Winning by the (second) slimmest of margins...

It's strange to say it, but all the scandal that led to Michael Rasmussen being kicked out of the Tour de France may have been the best thing that happened to the race this year. While "The Chicken" (as he's nicknamed because of his frail-looking chicken legs) was still in the race, it looked like he had all but wrapped up winning the Tour barring some epic choke in the individual time trial today. The three men trailing him in the general classification would be left to duke it out for second place. Instead, Rasmussen was booted out of competition by his own team for being a complete moron and we had one heck of a competition this morning in France. What usually ends up being a head-to-head competition between number one and two, became a three-way battle royale with the yellow jersey up for grabs.

Going into the time trial today, here were the standings:

1. Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 86h 04' 16"
2. Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto + 01' 50"
3. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team + 02' 49"

After putting in the ride of his life and winning the stage with one of the fastest average speeds ever recorded at the Tour, Levi Leipheimer came oh so close to not only overtaking Evans for second place, but even overtaking his teammate Contador to win the whole thing. In the end, Alberto Contador also put in a remarkable performance to preserve his lead by a slim 23 seconds, the second smallest margin of victory ever in the Tour de France.

1. Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 87h 09' 18"
2. Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto + 23"
3. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team + 31"

The slimmest margin of victory occurred in 1989 when American Greg Lemond stuck it to a very smug Frenchman Laurent Fignon by riding the fastest time trial ever recorded at the Tour de France to overcome a 50 second deficit and gain an additional 8 seconds to win the maillot jaune. I remember watching that back then thinking I had just witnessed one of the coolest sporting events ever. Doping wasn't the center of attention then, just the actual sport of cycling itself. Heck, the biggest controversy at the time was Lemond's use of an aerodynamic helmet and aerobars, the first use of its kind in the Tour, and now it's standard equipment for any rider today.

Barring some freak accident tomorrow, Alberto Contador is the winner of the 2007 Tour de France. Too bad the first questions from the press probably won't be too congratulatory, but more in the vein of "Did you cheat?" At this point, I'm not sure I really care anymore. I could have cared less whether they were doped up on testosterone, EPO, bovine hemoglobin, or crack--today was an exciting spectacle to watch, and perhaps reminded me why the Tour de France will live on. Viva la Tour!

(Photo: AP/Christophe Ena)