Sastre completes his Tour procession

8:52am Monday 28th July 2008

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CARLOS Sastre realised a childhood dream as he safely negotiated yesterday’s final stage of the Tour de France to seal overall victory.

Sastre, the 2005 Vuelta a Espana winner, has finally delivered on his promise during the past few weeks, with the Madrid-born 33-year-old taking a lead of 65 seconds over nearest challenger Cadel Evans into the 21st and final stage.

With the final stage little more than a ceremonial trek into the heart of the French capital, the Team CSC rider maintained his advantage, losing just seven seconds to Evans (Silence-Lotto), who took second ahead of Gerolsteiner’s Bernhard Kohl.

‘‘It’s a dream coming true, I have been waiting so long for this,’’ Sastre told Eurosport.

‘‘Ever since I was little I’ve been thinking about this moment.’’ Sastre becomes the third consecutive Spanish winner of the event, following the victories of Oscar Pereiro in 2006 and Alberto Contador in 2007.

Sastre was third in the 2006 Tour and fourth a year later but having managed to preserve his lead following Saturday’s crucial time trial, yesterday was always going to end successfully for him.

‘‘After my Vuelta victory in 2005 I thought I could one day win the Tour,’’ he added.

‘‘But I had to fight for it, get experience, and finally I have done it.’’ Evans, meanwhile, was left to reflect on a second runnerup finish in succession after coming home 23 seconds behind Contador last year.

A heavy crash on stage nine affected the Australian’s charge this year, and he entered Saturday’s penultimate stage with too much to do, having fallen 94 seconds behind Sastre.

‘‘I had some little mistakes but just to be able to continue after the crash in the first week was something I was happy with,’’ said Evans.

‘‘To finish second is a good ride. Of course I’d like to win but it’s not easy to win the Tour de France. I’m hoping to build on the good progression of the last four years, and if I continue that for four more years hopefully I can achieve my aim.’’