Evans wins 2011 Tour de France

Jul 24, 2011, 15:31 GMT

Paris - Australian Cadel Evans finished in the peloton in the final stage of the Tour de France Sunday to claim his first Tour victory as the three-week race ended on the Champs Elysees in Paris.

The BMC Racing Team rider, who finished second in 2007 and 2009, went into the 21st stage from Creteil to Paris holding a lead of 1 minute 34 seconds over Leopard Trek's Andy Schleck following Saturday's individual time-trial where he finished second.

'A few people believed in me and I believed in me,' said Evans.

'It has been a long, long process and it will be a long realisation of what has happened.'

Franck Schleck finished in third place overall, 2:30 minutes behind the 34-year-old Evans, followed by Frenchman Thomas Voeckler and 2010 champion Alberto Contador of Spain.

The Schlecks become the first brothers to stand together on the podium, while Andy Schleck has now finished as Tour runner-up for three years in succession.

The stage was won in a sprint finish by Britain's Mark Cavendish ahead of Norways Edvald Boasson Hagen, securing the green points jersey for the HTC rider.

Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez won the polka dot jersey as the Tour's best climber, while Pierre Rolland of France, who secured his country's only stage win of this year's tour on L'Alpe d'Huez on Friday, claimed the white jersey as the Tour's best young rider.

Sunday's 95-kilometre stage was the shortest of this year's Tour and was preceded by a minute's silence for the victims of the attacks in Norway.