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Tour de France 2011 Photos; Stage 20: Grenoble 43 km, ITT

« Stage 19 photosreturn to: Tour de France 2011 Dashboard: Results, Photos, Video  |  Tour de France 2011 photo galleryStage 21 photos »
Cadel Evans rode the entire course as part of his warm up...share this photo

... while the Schleck brothers "went part way by car and rode back chatting" according to our man on the sceneshare this photo

The Tour is almost over and this is just the first big photo of Didi the Devilshare this photo

Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) salvaged a personally disappointing Tour by winning the stage 20 individual time trial. Of course, he played a big part in Mark Cavendish's four sprint wins.share this photo

Just like the Criterium du Dauphine last month, Tony Martin was dialed in on this difficult course finishing in a time of 55:33 just 6s off his Dauphine time. share this photo

Tony Martin on his way to his first career Tour stage winshare this photo

Cadel Evans was a blur todayshare this photo

Like Tony Martin, Cadel Evans knew this course well from the Criterium du Dauphine last month. But, Tony Martin didn't contend for the lead in two tough mountain stages prior to this TT.share this photo

Cadel Evans easily erased Andy Schleck's 57s advantage and then stretched out a leadshare this photo

Much to the delight of Aussie fans around the world, Cadel Evans (BMC) brought it home in 55:40 just 7s shy of Tony Martin's winning and 2:31 faster than Andy Schleck.share this photo

After nearly falling off the start ramp due to an awkward start house release, Alberto Contador gathered himselfshare this photo

Alberto Contador moved up one GC spot with his very solid third place performanceshare this photo

Alberto Contador finished 3rd in 56:39 + 1:06 for fifth overall + 3:57share this photo

Samuel Sanchez laid down an excellent ride while wearing the polka dots. He finished 7th + 1:37 for 6th overall + 4:55share this photo

Early starter Fabian Cancellara encountered wet roads. The world champ finished 8th + 1:42share this photo

The Estonian national TT champ, Rein Taaramae (Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne) was 10th + 2:03, the 2nd best young rider on the day after Thomas de Gendtshare this photo

Tom Danielson had another solid result today finishing 11th + 2:08 for 9th overall + 8:15share this photo

Thomas Voeckler had one more surprise for use this month with his 13th place TT performance which kept him 4th overall + 3:20. Did anyone predict he would finish higher than Alberto Contador? (Didn't think so)share this photo

Andy Schleck, the race leader by 57s, was looking for the "wings" traditionally according the Yellow Jersey in a final ITTshare this photo

But, Andy Schleck looked slower than Cadel Evans along the entire route regardless of flats, climbs and descentsshare this photo

Andy Schleck finished 17th + 2:38, not nearly good enough to keep the Yellow Jerseyshare this photo

Andy Schleck in the final 200mshare this photo

Andy Schleck missed a great opportunity this year because of the tough mountain stages in the final week and unusually little individual time-trialing suited him perfectly. He specifically devoted his season to the Tour while other riders like Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador won important races prior to July. Needless to say, for future Tours, Andy Schleck either needs to improve his time-trialing or gain more time in the mountains.share this photo

Brother Frank Schleck didn't light up the TT course eithershare this photo

Frank Schleck finished 20th + 2:41, good enough to keep the third podium spotshare this photo

Yesterday's Alpe d'Huez winner, Pierre Rolland (Europcar), didn't think he would keep the white jersey for the best young rider...share this photo

But, Pierre Rolland finished 21st + 2:50 good enough to the keep the white jersey by 46sshare this photo

Your stage 20 ITT winner, Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad), and his first career Tour stage winshare this photo

Cadel Evans almost took the stage win to cap off an almost flawless Tour.share this photo

Most importantly, Cadel Evan's 2nd place performance today easily put him in Yellow before the final ceremonial stage. On Sunday, he'll become the first Aussie to win the Tour de France. A complete rider and a very worthy winner.share this photo

With no categorized climbs remaining, KOM leader Samuel Sanchez has nothing to worry about this weekend share this photo

Pierre Rolland kept the White Jersey todayshare this photo

The French will now have high future expectations for the Alpe d'Huez and Young Rider winner, Pierre Rollandshare this photo

Tour de France 2011 Photos; Stage 20: Grenoble 43 km, ITT

« Stage 19 photosreturn to: Tour de France 2011 Dashboard: Results, Photos, Video  |  Tour de France 2011 photo galleryStage 21 photos »