When I started my Cadel-centric watch of the 2007 Tour de France I had never imagined that the journey to Paris would be quite so eventful - I doubt anyone could. Evans' performance was never really in doubt, but the drama of 31" separating the top 3 finishers on the GC helped make the final Time Trial of the Tour enthralling viewing.

For 20-odd years now I've been following the Tour de France from Australia. We've come a helluva long way from getting a highlights package on a sports show aired weeks (probably even months) after the event through to a nightly half-hour packageand on to the current situation where we get ever stage live, the sport has grown down here enormously in popularity.

Having an honest to goodness contender for top GC honours certainly doesn't hurt the growth in popularity here in Australia and it definitely felt a bit weird to be sitting at the SCG watching the Sydney Swans play Richmond and overhearing a couple of guys behind me discussing the events of the previous stage and opining on how the Time Trial would pan out. We are in a brave new era, indeed.

Here are what I considered to be my highs and lows from this year's Tour de France.

Highs

Cadel Evans. The performance of Cadel Evans was nothing short of sensational. Love or hate his riding style there is no questioning his guts and sheer determination. He was obviously out-climbed by a couple of pure climbers but that didn't stop him from digging down deep into his stores of courage and battling right to the finish line. A podium finish is nothing short of what he deserves.

Alberto Contador. It's always exciting when a talented youngster enters the scene and Contador has announced himself in the ultimate way possible by winning this year's Tour. A stage win and the White Jersey (Best Youth Rider) is icing on a pretty impressive cake. Where to from here?

Levi Leipheimer. You would have to consider yourself unlucky to come withing 31 seconds from the Tour winner and still only manage 3rd, but Leipheimer's Stage 19 time trial was an awesome display of sustained power. Equally as impressive was his support of Contador in the mountains and his ability to continually fight back when put into difficulty.

Tom Boonen. Winning the Green Sprinters Jersey and a couple of stage wins marks a very successful Tour for the Belgian sprinter. He answered every challenge in the best possible way and his team rallied nicely around him when required. 

Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez. Another young newcomer who came from nowhere with a gutsy stage win handing wildcards Barloworld the first of their two wins. Then, to continue on in the Pyrenees was enormously impressive. he hasn't got what you would call the most fluent of riding styles but it certainly is effective.

Johan Bruyneel & Discovery Channel. The tactics were first class and the execution was almost flawless. It is refreshing to see a team attack with a purpose and they have reaped every reward that they deserve.

Michael Boogerd. It would be remiss to neglect to mention the effort that Boogerd put in for his Rabobank team-mate Michael Rasmussen while they carried the yellow jersey. Boogerd gave absolutely every ounce of himself to his team during this race and surely everyone felt for him when Rasmussen was dismissed from the Tour. All of that fight and determination in his last Tour de France wasn't for nothing because he gained the respect of millions of cycling fans around the world.

Lows

Stuart O'Grady and Michael Rogers. The double blow of the crashes of O'Grady and Rogers was a double blow to me, watching from an Australian perspective. It was a shame to lose Rogers in such a way just as he had moved into the virtual lead of the Tour over the Cormet de Roseland in Stage 8. He has promised big things and finally as a team leader it would have been fascinating to watch how far he could have gone this year. Stewie O'Grady is such a plucky rider I'm sure we would have seen him in a break or two after the Alps. I wish them both speedy recoveries.

Alexandre Vinokourov. There has been a lot said and written about the blood doping situation and with the B-sample positive and what looks to be legal issues pending I'm not going to rehash it here except to say it was disappointing but sadly predictable given his unbelievable turnaround in performance from one stage to the next.

Patrik Sinkewitz & Christian Moreni. Drugs and all that fuss. It's all been said. They will serve their penalties and we move on - ever vigilant.

Michael Rasmussen. This was a wild roller-coaster of a ride with emotions ranging from deep admiration for his two stage wins to continued concern over the breaking news about his missed notifications of his whereabouts during training. His dumping from the Tour by his team on the night of what I would regard as his best stage victory was a vicious blow. Unfortunately there will always be question marks over his performance as a result.

If anyone else would like to chime in with their own highs and lows from this year's Tour are welcome to add their comments.