Leipheimer finishes third in Tour de France

By RICHARD HANNERS

Whitefish Pilot

Butte native and former Whitefish High School student Levi Leipheimer took third place in the 94th Tour de France bicycle race, which concluded July 29.

In the closest race ever, Leipheimer finished 31 seconds behind this year's winner, Alberto Contador, of Spain, who rode with the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team — Lance Armstrong's former team.

Leipheimer, 24, also a member of the Discovery team, previously rode for the German cycling team Gerolsteiner.

A competitive skier from age 12-19, Leipheimer transferred to Whitefish High School in 1991 to train for the Super G at Big Mountain ski resort. He currently lives in Santa Rosa, Calif.

He began cycling in 1987 to train for downhill ski racing and turned pro in 1997. He rode for Saturn in 1998 and 1999, winning the U.S. National Time Trial Championships in 1999.

Leipheimer took first overall in the 2007 Tour of California, first overall in the 2006 Dauphine Libere, first overall in the 2005 Deutschland Tour and third overall in the 2001 Vuelta a Espa-a. He made three top-10 finishes in the Tour de France general classification.

This year, Leipheimer became the 10th American to win a Tour de France stage, winning the 34.5-mile long 19th stage in 1:02.45.

To honor his achievement, Oct. 20 will be recognized as Levi Leipheimer Day in Butte, complete with a parade downtown and a presentation by Gov. Brian Schweitzer.