Stuff.co.nz talks to Julian Dean about the Tour de France footage he will have after tackling Alpe d’Huez with a camera taped to his helmet.

Said Julian: “Another cool highlight of Alpe d’Huez will be my 35 minutes or so of video footage I managed to capture on the way up. I had the bright idea of using a bit of Kiwi ingenuity and taping my video camera to my spare helmet. At the bottom of Alpe d’Huez, I swapped helmets and rode up wearing my ‘helmet cam’. I ran out of HD space just inside the final kilometre but that didn’t matter.”

The Pueblo Chieftain features home town hero Danny Pate as he heads for Paris on the final stage of the 2008 Tour de France. The profile features quotes from Danny’s mother Linda Ausmus.

From the article: “The 29-year old Pate has thrilled cycling fans from Southern Colorado with his exploits through the three weeks of the grueling tour. Last Sunday’s effort was one for the ages as he led most of the stage and eventually finished third…”

Keeping it real to the very end, the Argyle Armada delivered a strong final performance on the Champs-Elysees! David Millar dug deep to give Julian Dean a lead-out for the final sprint where Kiwi Guy finished 6th on the stage.

Team Garmin-Chipotle will celebrate a fabulous end to an amazing first Tour. Everyone on the team and staff would like to send our sincerest thanks to all our fans around the world who followed us throughout this amazing journey!

Stay tuned for the Olympics and many other top results!!

Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O stage 21 results
1. Gert Steegmans 3h51′38″

6. Julian Dean +00″
30. Christian Vande Velde +07″
61. Will Frischkorn +14″
104. Ryder Hesjedal +24″
105. Trent Lowe +24″
129. Danny Pate +24″
134. David Millar +34″
136. Martijn Maaskant +36″

Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O final GC
1. Carlos Sastre +87h52′52″

5. Christian Vande Velde +3′05″
47. Ryder Hesjedal +1h33′22″
68. David Millar +1h59′39″
77. Trent Lowe +2h13′41″
95. Danny Pate +2h36′29″
110. Julian Dean +3h07′57″
133. Will Frischkorn +3h30′47″
134. Martijn Maaskant +3h31′30″

With Christian Vande Velde’s solid 4th place finish in today’s high intensity 50 km individual time trial, he moved to 5th overall in what has been a fabulous Tour for the super domestique turned team leader. Remaining cool and consistent throughout, Christian further confirmed his status as one of the world’s best overall cyclists and certainly one of its most talented time trialers.

Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O had an impressive day with four top 15 performances from David Millar, Ryder Hesjedal and Danny Pate. The team as a whole finished second overall on the stage, just 38″ behind Gerolsteiner.

Tomorrow is typically a ceremonial stage for the first 82 km with all real racing taking place on the final nine-lap circuit on the Champs-Elysees. The team will continue to work to protect Christian’s top five standing while also looking to put Julian Dean in position for a top finish in Paris.

Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O stage 20 ITT results
1. Stefan Schumacker 1h03′50″

4. Christian Vande Velde +1′05″
5. David Millar +1′37
13. Ryder Hesjedal +2′36″
14. Danny Pate +2′54″
120. Will Frichkorn +8′37″
122. Trent Lowe +8′58″
127. Martijn Maaskant +9′21″
133. Julian Dean +9′34″

Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O GC
1. Carlos Sastre +84h01′00″

5. Christian Vande Velde +3′12″
47. Ryder Hesjedal +1h33′12″
67. David Millar +1h59′19″
77. Trent Lowe +2h13′31″
95. Danny Pate +2h36′19″
110. Julian Dean +3h08′11″
133. Will Frischkorn +3h30′47″
134. Martijn Maaskant +3h31′08″

Location:
Essonne & Paris, France

Overview:
Team Garmin-Chipotle riders are recording the stages of the 2008 Tour de France with their Garmin Edge 705s for all you data hungry fans out there. Each day we will feature one rider and his data.

As the final day of the 2008 Tour de France, stage 21 and its rolling profile and Parisian finish are a welcome site for the peloton. Typically, the first half of this final stage is more ceremonial with champagne toasts and swapped out jerseys and bikes. The Champs-Élysées circuit finish, with its final nine 6.5 laps, is another matter.

Keeping it real to the very end, the Argyle Armada delivered a strong final performance on the Champs-Elysees! David Millar dug deep to give Julian Dean a lead-out for the final sprint where Kiwi Guy finished 6th on the stage.

Difficulty: Moderate

Distance: 87.26 miles

Total Elevation Gain: 3,406 feet

Google Earth:   View on Google Earth

MotionBased:   View on MotionBased

Download Ride Data:   GPS Device   GPX   HST   CRS

VeloNews correspondent Andrew Hood talks to Christian Vande Velde after his 4th place finish in the final time trial of the 2008 Tour de France.

“I’m happy with my ride today,” Vande Velde said at the line. “I had Matt White and Allen Lim in my ear, and I had Dave Millar’s time splits, and those guys took care of me.”

“Of course I’ll always wonder how I would have finished [on GC] if I hadn’t crashed and lost that time, but at the same time, I cam here with the goal of finishing top 10, so I have to be happy with fifth,” he said. “Next year we’ll be back with a strong team and the plan is to do as well, if not better.”

Location:
Allier & Cher, France

Overview:
Team Garmin-Chipotle riders are recording the stages of the 2008 Tour de France with their Garmin Edge 705s for all you data hungry fans out there. Each day we will feature one rider and his data.

Stage 20 was a 53 km individual time trial. With it rolling profile, this race against the gave the top competitors a last chance to battle it out for the final podium in Paris.

With Christian Vande Velde’s solid 4th place finish in today’s high intensity 50 km individual time trial, he moved to 5th overall in what has been a fabulous Tour for the super domestique turned team leader.

Difficulty: Easy

Distance: 32.56 miles

Total Elevation Gain: 1,407 feet

Google Earth:   View on Google Earth

MotionBased:   View on MotionBased

Download Ride Data:   GPS Device   GPX   HST   CRS

VeloNews’ John Wikcockson writes about the showdown in today’s individual time trial. Besides the battle for the yellow jersey, he also speculates on the 4-man shootout for 3rd overall between Frank Schleck, Bernhard Kohl, Denis Menchov and Christian Vande Velde.

From the article: “…the surprising Vande Velde, has gotten stronger as the race progressed. If he hadn’t have crashed on the descent into Jausiers on Tuesday, and lost approximately two minutes, he would be favored to finish on the final podium. As it is, he will have to ride the time trial of his life to achieve that….Vande Velde said he hadn’t pre-ridden Saturday’s time trial course, but he would be getting detailed information from his Garmin team manager Jonathan Vaughters. ‘Our fearless leader Jonathan is riding it tomorrow,’ he said, and then quipped, ‘It’s really pretty funny. He’s riding it in full gear. I want [to know] his time, too!’ “