PARIS, July 27 (UPI) -- Spanish cyclist Carlos Sastre won the 2008 Tour de France Sunday, besting Australia's Cadel Evans by 58 seconds in the overall standings.
While Belgian cyclist Gert Steegmans won the annual race's final leg to the Champs-Elysees in Paris, Sastre took home the tour crown by finishing amidst a pack of fellow bicyclists.
Sastre's victory marked the third straight Tour de France won by a Spaniard, following Oscar Pereiro in 2006 and 2007 winner Albert Contador.
After winning the prestigious bicycling event, Sastre thanked those in his team for their work during the lengthy competition.
"Today was a really nice day," Sastre said. "The team has done everything to make this Tour as easy as possible for me and even as we came to Paris for the final stage, they continued to work for me. It's a great atmosphere now and I know that relief has set in and now everyone is happy."
The next top finishers were Austrian Bernhard Kohl, Russian Denis Menchov and Christian Vande Velde of the United States.
