THE TOUR REDISCOVERED
After perhaps the darkest hours in the history of the Tour de France, the 2007 race concluded with a ray of sunshine and glimmers of hope that the sport of cycling has entered a new era that will be free of doping scandals and marked by restored trust in the minds of its millions of fans.

Such was the impact of the victory of 24-year-old Alberto Contador on the Champs Elysees. Molded by the hands of Tour Kingmaker Johan Bruyneel and Discovery Channel the power and the team behind Lance Armstrong s seven Tour victories the young Spaniard had to face numerous obstacles en route to success. It was an astounding finale to the American team s last Tour de France!

A gifted climber, the Madrid-born rider first let rip on the daunting Galibier deep in the Alps as part of a daring two-rider attack. Then he came even closer to yellow with one of the most memorable mountain victories of the decade, deep in the Pyrenees on the fabled Plateau de Beille. Is it just a coincidence that on two occasions, Armstrong himself sealed the Tour there?

The final step to leadership came in a surprising twist that not even Bruyneel could have predicted or engineered. No sooner had Contador taken the yellow jersey than he had to mount his final defense in the terrain where he was weakest the time trial. Hailed as the new Armstrong for his aggressiveness, strength and racing wisdom even in the most tumultuous of Tours, Contador s path to cycling s ultimate prize is a gripping tale of persistence in the face of sporting turmoil, self-belief in times of doubt and widespread cynicism, and courage in the darkest of dark times. This video presents a storybook triumph in the midst of real-world adversity! Don t miss it!