2009 Tour de France

Mark Cavendish said before the Tour de France that he intended to win the final stage on the Champs-Elysees. On Sunday, he delivered on that promise, thanks to his own speed and the work of this Columbia team-mates. George Hincapie and Mark Renshaw provided a textbook lead out in the face of a Garmin-Slipstream effort to spoil the Cav party. Columbia were so effective, Renshaw took second place in the stage.

Bradley Wiggins sealed his fourth place after his heroic climb up Mont Ventoux on Stage 20, when he held off a determined challenge from specialist climber Frank Schleck. Wiggins equalled the 1984 feat of British rider Robert Millar by finishing fourth, and later said the achievement topped his three Olympic gold medals

Alberto Contador proved beyond doubt that he was the strongest rider in the 2009 Tour de France, winning the race by a margin of 4'11" from nearest rival Andy Schleck of Saxo-Bank. Contador's Astana team-mate Lance Armstrong, 11 years his senior and a veteran of seven Tour victories, came third, 5'24" behind the Spaniard. Contador and Armstrong opened verbal hostilities soon after the race ended

Cav won the battle on the Champs-Elysees, but Thor Hushovd won the war for the green jersey. The Norwegian's tussle with Cavendish was an enthralling subtext to the 2009 race - and some harsh words were exchanged between the pair - but by the time they made it to Paris, they had made up, even indulging in a mock sprint finish at the summit of Mont Ventoux on Stage 20

Juan Manuel Garate may have won the battle on Mont Ventoux, but Alberto Contador won the war. He finished fourth in the stage, in a group with fellow GC contenders Andy Schleck and Lance Armstrong, to assure overall victory ahead of Sunday's ceremonial Stage 21 into Paris

Garmin-Slipstream's Bradley Wiggins fights his way bravely up Mont Ventoux - narrowly holding off a challenge from Frank Schleck of Team Saxo-Bank in the process. Wiggins is virtually assured of fourth spot overall in the Tour now, equalling Robert Millar's achievement when he finished fourth in 1984

Spaniard Alberto Contador talks to the media after securing his second victory in the Tour de France. The 26-year-old won the race in 2007, but was prevented from competing last year after his team was implicated in a doping investigation

Liquigas rider Franco Pellizotti became the first Italian rider since Claudio Chiapucci in 1982 to win the King of the Mountains competition. Pellizotti amassed 210 points across the race - and although there are climbing points up for grabs on the way to Paris on Sunday, the Liquigas man cannot be caught

Juan Manuel Garate of Rabobank powered his way up the climb of Mont Ventoux to win Stage 20 - one of the most legendary and prestigious stages in the Tour de France

Lance Armstrong (right) leads yellow jersey wearer Alberto Contador and members of Team Garmin-Slipstream behind him. Armstrong said after Sunday's climb in Verbier that he would support Contador - effectively throwing in the towel in the race for the overall win

Team Astana's Lance Armstrong (left) and Team Garmin-Slipstream's Bradley Wiggins roll into Bourg-Saint-Maurice at the end of Stage 16. Mikel Astarloza of Euskaltel-Euskadi won the stage with an impressive late attack from a four-man breakaway

After weeks of a power struggle between Alberto Contador and Astana rival Lance Armstrong, the Spaniard proved his mettle with a superb uphill attack in Stage 15. It was enough to grant Contador the yellow jersey, prove his detractors wrong, and even force his Texan team-mate to admit the game is up. Job done

Sunday's Stage 15 from Pontarlier to the ski resort of Verbier saw British rider Bradley Wiggins catapult himself into third position. After the stage he was quick to play down any chance he might have of winning the whole thing. But Wiggins flew to Annecy on Monday's rest day to take a look at the time trial course, where he'll be targeting a stage win

There was more drama in Besancon on Saturday. Thor Hushovd reported Mark Cavendish for what he insisted was a barge on the bunch sprint, resulting in the British rider being disqualified from Stage 14 and losing his points for the day. Cavendish, as a result, wrote off his chances of taking the green jersey

Bbox Bouygues Telecom's Pierrick Fedrigo celebrates on the podium after winning Stage 9 of the Tour de France between Saint-Gaudens and Tarbes.

Mark Cavendish was probably not the happiest person in the world after seeing Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Cervelo Test Team) take over the green jersey after the eighth stage of the Tour de France between Andorre la Vieille and Saint Girons.

Caisse D'epargne's Luis-Leon Sanchez celebrates winning Stage 8 of the Tour de France between Andorre la Vieille and Saint Girons.

Team AG2R's Rinaldo Nocentini steals the yellow jersey after taking over as overall leader after the seventh stage of the Tour de France between Barcelona and Andorra Arcalis.

Brice Feillu won a stage in his first Tour de France, in his first season as a pro on the climb to Andorra Arcalis in the first proper mountain stage. Feillu's older brother Roman wore the yellow jersey last year - but he never managed to win a stage. Meanwhile, Alberto Contador's dramatic late attack saw him leapfrog Team Astana rival Lance Armstrong in the GC. The Spaniard and 2007 Tour winner is now 2" ahead of Armstrong.

Cervelo Test Team sprinter Thor Hushovd produced a brilliant finish to grab Stage 6 victory in Barcelona. The Spanish riders in the peloton were desperate for a win on home soil, but Hushovd rained on their parade by beating Rabobank's Oscar Freire to the line

French rider Thomas Voeckler brought the house down on Stage 5 - his brilliant solo attack with 10km left took him to victory and the home crowd went wild. Voeckler had time to blow kisses to the crowd - and shake his head in disbelief - as he crossed the finish line for his first ever stage win. Voeckler wore the yellow jersey for several days in the 2004 Tour de France. "He'll never have to pay for his pastis again," as Gary Imlach put it on the highlights show.

Lance Armstrong indicated before the Tour that he'd be willing to ride in support of Astana's team leader, Alberto Contador. But after Stage 5, a team time trial in Montpellier, he said "Alberto is here to win, but to be quite honest, so am I".

Team Astana won the team time trial in Stage 5 - hardly a surprise from a  team containing Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden. A slippery course caused problems for some of the Tour contenders - Denis Menchov of Rabobank crashed at the second corner while Cadel Evans of Silence-Lotto lost over a minute to the stage winners.

It's yellow chalk, but will it be yellow jersey? Lance Armstrong has plenty of support, but perhaps not from every member of his own team - including the 2007 Tour champions Alberto Contador

Mark Cavendish's stated ambition was to wear the green jersey, and after three stages it was his. But will he be wearing it in Paris on 26th July?

Mark Cavendish, the Isle of Man sprinting sensation, celebrates his first win of the Tour de France - he left Tyler Farrar for dead in a bunch sprint as he reinforced his reputation as the fastest man in world cycling.

Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour winner, speeds around the course on Stage 1. The soap opera in the Astana team, which includes Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden, promises to be a fascinating sub-plot in this year's race. Armstrong gradually declared war on team-mate Alberto Contador - having claimed before the race that he would support the Spaniard, he was soon insisting that he is out to win the Tour de France.

Swiss rider and Olympic champion Fabian Cancellara won the opening prologue in and around Monaco, in what was regarded as one of the most exciting opening stages for years ...