4.16 - The Top Five...
The top five of the final stage of the 2000 Tour are:
1. Zanini (Mapei)
2. Zabel (Telekom)
3. Vainsteins (Vini Caldirola)
4. Rodriguez (Mapei)
5. Van Heeswijk (Mapei)

4.15 - 3 Mapei Riders Dominate Final Rush
Van Heeswijk and the US champion Rodriguez dominated coming out of the Place de la Concorde to lead their quick, Zanini over the line for his first Tour de France stage win.

4.14 - Zabel 2nd!
Zabel has crossed the line for 2nd place. Then came Vainsteins and Rodriguez.

4.13 - Zanini Wins!
Van Heeswijk's final lead-out has given his Mapei team-mate Stefano Zanini the win of stage 21!

4.12 - Banesto Take Over With 1km To Go
The Banesto team is doing the last lead-out as they round the final turn... Now Van Heeswijk...

4.12 - Bonjour Lead The Bunch
Bonjour is now at the front of the stage. Their sprinter is Francois Simon. They have just 1km to race...

4.11 - Pick Your Sprinter...
The Telekom team are working hard to halt any attacking attempts. The stage is now likely to come to a sprint. Zabel? McEwen? Vainsteins? Blijlevens? Rodriguez?... There are now just 2km to go.

4.09 - Telekom Train Take Over Again
The peloton is all together again with less than 4km to race.

4.08 - Baguet Up Front
Serge Baguet is alone at the head of the stage within the closing kilometers.

4.08 - 5km To Go
A Lotto rider has a slight lead on the peloton with 5km to go.

4.06 - 6km Remain For 2000 Tour!
The peloton is all together with the Telekom train dominating the head of the peloton with just 6km to go.

4.06 - Still Together
Despite the attack by the Cofidis rider, the peloton is now all together. They are receiving the bell for the final lap of the Champs Elysees.

4.04 - Pink Train Dominates Front of Bunch
The Telekom train is at the front of the peloton now. There is another attack from a Cofidis rider on the left-hand side of the road.

4.04 - All Together Again...
The peloton is all together with 8km to race.

4.03 - Lead Down To 5"
The lead of the four leaders is a tender 5".

4.02 - Sprint Teams Dominate Chase
As you'd expect the Telekom, Polti and Farm Frites teams are dominating the chase of the peloton.

4.01 - 10km To Go
Millar and company are still holding their advantage. They have 10km to race.

4.01 - 7" Lead Now
The four leaders are now just 7" clear of the peloton as they round the bend at the top of the Champs Elysees. Millar is at the front of the race.

4.00 - 10th Pass Of Hauts des Champs-Elysees
The 4 leaders have contested the 10,000 prime for the 10th pass of the Hauts des Champs-Elysees. The first rider over the line was Millar from Agnolutto.

3.58 - Lead Still 14"
The lead is still 14" for the four leaders - Voigt, Apollinio, Agnolutto and Millar.

3.53 - Lead Down To 12"
The chasing peloton is being led by Richard Virenque (Polti). They are now 12" behind the leading four riders.

3.53 - 9th Pass Won By Millar
The ninth pass of the Hauts des Champs Elysees was won by Millar from Voigt and Agnolutto. The peloton was 14" behind the leading four riders.

3.50 - Telekom, Farm Frites & Polti Lead Chase
Just like yesterday, the Telekom, Farm Frites & Polti teams are leading the chase of the escapees.

3.49 - 21km To Race
The four lead by 17" with 21km to race. The first to attack was Apollinio who broke free with 25km to race.

3.47 - Four Lead By 14"
Millar, Voigt, Apollinio and Agnolutto lead the peloton by 14".

3.46 - Lap 8 Prime Won By Voigt
Voigt led the 3 others over the site of the prime for the 8th pass of the Hauts des Champs-Elysees.

3.44 - 4 Leaders
Voigt's chase is successful. He has caught the 3 leaders, there are now 4 riders at the front of the stage.

3.44 - 3 Leaders...
There are now three leaders - Millar, Apollinio & Agnolutto. They are being pursued by a lone Jens Voigt.

3.43 - Apollinio This Time...
The latest attack has come from vini Caldirola's Massimo Apollinio. He has a lead of about 150 meters on the peloton. There are two riders - Millar and Agnolutto - in the middle.

3.40 - Millar Tries An Attack
The winner of the stage one time trial has tried an attack. He hasn't been able to break free of the fast-moving peloton.

3.39 - 7th Prime Won By
At the 'Hautes des Champs Elysees', the 7th prime was won by: Gwiazdowski from Dekker & Voigt.

3.38 - Escape Over
The peloton is all together again.

3.37 - 3 Counter-Attack
There are now three chasing Gwiazdowski. They are from Credit Agricole, Banesto and AG2R.

3.37 - Gwiazdowski Attacks
The rider from Francaise des Jeux who was in the 3-man break, Gregorz Gwiazdowski, is off the front of the peloton on his own.

3.32 - Peloton Together Again
The three escapees have been reeled in by the peloton.

3.32 - Prime Goes To Van Hyfte
The 10,000 FF prize for the 6th pass of the Hauts des Champs Elysees has been won by Paul Van Hyfte ahead of Beneteau and Lelli.

3.30 - 99.1km Raced
Marichal has passed the finishing site for the 6th time. He is about to be caught by the peloton. Garcia-Acosta has taken the lead in a fresh attack.

3.29 - 3 Chasers
There are three chasers with 1km to go to the 6th pass of the finishing site.

3.28 - Marichal Leads By 11"
Marichal is alone at the front of the stage. His advantage on the grouped peloton is 11".

3.28 - 7 Caught
Seven of the eight escapees have given up their efforts. Now just Marichal remains at the front of the chasing peloton.

3.27 - Leading 8's Advantage: 8"
The lead of Marichal, Jan, Dekker, Vinokourov, Chanteur, Derame, Morin & Vasseur is now down to 8".

3.26 - Vini Caldirola Joins The Chase
The team of yesterday's 4th-placed rider, Romans Vainsteins, has joined the Farm Frites & Polti teams at the head of the chasing peloton.

3.25 - Sprint Prime Honors...
The prime for the 5th pass of the 'Hauts des Champs Elysees' was won by:
1. Marichal (Lotto)
2. Chanteur (AG2R)
3. Jan (FDJ)

3.22 - 5th Pass of Finish Site
The eight leaders are 13" clear as they pass the site of the finish for the 5th time today.

3.21 - In Final 50km
There are now 47km to race. The Farm Frites & Polti teams are chasing hard for their sprinters, Robbie McEwen & Jeroen Blijlevens - 2nd & 3rd in yesterday's stage.

3.20 - Lead for Eight Now 17"
The Polti & Farm Frites teams are leading the peloton's pursuit of the eight leaders. The group of Vinokourov & company is 17" ahead of the bunch.

3.15 - 22 seconds
The two teams have a lead of 22 seconds and are 52 kms from the finish.

3.15 - Polti and Farm Frites
The two teams are leading the race

3.13 - Gap now 20 seconds
The lead group of 8 are now at 20 seconds

3.09 - Gap now 15 seconds
15 second lead for the 8

3.09 - Gap now 10 seconds
A 10 second lead for the group of 8

3.00 - Attack At 66km Mark
The 8 leaders are now 15" clear. They began their escape at the 66km mark.

2.59 - 8 Leaders...
There are now eight rider 13" clear of the peloton. They are: Vasseur, Derame, Dekker, Vinokourov, Chanteur, Marichal, Jan and Morin.

2.58 - Attacks Now Coming Thick & Fast...
The attacking action has now begun. There are now 7 riders at the front of the stage. (We await confirmation of their names.)

2.56 - First Real Attack Amounts to Nothing
Agnolutto (AG2R) was the first rider to try his luck with an attack. He was quickly reeled back in and the peloton is all together again.

2.52 - Texan Flags Out In Force Today
One of the prestigious hotels which looks out over the Place de la Concorde, the Hotel Crillion, has a Texan flag flying high on their main flag-pole today in celebration of Lance's pending overall victory.

2.47 - US Postal Lift Tempo
The US Postal team is at the front of the race. They are lifting the tempo from the passive early pace to try and hold off the attacks for as long as possible.

2.46 - Smaller Laps Begin At 86.1km
The 12 laps of the closing 6.5km circuit begin at the 86.1km mark.

2.43 - US Postal Lead The Peloton
The peloton is still all together with 80km remaining in this year's Tour de France. The US Postal team is at the front of the race.

2.35 - McEwen Increases His Hold On 2nd Place In Sprint Comp
The winner of the final stage in last year's race, Robbie McEwen (Farm Frites) has increased his lead on Romans Vainsteins for 2nd place in the sprint competition. The Australian rider now has 185pts - 2nd behind Zabel's tally of 291pts.

2.33 - Sprint Points To McEwen (Again)
For the second time today, the only attacking action has come for the intermediate sprint points. The results at the 52km sprint were:
1. Robbie McEwen (Farm Frites) 6pts
2. Jacky Durand (Lotto) 4pts
3. Emmanuele Magnien (FDJ) 2pts.

2.32 - Last Sprint Of 2000 Tour Due in 1.5km
The final intermediate points sprint of this year's Tour is about to be contested by the peloton.

2.31 - Second Crossing Of Finish Line
The peloton has passed the Place de la Concorde for the 2nd time. The Posties are now all up front of the peloton as they pass the finish site for the 2nd time. They have ridden 50.5km so far today.

2.19 - Armstrong To Compete In Grand Prix des Nations TT
Armstrong's main objective after the Tour de France will be the Olympic time trial. (He's stated that in the road race, he plans to ride for his team-mate Geroge Hincapie). Before the Games, however, Armstrong's final race will be the French Grand Prix des Nations in Yvetot on 16 September.

2.16 - The First Hour Average Speed
The average speed for the first hour today is 31.4kph.

2.13 - The Procession Continues
After 40km of riding the peloton is content to leave the attacking until the later kilometers of this final day of racing.

2.00 - 4th Fastest Average Speed... With Today's Stage To Come
The 2000 Tour has been raced at an average speed of 39.446kph. This is the fourth-fastest average speed of the Tour with one stage yet to come. The three fastest Tours were in 1999 (40.726kph; 1998 (39.983kph) and 1992 (39.504kph).

1.47 - 30 Degrees For Final Stage
Paris has greeted the final stage with warm weather. Under slightly overcast conditions - and a forecast of possible showers - the temperature of 30 degrees (C).

1.45 - Points Winners Almost Stop to Wait For Peloton
After claiming the sprint points, the three riders who contest the 22.9km prime have almost stopped to wait for the peloton. The race is indeed in a festive mood for this final procession.

1.44 - McEwen Takes The 6pts
The first attack was just for the first sprint prime. The sprint was a the 22.9km mark. The points when to:
1. McEwen (Farm Frites) 6pts
2. Magnien (FDJ) 4pts
3. Durand (Lotto) 2pts.

1.43 - Attacking For First Sprint
The first sprint is being contested. Three riders have attacked for the points...

1.43 - US Postal Link Arms At Back of Bunch
As they passed the finish line, the entire US Postal team went to the back of the bunch, linked arms in a salute for the spectators and media.

1.41 - Arriving On Champs Elysees
The peloton has just passed the Place de la Concorde and about to pass the finish line for the first time today.

1.40 - 20km Raced
The peloton continues their passive-paced celebrations for the early part of today's stage. They have covered 20km so far.

1.25 - 12km Covered
The peloton is being led by the US Postal team. George Hincapie has been taking the opportunity during this passive moment of rolling to take some photos of his yellow-clad team-mate. They are at the 12km mark.

1.11 - 6.3km Rolled
The peloton is enjoying the festive nature of this final stage. They have rolled 6.3km of the 138km course for the 21st stage.

1.11 - Prizemoney Gains Before Final Stage
The Kelme team leads the prizemoney tally before today's conclusion. The top 10 teams in the prizemoney stakes are: 1. Kelme 482,900 FF
2. Telekom 455,600 FF
3. Rabobank 405,200 FF
4. Mapei-Quickstep 354,400 FF
5. US Postal Service 296,600 FF
6. Banesto 262,400 FF
7. Festina 258,100 FF
8. Saeco-Valli&Valli 209,300 FF
9. ONCE-Deutsche Bank 201,700 FF
10. LOtto-Adecco 186,500 FF

1.08 - Riding Alongside The River Seine
The peloton is getting a tourist's perspective of the Tour. They are currently riding alongside the River Seine.

1.07 - First Intermediate Sprint Due At 22.9km
The first of two intermediate sprints is at the 22.9km mark. The second at 52km.

1.06 - Lance Dons A Wig...
A long-haired wig has been passed around the peloton. Lance Armstrong received the hair-piece, asked the peloton if it should go on his head, and after a rousing response, on it went. He is now at the front of the race with long hair...

1.00 - All Yellow Lance...
To match his yellow jersey, Lance has a yellow helmet, yellow gloves and yellow spokes on his wheels for today's final stage.

12.59 - Racing!
The 21st - and final stage - of the 2000 Tour has begun on time at 2.00pm (CET). There are 128 riders in today's stage.

12.57 - Presentation Order At The Conclusion
At the conclusion of today's stage, the Societe du Tour will debut a new podium for the final presentations. The protocol for this presentation is as follows:
Winner of the 21st Stage
Winner of the Yellow Jersey
Winner of the Green Jersey
Winner of the Polka-Dot Jersey
Winner of the White Jersey (Best Young Rider)
Winner of the Most Aggressive Rider Classification
The Four Winners of the special prize jerseys
The Winning Team
The first three in the Overall Classification

12.53 - Second Stage To Be Raced Completely In Paris
The 21st stage of this year's Tour will be the 2nd tme in the 87-year history which a stage will be raced entirely on the streets of Paris. The first time was in 1975 when the current Telekom director, Walter Godefroot, was the winner.

12.35 - Armstrong Earns 75kg Of Champagne This Morning
The leader of the general classification, Lance Armstrong was presented with 75kg worth of Champagne as he boarded the Orient Express this morning. The figure was determined by the American race leader's weight.

12.33 - Stage 21 Starts At The Eiffel Tower
The most-visited monument in the world, the Eiffel Tower, will be the backdrop for today's stage start. The 300 meter tall structure was built for the 1899 World Expo. There are 1,642 steps to the top of this world-famous structure.

12.30 - Six 10,000FF 'Primes' For Each Pass of the Finish Line
The closing kilometers of the 2000 Tour there will be 12 circuits of the 6.4km circuit of the Champs Elysees. There is a 10,000 French Franc bonus for the rider who finishes the 4th to 10th laps first.

12.26 - Two Intermediate Sprints
There are two intermediate sprints in today's 138km course which will give Erik Zabel the chance to increase his lead in the green jersey competition... Or help add interest to the battle for second in the sprint classification. At the start today, Zabel leads by 291 points to Romans Vainteins' tally of 173pts. Third is yesterday's second-placed rider, Robbie McEwen with 158pts.

12.21 - No Climbs Today
The King of the Mountains prize has been sealed for the 2000 Tour de France. Santiago Botero, the only Colombian still in the race, will wear the polka-dot jersey for today's stage in Paris. He leads his Kelme team-mate, Javier Otxoa 347 points to 283pts. Third is last year's winner, Richard Virenque with 267 points.

12.05 - Final Stage Starts Soon
Today's final stage of the Tour de France is scheduled to start at 13.00