Cadel Evans beats the clock to win Le Tour

After spending years in Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador's rear wheel, plucky and typically unlucky Cadel Evans has finally conquered the Tour by winning the Yellow Jersey in Saturday's Time Trial.

He reversed a 53 second deficit to Luxembourg's Andy Schleck, whose climb up the Galibier two days prior earned him the lead, to bring his unassailable advantage over the 27-year old to 1:34. Despite there being one stage to go, Evans will just cruise to the finish line in Paris.

Defending champion Contador, who has struggled for form and fitness this Tour, galiantly rode to 3rd place in the TT, to finish in fifth behind gutsy Thomas Voeckler, Frank Schleck, his younger brother Andy, and Evans.

Evans, who first rode the Tour in 2001 and was always seen as a perennial runner-up, can now say he has won the world's biggest bike race.

Why the fascination of the Tour de France?

The Tour de France - the most prestigious event in road cycling - is steeped in history from a cultural and sporting perspective. Road routes change year-on-year, providing fantastic visual spectacle for the fans and riders. But recent British success in the form of Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish, plus a major rivalry in 2007, encapsulated my interest in the event.

It isn't something that should be visually consumed for five hours a day for three weeks (of course there are a couple of rest days), far from it. That would be on the verge of insanity. The last 20km, generally, even on mountain stages, is the most appropriate part to have your eyes glued to the telly. Tactics galore, as riders jostle for position. It is tactics which what makes sporting competition interesting. Every sports person needs to execute a strategy to win, whether it was made up on the day, or prepared days in advance. The Tour provides such a hybrid of strategies it makes Formula 1 just a basic car race.

Flat stages are not really my cup of tea. Monotonously-paced and very few splits in the peloton (French word for a herd of riders) mean there is usually little to be excited about during the race. Sprint finishes are captivating, but the inevitability of a Cavendish win is always in the horizon knowing his sprinting prowess at the event. The excitement with lead-outs to sprinters lasts five minutes, but in the heat of a mountain stage, probably 30-45 minutes.

In my relatively young age, I was under no illusion how figures such as Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, or Marco Pantani sparkled the Tour. I didn't really get to see how Armstrong was so 'strong' over the rest when he dominated the TdF for some 10 years. I watched my first Tour only in 2007 on Eurosport, partly due to the technical definitions that I would not be bothered to understand as much as its apparent boredom. I remember watching Alberto Contador, an emerging mountain rider with such explosive power due to his rapid bursts of acceleration on steep climbs, and his rivalry with Dane Michael Rasmussen, also a climber I hadn't heard much of. Both were exhausting each other towards every mountain summit finish to the brink of collapse, and them passing through noises of the internationally diverse crowds was something else. I always wondered where they park their cars on a summit finish!

British interest is much more prominent this year, with a nod to subordinate figure to Wiggins, Geraint Thomas, partly due to his recent form Tour de Suisse where he won the overall race. And also Ben Swift, an up-and-coming sprinter, probably unlucky to be in the shadows of the imperious Cavendish.

Tactics have always been an intriguing element to road cycling, with teams set up to support one or even two of its leading riders. They can either contest the headline-making General Classification, where the rider to cycle the Tour in the fastest time will don the Yellow Jersey in Paris. While the best sprinter will wear the Green Jersey, a strategic race where points are accumulated through intermediate sprints, but mostly through sprint finishes. Polkadot jersey is the one who is the best mountain climber in the Tour. In many ways, the best climber can challenge for Yellow, but they never compete in flat or hilltop stages where they are not specialists in.

Most teams are set up to prop their main man up the GC standings, but HTC Highroad, Cavendish's, have built a squad to help him win stages through requiring powerful lead-out men that set a pace near the stage finish (in a flat) to help Cav stay ahead of his rivals metres from the finish. The same principles are used for the mountains, but it is a long-term game for domestiques (or support riders) to set a good pace, and even ground to a halt if the team leader has suffered a mechanical failure, to bring him back to the peloton using as less effort as possible.

The variety of riders add spice and intrigue to what would usually appear to be just a bunch of men cycling long distances. This year will probably see Andy Schleck challenge Contador again like last year, but will also probably create even more buzz through wider media presence and more fan-favourite riders. Come on Wiggins!

Andy Murray's Wimbledon hopes crushed yet again in a Semi

A despondent Murray speaks to the media after his defeat to Rafa Nadal in the Semis (Independent)

2-1 in the second set, and 15-30 on Rafa Nadal's serve after taking the first set, Andy Murray was about to lay the foundations of defeating the now former World No.1. That was until an overhit drive volley curtailed his amazing progress and then coincided with the loss of seven straight games. Murray's mental collapse was costly as he wakes up to a new week knowing he could, and possibly should have won Wimbledon 2011 knowing Novak Djokovic's achievements yesterday.

Murray dominated exchanges in the opening set, firing forehand winners and exerting authority over the 25-year old Spaniard. The crowd reached its crescendo in game 12, when an error-strewn game from Nadal gifted Murray the set. And going with serve for the first three games in the second, Murray dragged Nadal away ready for a driven forehand. Unfortunately, the Scot hit long by 2 inches, and it the high-risk tennis which put paid to his chances. What was going so right for him at the early stages, certainly was there at the heart of the match.

High risk and under confidence were never the recipe for success. He folded under the increasing pressure of Nadal's defence and virtually conceded the second set 6-2. The same pattern emerged in the third, as Murray's forehand dissipated, and Nadal's defence impenetrable as ever. Same set score 6-2. But the fourth set, even when Nadal secured a break in the first game, Murray gave home fans some degree of hope when he had break point opportunities at 1-2. The Spaniard though was unrelenting as he was unforgiving as he held serve through punishing groundstrokes and successfully held serve for the rest of the match to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. Murray's Wimbledon dreams over for another year in his quest for the illusive 'Slam'.

Murray forced the issue, but gave himself very little margin for error. But as sorry the British support were, was as much angry the nation was in the Scot's mental collapse from that unforced error in the second set. It has been a major flaw in his game in his development as a Tour player, and it is still getting the better of him today in the heat of the moment final stages of Grand Slams.

The US Open remains Murray's best hope for a GS. And basing on his recent form, it is hard to say he cannot perform at Flushing Meadows in August. Only his mind can tell whether he can provide that challenge many expect from the 24-year old.

European GP - five things we found out from the weekend

1) Valencia produces habitually poor races

It was supposed to be a street circuit that illuminated the backdrops of its beach and marina, great vantage points to see some F1 cars flying around the Valencia track. But sunbathing would have even provided more entertainment after watching a pitiful race that only had the Alonso/Webber second place fight to thank. The sharp, slow corners yield for good traction, a distinct part of Red Bull's pace, but straights are often curved and are often difficult to position the car for an overtake. There are no fast corners either, but unlike Monaco, the track does not have the decadence nor an iconic section of the track that appeals to the drivers.

Bernie Ecclestone indicated on the BBC one of the two Spanish races - possibly Barcelona - may leave the F1 calender. That could be a rueful decision as the Catalonia racetrack has been a servant to the sport since the 1980s and is possibly provides more of a challenge to the drivers. Lets see how this one unfolds.

2) Red Bull have up to second over the field

The Milton Keynes outfit's advantage is staggering, a clear advantage not seen over the field since Ferrari's dominance from 2001-04. Yesterday's victory from Sebastian Vettel signified utter deflation among his rivals, and even from his teammate Mark Webber, who lies over three race victories behind the German.

The car's key advantage is the off-throttle exhaust gas blowing - an aerodynamic function that blows hot air over the Red Bull's floor and out of the exhaust when not pressing the accelerator - thereby increasing downforce, and consequently, grip. In qualifying the car's potential is maximised with Vettel's pole positions this season are often between 0.5 secs - 0.9 secs. Valencia, a track of few overtaking opportunities, made his car advantage extremely ominous for Ferrari and McLaren as he won the race by around 20 seconds over Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Things, however may turn around, as engine mapping (between qualifying and race) and hot exhaust blowing are now banned from Silverstone onwards, the next race. Engine mapping was a useful tool for Red Bull as it allowed them to change settings of how much fuel would be distributed out of its engines.

3) Hamilton is ruffled

Lewis Hamilton's was not his worst. But neither was it a race that extracted the very best of his gifted skills. His McLaren on Sunday was like a dog trapped in a mud as it struggles to gain momentum from a standing spot. Traction was a real headache as Hamilton and Button struggled with rear tyre management. Hamilton lost two positions at the start to the Ferraris, but while he covered off Felipe Massa's threat in the pitstops, Hamilton's pace never matched Webber's nor Alonso's.

The team concentrated in front wing downforce, in hindsight a mistake as a lack of low downforce at the rear punished and overheated their tyres. Silverstone's fast layout will mean rear-tyre degradation will have less factor, a strength of the Red Bull, so it will be interesting to see what new updates McLaren will bring to the table.

4) Button still hasn't mastered qualifying to be a serious title contender

6th on the grid translated into the same position in the race, Jenson Button needs to produce on a Saturday if he is to improve his feint hopes of recapturing his world title he won in 2009.
The reverberating theme is the McLaren is achieving good balance in practice and in the first two parts of qualifying, but cannot replicate the form when it matters on Q3.

His race craft has always shone in changeable conditions, but his form in dry races has been inconsistent. He has been mingling with the Mercedes in during races, rather than the Red Bulls, an indication of his lack of competitiveness. Button made a nice overtaking move on Nico Rosberg early in the Valencia race, but lacked pace to challenge Felipe Massa in 5th.

5) What's the point of having Hispania?

23rd and 24th positions - the lowest ever placed finishes in the history of the sport - belonging to Narain Karthikeyan of Hispania Racing. They are on average 10 seconds a lap off the Red Bulls and it is hard to understand there objectives in the sport. Yes, a 13th and 14th place finishes in the Canadian GP may mean they could climb above the Virgin Marussia team in the Constructors Championship, but it will matter very little if they are unable to challenge the Toro Rossos' or Williams' in the near future.

The team have had financial difficulties arriving onto the scene, and effectively treated qualifying the first F1 race in Australia as a shakedown due to lack of pre-season testing. And during races, the leading drivers have been seen making hand gestures of their obligatory blue flag move-overs. It is hard to see what they do offer as a racing entity.

Button pushes the limit to win Canadian GP

It was a Canadian Grand Prix that was disastrous for one Englishman, but certainly fell in place for another as McLaren's Jenson Button made a storming comeback for his first ever victory at the Gilles Villenenuve circuit.

The 2009 world champion came through from the back, mostly attributing to a collision with his teammate Lewis Hamilton and later with Fernando Alonso, to capitalise on leader Sebastian Vettel's mistake on the final lap when the German slid wide in the Turn 6 chicane.

His miraculous recovery told only half the story from a race that provided chaos from a torrential downpour that delayed a restart of the race by two hours, and several examples of disastrous overtaking attempts throughout the field.

Button was in the mire of the race's talking points, and on Lap 8 and defending sixth place from Lewis Hamilton on the pit straight, deviated towards the pit wall that left Hamilton no room to pass, consequently smashing his left rear axle and therefore retiring despite complaining to his team his car was still fit to continue. Hamilton was also in the wars on Lap 4, the first real racing lap as the race disappointingly started under the safety car, when a failed dive into Turn 1 sent Red Bull driver Mark Webber into a spin as he and Hamilton lost several positions.

With Button taking to the pits to assess the damage and change to intermediate tyres, the safety car made its entrance again to clear debris from the Hamilton incident. As Button was making his way back to the pack he incurred a pit lane penalty for speeding under safety car conditions. With Vettel in control, Webber and particularly Button, were sything their way through. The Brit caught his way up to eighth when a downpour, and subsequently a safety car and red flag, put paid to his progress.

After a two-hour halt waiting for the rain to abate, he restarted back in ninth in hunt of the uncompetitive Fernando Alonso on Lap 34. But the two collided three laps after the restart on the Turn 4 chicane, diving on the inside with Alonso refusing to budge, with Button returning back to the pits for the then fifth time with a puncture left front and a change to inters, and Alonso beaching his car on the high kerb.

The change to intermediates soon galvanised after the safety car intervention from the Lap 37 incident in an drying racetrack. The race evolved to the point where rain tyres quickly became uncompetitive and the likes of Button, Michael Schumacher, Webber were making strong headway with intermediates, and then to the soft slicks. Button surged to fourth until yet another safety car appearance came on Lap 56 when Nick Heidfeld clattered the back of Kamui Kobayashi and dislodging his front wing scarily under braking the following corner. The incident gave Button the opportunity to creep his way towards Webber and Schumacher, passing both using DRS as well as his supreme driving talent in evolving conditions, before pursuing Vettel with only five laps left.

The gap was only three seconds then soon the gap dissolved as Vettel, who was in reasonable comfort at the front the whole race, was a target for a determined Button, who had thought his chances of a strong diminish from the early stages. Vettel on colder tyres than Button's, ruefully dipped his right tyre off the racing line, causing him to slide and agonisingly see his McLaren rival breeze past him to victory.