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The Tour de France took the unusual step of hitting the Giant of Provence - Mont Ventoux - on the penultimate day of the race. Casey Gibson was there to catch the action.

The Tour de France organizers’ experiment of making the peloton race up Mont Ventoux the day before the finish had mixed results. It was a thrill for the estimated 500,000 fans who lined the 21km length of the infamous climb. It was a burden for most of the 156 men who have survived the rigors of another rugged race out of the 198 starters. And it showcased the still-obvious strength of Lance Armstrong to finish ahead of the riders who threatened his third place on the final podium in Paris.

Alberto Contador is less than a day away from winning his second Tour de France – and fourth grand tour – in three years. During the past three weeks, the Spanish climber has withstood intrigue within the Astana camp, attacks from the Schleck brothers and hints that his victory was something a little bit too extraordinary. Through it all, Contador remained tranquilo. VeloNews listened in on the post-stage press conference with the winner apparent. Here’s what Contador had to say: Question: Was the tension within the team a major factor?

Last year’s top two at the 2008 Tour de France are having a hard time dealing with the fallout of their less-than-expected rides in this year’s edition and are directing their frustration at the media. Defending champion Carlos Sastre, who blasted the media in a rest-day press conference, publicly apologized for his comments while last year’s runner-up Cadel Evans is still broiling at piques from the press. Sastre released a lengthy communiqué Friday “recognizing my own mistakes.”

Spaniard Juan Manuel Garate dedicated his maiden victory on the Tour de France to his Rabobank team. Rabobank came to the race hoping to challenge for the yellow jersey but their team leader Denis Menchov, the Tour of Italy champion, went from bad to worse on a campaign littered with crashes and mediocre performances. Having also lost riders through injury, the Dutch outfit were set to go home empty-handed and had been looking to Spanish sprinter Oscar Freire to lift morale on the ride to the Champs Elysees on Sunday.

Maybe Lance Armstrong will like Mont Ventoux a little more now. Armstrong hung tough on the mountain that’s always given him trouble to fend off attacks from the Schleck brothers and secure a podium spot with third place going into Sunday’s finale at the 2009 Tour de France. “I cannot complain for an old fart coming here,” Armstrong said after the stage. “Getting third on these young guys is not so bad.”

Columbia's Mark Cavendish says he never focuses on his rivals, but on Sunday's final stage of the Tour de France the Columbia rider would do well to keep a close eye on Thor Hushovd. Despite going one better than he did in 2008 by winning five stages at the race so far this year Cavendish has unfinished business - challenging for the points competition's green jersey. Going into Sunday's 164km ride from Montereau-Fault-Yonne to the Champs Elysees in Paris Hushovd has a significant lead of 25 points on Cavendish.

Rabobank finally got a victory in the 2009 Tour de France as Juan Manuel Garate joined an early break on Saturday and stayed away to win the penultimate stage atop the forbidding summit of Mont Ventoux. Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck did all he could do to upset the top of the GC — his team powered the peloton much of the day and Schleck led the yellow jersey group for much of the climb, attacking alone and with his brother Frank.

Rain changed things for mountain bikers in the Northeast this season. Nearly 30 days of stormy weather in May and June altered trails and canceled frequent riding plans and, while sunnier skies are shining in Quebec for this weekend’s UCI World Cup Mountain Bike races, changes in the riding surface caused by moisture could be a blessing to some, a curse to others.

Moises Aldape (Team Type 1) must have experienced a little déjà vu as he crossed the finish line of the Cascade Lakes Road Race by himself in stage 4 on Friday – he won this same stage last year. Phil Zajicek (Fly V Australia p/b Successful Living) won a bunch sprint to take second place 13 seconds later, while Francisco Mancebo (Rock Racing) took third. The top of the GC remained unchanged with Oscar Sevilla (Rock Racing) retaining his lead, Jeff Louder (BMC) in second at 40 seconds back, and Mancebo in third at 1:00 back.

The courses for Thursday's Annecy time trial stage vs. the team time trial in Montpelier a few weeks ago were quite different. The same can be said of the TT bikes in use by various teams and riders — they are all quite individual. However there are always some common themes, and at the TTT in week 1 of the Tour, we noticed some trends. Let’s have a look at some trends in the team paddock.

Slippery wheels

Columbia's Mark Cavendish won 19th stage of the Tour on Friday, a hilly stage tucked between the Annecy time trial and the penultimate Mont Ventoux stage. All the GC favorites and race leader Alberto Contador finished safely in the front group, setting up a battle for the Parisian podium on the slopes of Mont Ventoux Saturday. Lance Armstrong (Astana) was the only GC favorite on the right side of a four-second split at the end, picking up a small edge going into the final two days.