Forget the individual time trial for a moment - it was Cadel Evans' stubbornness on Stage 18 on the Galibier climb which kept him in touch and deservedly won him the 2011 Tour de France, writes ITV.com/tour editor Luke McLaughlin

Let's face it: Cadel Evans has never been the most popular man in the peloton. His now infamous threat to cut the head off a journalist who dared go near his beloved dog illustrates that.

But the BMC Racing Team rider is now a Tour de France winner, and none of that matters now. You don't have to like him, but you absolutely have to respect him. The Australian rode a near-perfect race and his victory is richly deserved.

While Andy Schleck of Team Leopard-Trek attracted praise for the bravery of his early attack on the Galibier last Thursday, Evans' work in single-handedly reducing his losses by more than two minutes that day was decisive in the final race result.

It was certainly just as important as Evans' scorching time trial on Saturday which finally saw him take the yellow jersey.

Andy Schleck's attack was audacious, but his win that day was achieved with an orchestrated, well planned team effort. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but Evans had no-one to rely on when he tried to pull Schleck back.

It was sheer bloody mindedness that kept him in the race when he could have crumbled. He had no support, and neither did he expect any. He simply wasn't going to let Schleck run away with it. That kind of ride is what wins Tours.

As always, the race was packed with individual brilliance and bravery. The mere fact that Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil) got back on his bike and finished Stage 9, after being knocked into a barbed wire fence by a car, was incredible.

Thomas Voeckler (Team Europcar) made the hearts of all French fans' race with his long spell in yellow.

Thor Hushovd produced some of the most dominant, memorable solo riding in the history of the Tour to win in Lourdes and win in Gap after spending the first week in the yellow jersey.

But Cadel Evans was unquestionably the most consistent rider across the three weeks, and there seems no reason why he couldn't come back and win the Tour again next year even at the age of 35.

That Stage 19 fightback summed up Evans' race. He didn't win the stage, and he didn't take the headlines, but he was strong enough to stay in contention when the likes of Alberto Contador (Saxo-Bank) and even the race leader Voeckler looked spent. Equally as important, Evans and his BMC Racing Team steered clear of the crashes which dogged the race, particularly in the early stages.

All of this is easy to say in hindsight: our pre-Tour predictions piece shows how futile it is to predict anything on the Tour de France. Of the 11 people we asked, all 11 had either Contador or Andy Schleck to win. Three of 11 had Evans on the podium.

One of the great things about the Tour de France is its capacity to surprise. Perhaps if Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky had stayed fit he would have been right in the mix at the end. Perhaps the likes of Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) or Jurgen van den Broek (Omega Pharma-Lotto) would have been in contention.

We'll never know. But what is certain is that after a race full of spirit and determination, Evans deserved his victory after years of persistence. Chapeau Cadel.

Follow ITV Cycling on Twitter