[starttext]
By Ivan Speck in Paris
Five star: Mark Cavendish indicates his number of stage winsOthers may have won the coloured jerseys but Mark Cavendish had eyes only for love on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday as he sprinted into the hearts of an adoring Parisian public.
As they held on to lampposts and trees, stood on boxes, crates and stepladders, the sight of Cavendish cruising to a second successive victory on the most glamorous avenue in France met the eyes of the swarm of spectators.
His triumph appeared as effortless as it was emphatic. While his rivals were separated by spokes, Cavendish crossed the line four bike lengths ahead of the pack, raising his right hand and holding up five fingers to signify the number of stage victories he gained in this year's Tour. Make that 15 in the past three years and now only 11 men in Tour history have won more stages than the Manx Missile.
Cavendish then charmed his new public with a few words in faltering French for national television.
His lucidity returned in his later press conference, especially when it came to the touchy subject of the green points jersey. That fell to Italian Alessandro Petacchi, a slender 11 points ahead of Cavendish.
Cavendish said: 'I'm a sprinter. My job is to win stages. If that's how I win the green jersey then so be it, but my style of winning the green jersey is to win stages. I won't change.
'I'm disappointed not to win it this year, I set it as my target. I had some bad luck in the first week and I was the weak link of the team, but I've won five stages so I'll be happy with this year's Tour.'
Cavendish's future has been the subject of furious speculation during the latter days of the Tour. He is under contract with HTC-Columbia for another year, yet the same situation didn't prevent Team Sky from luring Bradley Wiggins into their monied world last autumn.
the moment: Alberto Contador celebrates as he crosses the finish line in ParisThe British team's first venture along the route of the world's grandest road race has been disappointing, largely because of Wiggins' overall position of 24th. Last year he missed the podium in Paris by a single place.
That under-performance notwithstanding, it has been a spectacular Tour. Every day has had its twists, its implications for the overall standings or for the green points jersey, its crashes and mishaps or its tales of the travails of Lance Armstrong in his farewell Tour. A Tour for the ages, but also one which will forever carry an asterisk against the name of Alberto Contador. The Spaniard's winning margin of 39 seconds was exactly the same portion of time he took from runner-up Andy Schleck on the upper slopes of the Port de Bales when Schleck attacked only to drop a chain almost immediately.
Contador shot past, seized the opportunity to take advantage of a mechanical failure and took the yellow jersey which he never relinquished.
Schleck questioned Contador's ethical values. Contador later offered an apology, but without returning the 39 seconds he effectively stole from his rival, it was no more than a hollow gesture.
Just as it is impossible to guess what might have happened had Schleck's bike not failed him, so it is impossible to fully ignore Contador's dubious behaviour.
What a difference was the fortitude of Cadel Evans, the road race world champion who fractured his elbow in the Alps, and yet not only took the yellow jersey that day in Morzine-Avoriaz, but rode on with the injury all the way to Paris.
Armstrong broke no bones, but his pride was torn just as messily as his jersey on the same day as Evans crashed.
Just a magnificent sight: The pack ride up the Champs Elysees during the 20th and final stage of Le Tour
Three calamities of his own that day cost the seven-times winner almost 12 minutes and prematurely ended his dream of an improbable final victory at the age of 38. Even yesterday, the American was the centre of attention - and the stage had not reached its official start. Armstrong and his RadioShack team-mates turned up for the ceremonial roll-out from the town of Longjumeau wearing special black race suits with the number 28 embossed on the back - a tribute to the 28 million people worldwide currently dealing with the effects of cancer.
It is a disease from which Armstrong himself recovered in 1997, but any hope of parading the message along the Champs- Elysees were swiftly derailed by the officious race organisers who ordered RadioShack to revert to their usual red and grey outfits and later fined the team 6,300 Swiss francs for their audacity.
Irritated but undeterred, the riders pointedly donned the black jerseys once more when they mounted the podium on the Champs-Elysees to receive the team award.
Armstrong said: 'The idea was to talk about the significance of the disease. Unfortunately the Commissaires didn't agree.'
It could only happen to Armstrong, and the Tour will be a less colourful circus without him.
Champagne moment: Race champion Contador celebrates with bubbly (left), but Lance Armstrong rides into trouble with Tour De France officials (right) 
source: dailymail
[endtext]
