Tour de France comes down to this

MONTLUCON, France – At the Tour de France, this is it.

The only stage that now matters in cycling’s three-week showcase is today’s time trial. And for Carlos Sastre, who is wearing the yellow jersey, this is the moment he’s been waiting for.

The Spanish veteran is a strong climber and now needs the time trial of his career if he is to be the winner when the race ends Sunday in Paris.

Five riders appear to have a shot at the title, although surprises could await in today’s 33-mile leg from Cerilly to Saint-Amand-Montrond. The Alpine stages ended Tuesday, cutting the field of legitimate hopefuls.

The top of the standings didn’t change after Friday’s 19th stage in which Sylvain Chavanel of France led a two-man breakaway to win the run from Rouanne to Montlucon.

“Tomorrow will be the opportunity of my life,” Sastre said.

Overall, Frank Schleck of Luxembourg is in second place, 1 minute, 24 seconds back. Bernhard Kohl of Austria is 1:33 behind, while Cadel Evans of Australia is fourth, a second slower. Denis Menchov of Russia trails by 2:39 and has an outside shot because he’s a strong time-trial rider.

But the odds are on Evans, the Tour runner-up in 2007. The outcome of time trials can be predictable because riders tend to be good in them or not.

In two time-trial stages at the last Tour, which had a similar length to Saturday’s, Evans placed second and was more than two minutes faster than Sastre each time. Kohl and Schleck were even slower than the Spaniard.