Stage 21 - July 26th
Montereau-Fault-Yonne—Paris Champs-Élysées (164km)

Stage 21 ResultsFinal ResultsLive Replay
  1. Alberto Contador (Astana) at 85:48:35
  2. Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) at 04:11
  3. Lance Armstrong (Astana) at 05:24
  4. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin - Slipstream) at 06:01
  5. Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank) at 06:04
  6. Andréas Klöden (Astana) at 06:42
  7. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) at 07:35
  8. Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) at 12:04
  9. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) at 14:16
  10. Christophe Le Mevel (Francaise Des Jeux) at 14:25

Wednesday's Wound-up: A year's worth of O'Grady cartoons

Published: Dec. 31, 2008
This wasn't a mag' cartoon; I dashed this off for a Tour live update that mentioned Garmin-Chipotle's secret weapon (a burrito).
This wasn't a mag' cartoon; I dashed this off for a Tour live update that mentioned Garmin-Chipotle's secret weapon (a burrito).

It's not always easy to be VeloNews' editorial cartoonist. I've been on the job for nearly 20 years — my first contribution, starring the Old Guy Who Gets Fat in Winter, appeared in the March 1989 issue — and it often seems as though the same old problems keep popping up issue after issue, year after year, immortal pests in an eternal "Groundhog Day" game of Whac-A-Mole. How many different ways can a guy say, "Doping sucks?"

Still, there are surprises. A denim maven sponsors a team, promptly gets sideways with The Suits who run the sport and by year's end has a national championship under his leather, heavily studded belt. The reigning Tour de France champ is not invited back for a rematch and snatches up the other two grand tours as consolation prizes. And Old Whatsisface gets tired of marathons, celebrity girlfriends and tussles with bouncers and decides to saddle up his Waterloo Rocinante for one more tilt at Le Windmill.

And when all else fails and the muse is on suspension, well, there's always that old fat bastard to fall back on. Makes for a soft landing, don't you know.

So without further ado, here's a look back at 2008 as seen through the greasy bifocals of a 54-year-old baldheaded malcontent with a bicycle fetish, too much time on his hands and ready access to pen, paper and the Internet. A happy New Year to you and yours.

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