Teary Evans touched by Tour triumph

CADEL EVANS became the first ever Australian and only the fourth anglophone to win the Tour de France in the race’s 98 year history after the three-week race reached its conclusion on a glorious day in Paris yesterday.

Evans joined Americans Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong as well as Irishman Stephen Roche on the winners list and no one will begrudge him the biggest result of his illustrious career after so many years of heartbreak and near-misses.

Twice a runner-up in 2007 and 2008, the 34-year-old from Katherine, Northern Territory appeared to be after cresting his best days and many believed a Tour win was beyond him with the likes of Alberto Contador and the Schleck brothers to contend with in one of the most star-studded line-ups in the race’s recent history.