ALBERTO CONTADOR spoke of his pride at fulfilling a lifetime ambition, after clinching his maiden Tour de France title.
The Spaniard, riding for the Discovery Channel team, had little trouble maintaining the 23-second lead he took into yesterday's 20th and final stage - a leisurely 146km trek from Marcoussis to Paris' Champs-Elysees.
The Tour may have attracted at
tention for all the wrong reasons of late, owing to a spate of doping scandals in recent days, but the 24-year-old still cherished taking home the biggest prize in cycling.
"It is the dream of every rider to win the Tour de France," said Contador, whose winning cushion was the closest margin of victory since Greg LeMond beat Laurent Fignon by eight seconds in 1989.
"It's a dream; it is paradise. It is an extraordinary joy for me. It is an extraordinary day for my family, my parents, for my brother."
Five years ago, Contador's life was in danger after he spent ten days in a coma with swelling to the brain following a crash in the Tour of Asturias. The out-and-out climber's recovery is complete with this Tour win, and he added: "The operation on my brain affected me for life, and that means I can better savour this moment."
Australia's Cadel Evans secured second in the overall standings, with Levi Leipheimer eight seconds further back in third.
The recent drugs scandals - which have led to the expulsion of the likes of pre-race favourite Alexandre Vinokourov, Michael Rasmussen and Cristian Moreni - have rocked a sport desperate to clean up its image. But the crowds still flocked to the Champs-Elysees to see the denouement of the world's biggest cycling event, much to the delight of Evans.
"It was magnificent [to finish on the Champs-Elysees] and it was great to see the crowd all out," said the Predictor-Lotto rider.
"That's what my sport and our sport is all about. I saw the Aussies and yeah, it helped. Every year, there are more Aussie flags and Kangaroos."
The final stage was won by Lampre-Fondital's Daniele Bennati - who nicked a sprint finish near to the Place de la Concorde ahead of Thor Hushovd and Erik Zabel, in a time of 3:51:03.
"It is the most beautiful win of my career," said the Italian, who claimed his second stage victory of the Tour. "It's incredible. To win the last stage of the Tour de France, it's a dream.
"I was very motivated, and my team did very well - putting me in a good position.
"When I passed the finishing line I put up my arms and then saw the Arc de Triomphe.
"I started to cry with emotion after everything I have sacrificed."
