000 03:07:19.000
94 067 GERRANS, Simon AUS A2R 94:09:45.000 03:09:19.000
95 083 BOSSONI, Paolo ITA LAM 94:10:22.000 03:09:56.000
96 087 RIGHI, Daniele ITA LAM 94:11:01.000 03:10:35.000
97 166 JEGOU, Lilian FRA FDJ 94:14:37.000 03:14:11.000
98 124 GESLIN, Anthony FRA BTL 94:14:41.000 03:14:15.000
99 211 EFIMKIN, Alexander RUS BAR 94:14:45.000 03:14:19.000
100 033 CANCELLARA, Fabian SUI CSC 94:16:14.000 03:15:48.000
101 155 FISCHER, Murilo Antoniobil BRA LIQ 94:16:34.000 03:16:08.000
102 132 BICHOT, Freddy FRA AGR 94:17:24.000 03:16:58.000
103 203 CANADA, David ESP SDV 94:17:45.000 03:17:19.000
104 175 ROSSELER, Sébastien BEL QSI 94:18:51.000 03:18:25.000
105 026 GRABSCH, Bert GER TMO 94:20:24.000 03:19:58.000
106 212 CARDENAS, Félix COL BAR 94:20:24.000 03:19:58.000
107 105 DEAN, Julian NZL C.A 94:22:23.000 03:21:57.000
108 178 TOSATTO, Matteo ITA QSI 94:22:40.000 03:22:14.000
109 102 BONNET, William FRA C.A 94:23:25.000 03:22:59.000
110 045 HOSTE, Leif BEL PRL 94:23:28.000 03:23:02.000
111 213 CHEULA, Gianpaolo ITA BAR 94:23:37.000 03:23:11.000
112 167 LADAGNOUS, Matthieu FRA FDJ 94:23:43.000 03:23:17.000
113 157 QUINZIATO, Manuel ITA LIQ 94:24:08.000 03:23:42.000
114 137 JALABERT, Nicolas FRA AGR 94:24:28.000 03:24:02.000
115 116 NOVAL GONZALEZ, Benjamin ESP DSC 94:24:39.000 03:24:13.000
116 183 GRABSCH, Ralf GER MRM 94:25:01.000 03:24:35.000
117 163 DELAGE, Mickaël FRA FDJ 94:25:12.000 03:24:46.000
118 216 HUNTER, Robert RSA BAR 94:26:38.000 03:26:12.000
119 171 BOONEN, Tom BEL QSI 94:26:45.000 03:26:19.000
120 189 SIEBERG, Marcel GER MRM 94:27:14.000 03:26:48.000
121 024 EISEL, Bernhard AUT TMO 94:27:23.000 03:26:57.000
122 182 CORTINOVIS, Alessandro ITA MRM 94:27:30.000 03:27:04.000
123 173 DE JONGH, Steven NED QSI 94:28:11.000 03:27:45.000
124 217 LONGO BORGHINI, Paolo ITA BAR 94:28:14.000 03:27:48.000
125 138 SALMON, Benoit FRA AGR 94:29:25.000 03:28:59.000
126 085 CORIONI, Claudio ITA LAM 94:29:52.000 03:29:26.000
127 022 BURGHARDT, Marcus GER TMO 94:30:03.000 03:29:37.000
128 059 WEENING, Pieter NED RAB 94:32:15.000 03:31:49.000
129 094 HAUSSLER, Heinrich GER GST 94:32:56.000 03:32:30.000
130 162 CHAVANEL, Sébastien FRA FDJ 94:35:51.000 03:35:25.000
131 188 POITSCHKE, Enrico GER MRM 94:35:54.000 03:35:28.000
132 108 HINAULT, Sébastien FRA C.A 94:36:03.000 03:35:37.000
133 099 WROLICH, Peter AUT GST 94:36:31.000 03:36:05.000
134 053 DE GROOT, Bram NED RAB 94:38:12.000 03:37:46.000
135 092 FÖRSTER, Robert GER GST 94:40:36.000 03:40:10.000
136 104 CHARTEAU, Anthony FRA C.A 94:41:10.000 03:40:44.000
137 096 KRAUSS, Sven GER GST 94:41:17.000 03:40:51.000
138 176 STEEGMANS, Gert BEL QSI 94:42:04.000 03:41:38.000
139 101 HUSHOVD, Thor NOR C.A 94:42:23.000 03:41:57.000
140 215 GERAINT, Thomas GBR BAR 94:47:17.000 03:46:51.000
141 049 VANSEVENANT, Wim BEL PRL 94:53:20.000 03:52:54.000

Photos of today's stage to come. Really!! I was there. Hold please...

No Rain So Far

My guess and the Parisian weatherpeople have both been wrong. The roads in Paris are dry and the roads at the Time Trial are also in good, dry shape.

Times so far have been pretty fast and we may see no change in the standings.

20 riders left to go, including the top three - Contador, Evans and Leipheimer.

NO SPOILERS TODAY - I'll give the results ONLY after they are official.

Tomorrow's Time Trial - NOT A SPOILER

This is being written at 10:28PM Paris time, so it can't tell you who will win tomorrow's 55KM time trial or who will win the 2007 Tour de France.

What it will tell you is who I THINK will take this race because of the conditions forecast and because of the circumstances.

Remember way back in THIS POST, how I said that Levi Leipheimer was likely going to be the 2007 winner of the Tour de France? I still feel that way.

Here's how it will shake out...

Levi goes third to last and puts more than a minute into Cadel Evans effectively taking second place.

Then Contador - in the slippery conditions - plays it too safe and loses a chunk of time in the stage so that Levi ends up wearing the Yellow Jersey to start the final stage in Paris.

Discovery Team said at the beginning of the Tour de France that Levi was their leader. They supported him from the get-go and it's only been Contador's valiant riding and happenstance that has put Contador in yellow.

So, the team management will have to make a decision and they will go with Levi in Yellow and Contador in white, finishing 1-2 on the podium on Sunday.

I'll see you tomorrow night after the time trial is complete.

Two days to decide

Right now Contador is in the lead by about 90 seconds over Cadel Evans and by three minutes over teammate Levi Leipheimer.

The stage that will decide this race - now that Rasmussen is out - is #19. That's a 55.5KM individual time trial.

We could see a 1-2 Discovery Team finish in Paris this Sunday with Contador hanging on and Levi blasting Cadel Evans away.

This is just crazy!!

Top three - 4.7KM to go

It's Rasmussen, Contador and Leipheimer leading Stage 16 of the 2007 Tour de France.

Cadel Evans is killing himself to bridge the gap. He's back about 11 seconds. He can see the riders ahead of him.

4.4KM left to go.

**Sastre is 00:01:08 back of the three leaders.

Leipheimer is setting the pace and Rasmussen made a signal with his hands of throwing in the towel. Odd. We shall see what happens in the next 20 minutes. 4KM to go. Cadel has almost caught them.

Rasmussen patted Leipheimer on the back.

Levi with Cadel, Contador and Rasmussen together

Read the subject line.

There are 5.5KM left and Rasmussen has Contador firmly on his wheel.

This IS the Tour de France.

Levi and Cadel are 13 seconds back right now. They look like they're going to work together and try to catch the other two.

The rest of the riders in the race are a huge distance back. Carlos Sastre is the only guy in view and he's 500meters back.

Levi has jumped and is trying to bridge the gap alone. He's only five seconds back now.

I'm hyperventilating.

More attacks

6.7KM left and Cotnador is keeping about 60 yards on the rest of the four lead riders. He's just hammering.

But here come the other three. Now it's Contador by 10 yards, then Rasmussen, then Evans and Levi has dropped a little.

Rasmussen has lept past Contador and now they're leapfrogging each other.

Both Evans and Leipheimer are back by about 100 yards.

Holy Crap. 6KM to go. Evans has caught up. Levi is still lagging.

9.2KM LEFT - SPOILER!!

The top four in the GC - Levi, Contador, Rasmussen and Evans - were all leading the race and then right at the other side of a tunnel, Contador took off. He's now got a gap of 20 yards on the group.

Oops, they're back together with 8.1KM left to go.

Like I said earlier, one of these four is going to win today and win the entire 2007 Tour de France.

Holy moses!

LEVI just jumped hard. He's got 50 yards on the group and is putting more space into them.

Oh my, they're reeling him in.

I have no idea what's going to happen when they catch him and who might jump next.

Stage 16 DELAYED

Most of the riders are rolling in the neutral zone right now, but amid all the interviews and excitement after the positive test of Vinikourov, there are about a dozen riders who refuse to start riding.

Standing astride their bikes at the start line of the neutral zone, these riders delayed the race for about 30 seconds to a full minute and then started riding.

I can only surmise that this was in protest to the way in which testing is handled.

If you're not aware, the way I understand drug testing in cycling is that you are guilty until proven innocent; there are precious few 'baseline' tests done (so if someone has a superhuman day like Landis last year - then there's no way to see if that person's hormones are within an acceptable range of THEIR 'normal'); the appeals process is convoluted and fraught with single chances and riders are seldom if ever allowed to present their own tests or science.

That said, I still think cycling has some dirt in it that needs to be cleaned out.

Right now there's a live interview with the director of the race...but Stage 16 is rolling.

And from a pure sports point of view, this stage should decide with finality the winner of the 2007 Tour de France. I believe it will be Rasmussen, Cadel Evans, Contador or Levi Leipheimer. Maybe I shouldn't go so far out on a limb, but race position seldom changes much this far into a Tour.

2KM to go

With two kilometers to go, it's Contador and Rasmussen at the front.

Rasmussen is asking Contador to do the work and he said he would give him the stage win if he worked at the front.

It seems like Contador has agreed to do so and will likely take the stage win. That's just what I surmise.

They're both taking turns with 1.5KM left in the stage.

Leipheimer and Cadel Evans are in pursuing groups and will likely not lose too much time today.

Time (trial) to start focusing on Top Ten!!

With the time trial ahead, the Tour has now become a race that Rasmussen can only lose. Some great names (and great climbers) are in the top ten right now. All Rasmussen has to do is hang on.

You realize that I hope he stops to sign autographs during tomorrow's stage and lets Levi up into second place. C'est la vie.

Here's the top ten after Stage 12...

1 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael
2 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro 00:02:35.000
3 207 MAYO, Iban ESP 00:02:39.000
4 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS 00:02:41.000
5 112 CONTADOR, Alberto 00:03:08.000
6 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP 00:03:39.000
7 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas 00:03:50.000
8 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi 00:03:53.000
9 027 KIRCHEN, Kim 00:05:06.000

Of these guys, I can see any of the top eight spots winning this race. Smart money might go with Cadel Evans or Levi Leipheimer. Cagey money would pick Kloden or Mayo. And it will probably just be Valverde by two minutes in Paris on July 29.

Top 25 Riders After 6 Stages

Here are the top 25 riders in the 2007 Tour de France, through six stages.

CANCELLARA, Fabian
KLÖDEN, Andréas
POZZATO, Filippo
MILLAR, David
FREIRE, Oscar
HINCAPIE, George
GUSEV, Vladimir
KARPETS, Vladimir
ZABEL, Erik
ASTARLOZA, Mikel
DEKKER, Thomas
VAUGRENARD, Benoît
GUTIERREZ, José Ivan
CONTADOR, Alberto
KASHECHKIN, Andrey
EVANS, Cadel
PEREZ, Ruben
ROGERS, Michael
PEREIRO SIO, Oscar
GERDEMANN, Linus
FLECHA, Juan Antonio
LEIPHEIMER, Levi
MENCHOV, Denis
FOTHEN, Markus
VALVERDE, Alejandro

WOWSA, Cadel Evans has snuck quietly into the mix at 16th overall. Hincapie is still in there and Levi Leipheimer is sitting nicely at 22nd.

Poor Wiggins is now nine minutes and four seconds back of the leader and the last-place rider is a full 25 minutes and 19 seconds back.

Happy Bastille Day tomorrow.