KEY POINTS:
New Zealand cyclist Julian Dean completed an impressive Tour de France today by claiming his fifth top-10 result in the three-week epic.
The Olympic Games-bound rider finished sixth in the 143km 21st stage from Etampes to Paris in a time of three hours 51 minutes 38 seconds.
That was the same time credited to the stage winner, Gert Steegmans, of Belgium.
The Garmin Chipotle team sprinter finished 110th on general classification as he completed the famous tour for the fourth time in as many attempts.
Dean, 33, was more than three hours behind the race winner, Spaniard Carlos Sastre, overall but finished the race ninth in the sprinters' standings.
He won himself 119 points in the sprinting category, to trail category winner Oscar Freire, of Spain, on 270 points.
Dean's next assignment is the road race at the Olympic Games in Beijing next month.
He voiced satisfaction with his performance in France but, ever the competitor, said there was always the feeling of wanting to do better.
His best result was a fourth placing on the 14th stage.
"When you are an athlete you always want to win, but I am definitely happy," he told Radio New Zealand after the final stage.
Dean said the priority now was his recovery from the gruelling race as he prepared for the Games road race in a fortnight.
He has contested the tour and prospered at the Olympics before, completing the French marathon in 2004 shortly before attending the Athens Olympics where he finished a meritorious 15th in the road race.
Dean said he had not thrashed himself in the latter stages of the tour so physically he was feeling fine.
"I have not been riding for the overall classification.
"Those who do always have a tougher job because they go head to head every day for three weeks, whereas with me on some days I have been able to ride through it a little bit easier.
"I felt pretty good in the last few days and I'm sure everything is going to be okay. The last few days I've been feeling really good and that's always a good sign."
Dean said he was not surprised at the performance of Sastre, a former teammate of the New Zealander in the CSC team.
"I know him pretty well, he is a guy who has always been there, he is very consistent.
"It's the first time he has won the Tour de France but it is not a surprise because he has always been there or thereabouts."
- NZPA
