Landis is Tour winner

The American spent a comfortable day in the saddle behind his Phonak team, avoiding any trouble along the 154 kilometre trek, ending on the cobblestones of the Champs Elysees.

The peloton set off at a leisurely pace from the departure town of Antony, with Landis even seen holding a celebratory glass of champagne handed to him by his team car. An air of relief and expectancy amongst the remaining 139 riders was clear, as the end of the 3 week, 3657 kilometre race beckoned.

Vyatcheslav Ekimov moved to the front of the peloton and waved to the crowds in what he later confirmed would be his final Tour de France, before dropping back into the pack.

That seemed to signal the beginning of the first real action of the stage, as Walter Benneteau was the first of a number of riders to attempt breakaways, all of which were chased down by the peloton, which by now was travelling along at a ferocious tempo up and down the Champs Elysees and Rue de Rivoli.

With just under 10 kilometres to go, a host of Discovery Channel team riders appeared at the front of the pack, ready to launch Yaroslav Popovych. Once again though, the Cofidis and Liquigas teams snuffed out the threat, and it became clear the stage would be decided by a sprint.

Robbie McEwen, Thor Hushovd and Erik Zabel worked their way to the front, and as the peloton took the final bend, McEwen was forced out wide. He decided to attack early, but it was to prove too early, as Hushovd followed his wheel, before powering away and crossing the line well clear of his rivals.

"To win on the first and on the last day is just too good and to win on the Champs-Elysees is quite extraordinary for a sprinter," beamed the big Norwegian.

"I had been dreaming of winning this stage for a long time. I'm even more happy because I had some moments of bad luck early in the race and I suffered in the Alps and the Pyrenees but I gave everything I had to keep a chance of contesting this last stage."

Landis finished safely back in the main pack, securing his first ever yellow jersey. Atop the podium he gave thanks to his support riders at Phonak, saying

"Thank you to everybody, most of all my team, who believed in me all the way. This victory is dedicated to [Phonak team manager] Andy Reece, the most important guy behind this team."

Discovery Channel's Ekimov confirmed suspicions of his retirement at the finish line. The 40 year-old Russian paid tribute to the race itself, and revealed his team's strategy for the final stage that in the end didn't come off:

"Well, I can say today was my last Tour de France, my 15th participation. I wish to do more but I think it's pretty much done. I feel so proud every time I come to this Champs Elysees but I've never had a feeling like I had today. We had a little plan for the team, to try and work for Yaroslav Popovych, but it didn't really work. It's a super hard race, it cannot compare with anything else and if you want to consider yourself a super hard rider you should compete here at least once."

Yellow jersey

1. Floyd Landis (Phonak/USA) 89h30'30"
2. Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne/ESP) at 57"
3. Andreas Kloeden (T-Mobile/GER) at 1'29"

Polka dot jersey

1. Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank/DEN) 166 points
2. Floyd Landis (Phonak/USA) 131
3. David de la Fuente (Saunier Duval/ESP) 113

Green jersey

1. Robbie McEwen (Davitamon Lotto/AUS) 288 points
2. Erik Zabel (Milram/GER) 199
3. Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole/NOR) 195

White jersey

1. Damiano Cunego (Lampre/ITA) 89h59'40"
2. Markus Foethen (Gerolstenier/GER) at 38"
3. Mathieu Sprick (Bouygues Telecom/FRA) at 1h29'12"