Another forever in sports

2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre cruise through the final race of the Tour. Cadel Evans of the Beijing Olympics-bound Australian national cycling team wearing a Free Tibet base layer.

Forever has just happened in the world of sports last weekend, bringing integrity back to the words of former US chief justice Earl Warren: The sports page records people’s accomplishments; the front page nothing but man’s failures.

In boxing, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito gave fans of the sport 11 rounds of awesome boxing. Cotto put up a classic display of hand speed, agility, and power. While the underdog Margarito showed patience and strength until he got Cotto knocked down toward the end of the 11^th round of their welterweight fight.

Over at the 2008 Tour de France, Carlos Sastre of Team CSC Saxo Bank succeeded fellow Spaniard Alberto Conatador in winning the most prestigious race of cycling’s grand tours.

Serving as a domestique for most parts of his cycling career, first to Tyler Hamilton and then to Ivan Basso, Sastre finally had his moment at the podium and the chance to cruise through the bricked Champ Elysees with champagne in his hand.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme said “a lot of good things” happened this year: “The faces of the riders, burnt out, exhausted, mouths wide open at the end. ... The fight against doping has made enormous progress.”

Officials looked relieved to see cyclists suffer after each day’s ride, like it was a proof that the cyclists did not take any of the illegal substances and other pick-me-ups to struggle through the 2,175 miles of the Tour de France.

Another standout in the 2008 Tour is Cadel Evans, who suffered a crash early in the race and held on to the yellow jersey toward the critical last parts of the race. He settled for second place, a respectable 58 seconds behind Sastre.Then, toward the end of the race, Evans made a statement that resonated more than his second place finish.

Looking tired after the race in the Alps, and knowing that he was about to surrender the yellow jersey to Frank Schleck, the Beijing Olympics-bound Evans unzipped the jersey and revealed the base layer he was wearing. It reads: Free Tibet.

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