from Bruce Hildenbrand

It seems fitting that the rider who launched the biggest attack on the biggest climb of the biggest stage should win the 2008 Tour de France. And it is also appropriate for his team CSC Saxo Bank which put on a veritable bike racing 101 clinic in both the Pyrenees and the Alps to launch their squad into a winning position. Riders like Fabian Cancellara and Jens Voigt, who should be riding in the grupetto, were at the front setting the tempo on the huge, race-defining climbs. More than one noted climber was dropped by the pacesetting by these two big men.

For Cadel Evans second place has to be a disappointment. The heavy pre-race favorite, he spent the whole race, save the final 2.5 miles to the summit of the Alpe, following the wheels of his rivals. Word was that he didn't attack his competitors in the mountains because he could beat them all in the final time trial. After the final results from Saturday's 33-mile test against the watch, it is clear that you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket. To be fair, it is very difficult being the favorite. I believe Evans came into the race with the physical capabilities to win the Tour, but he still needs to improve the mental aspects of his game.

There were several revelations of the race. Austrian Bernhard Kohl climbed exceptionally well and nabbed the polka-dot jersey and was in third place overall heading into the final time trial. Several days before the TT, I asked him how he would fair. "I am not really the time trialer like Cadel Evans or Denis Menchov. I am a climber. I will try my best in the time trial, and we will see." The Gerlosteiner rider uncorked the TT of his life to save his podium place, a well-deserved result.

Team leader of the Garmin-Chipotle squad, Christian Vande Velde, was the other revelation. After soldiering for nine years as a domestique for such stars as Lance Armstrong, Roberto Heras, Ivan Basso and Carlos Sastre, the lanky American had a breakthrough ride to finish an amazing fifth place overall. Well, it is amazing if you don't know Christian who, throughout his career has shown that he can both climb and time trial and now as designated team leader he can do both in the same race. It is especially heart warming to see a racer emerge from the shadows of a support rider to become a bonafide team leader. Save for one bad day in the Alps and Christian would have been on the podium. Next year.

The Garmin-Chipotle team continued to prove that it deserved to be in the Tour when it put four of its riders in the top fifteen in the final time trial. That coupled with Vande Velde's fifth overall and the near misses at stage wins by David Millar, Will Frischkorn and Danny Pate sent a huge message that this team is a player in the world's biggest bike races.

Team Columbia won almost one-quarter of all the Tour stages with Mark Cavendish (four)and Marcus Burghardt (one) bringing the team's total to five. Cavendish was clearly the class of the sprinters winning with total ease until being pulled from the race before the Alps. The British phenom has already finished the Giro d'Italia this year and at the ripe young age of 23, a second grand tour would just have been too much and could have hampered his preparations for the Olympics where he will ride the Madison event with Columbia teammate Bradley Wiggins. George Hincapie rode in support of Kim Kirchen who finished ninth overall. Lest you think GQ George is over the hill at age 35, he was top-ten in both of the Tour time trials and was in a very good position to win the mountain stage to Jausiers.

In the wake of several doping scandals at this year's Tour it was refreshing to see Team Garmin-Chipotle (four), Team Columbia (three) and Team CSC Saxo Bank (three) take ten out of the top fifteen spots in the final time trial. All three teams are using out-of-competition, anti-doping programs to stringently monitor their athletes. If these teams can compete - and compete well - clean, it sends a strong message to all the other teams to get on board with similar anti-doping programs to ensure that the sport is headed to being free of doping.

In the end, it was a great Tour. The most deserving rider won, but we also saw the emergence of some very exciting new talent like Mark Cavendish and Bernhard Kohl and the ascendancy of former support rider Christian Vande Velde to the top echelon of pro cycling. Vive le Tour.