Cavendish finishes Tour de France with a flourish

Mark Cavendish finished the Tour de France with a flourish on the Champs Elysee as he produced a spectacular sprint finish in the last 100m to pip Alessandro Petacchi to the post and win the final stage of the race, although it wasn't quite enough to take the green Jersey from the Italian.

Alberto Contador was the overall winner - a solid finish in the pack preserving his 39 second lead over Andy Schleck, while Denis Menchov came in third.

As well as deciding the winners of the tour, the day had added poignance as it was the last race for Lance Armstrong; arguably the most successful cyclist ever, who had a remarkable stranglehold on the Tour while in his prime and recorded seven consecutive victories.

After over 3,500 km in three weeks, Armstrong sounded relieved to be hanging up his bike helmet.

"This race has been good to me but I can't lie - I'm ready to retire," he said. "I was just glad that three weeks of suffering is over and I get to go home. I don’t have to stress about racing every day."

While Armstrong's career is over, Cavendish's success signifies that his star is still on the rise.

Interviewed by French television seconds after getting off his bike he said only: "Je suis content [I am happy]," although he did later admit to being disappointed at missing out on the green jersey which he had targeted this year. His chances of that prize all but disappeared in the flurry of crashes that marred the first week of the Tour, but he still won five stages and will be firm favourite to finally win the jersey in 2011.

Cavendish's fellow Briton Bradley Wiggins came in a place behind Armstrong in 24th overall. He had been tipped to challenge for the yellow jersey this year and was disappointed to see his campaign falter in the Alps. The race has taken such a toll on him that he is now expected to rule himself out of the Worlkd Championships and Commonwealth Games later this year.

Alberto Contador's second successive title was his third overall, and further cements his dominance over the sport. However, this victory was marred by his unsporting decision to attack Andy Schleck in the Alps when the Luxembourgeois' chain slipped off.

"I had some tough moments on this year's race, as much from a mental as physical point of view," said the 27-year-old, who extended Spain's winning streak in the race to five years.

"I think that managing to cope during those days was the reason I won the Tour. I suffered a lot to get this result. Words don't explain what it means to me." ·