MAIN Recreation Sports Tour de France 2009

In 2009, the 96th Tour de France began on Saturday July 4 and continued on in 21 stages to the Champs-Elysees Paris finishing on Sunday July 26, 2009.

Among other firsts this year included a Stage 1 start in Monaco, and the first ever mountain finish (via Mont Ventoux just before the big climax at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris). But perhaps the biggest news was the return of Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong since retiring as a seven time champion in 2005.

Tour de France on TV

In the U.S., cable channel Versus provided live coverage, while Canadians tuneed into TSN. Eurosport UK coveed the race across the pond, while in Australia live coverage and next-day highlights were featured on SBS.

Tour de France 2009 Winner

The Spanish flag continued to fly over the Champs-Elysee as Alberto Contador emerged the strongest rider throughout the race to take the win — following similar triumphs for fellow-Spaniards Oscar Pereiro in 2006, Contador in 2007 and Carlos Sastre in 2008.

Coming in second overall was Norway's Thor Hushovd and in third was the USA's seven-time Tour de France champion, Lance Armstrong. At 37, Armstrong becomes the second-oldest rider to place in the top three overall, behind Raymond Poulidor of France, who was 40 when he finished third in 1976.

Tour de France On the Web

Elsewhere on the Web, get the complete picture of the 96th annual Tour de France in 2009 with video clips, photos, up-to-minute blog reports and more on Tour de France history ...

Tour de France 2009 - The complete route, news flashes in real time, plus updated classifications, positions, gaps between the riders, video and photos of the competition. In English and French.

2009 Tour de France Live Dashboard - A treasure trove of online information on the route, stages, teams, photos and worldwide TV schedules.

BBC Sport | Cycling - Complete news coverage including feature articles, video clips, photos, a complete rider list, rider and team profiles, and a Tour de France Guide to Bikes.

Yahoo! Sports - Cycling - The lastest Tour de France news off the wires of AP, Reuters, and more plus feature stories, photo gallery.

Bicycling.com - The cyber version of the print publication with feature articles, special Tour de France coverage along with the latest updates, standings & photos, plus more on general cycling tips, online forum, related links.

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also see -> Sport Cycling | Olympic Cycling