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Byline: Tom Hundley
Jul. 30--Under leaden skies and clouds of suspicion and scorn, an inglorious Tour de France limped across the finish line in Paris on Sunday.
This year's winner -- a mere footnote in a race dominated by doping scandals -- was Spaniard Alberto Contador, who successfully defended his 23-second lead over Australian Cadel Evans on the Tour's final day. American Levi Leipheimer, Contador's Discovery Channel teammate, finished third, 31 seconds behind the winner.
As this year's race began to collapse in infamy, the French daily Liberation proclaimed "The Death of the Tour," while Paris Soir printed an obituary notice, marking the demise of the great race "at the age of 104 after a long illness." "Tour de Farce" was the inevitable tabloid headline in Britain.
But for France and Francophiles everywhere, the Tour de France is more than just a bicycle ...