Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Minister for Sport Mark Arbib today congratulated Australian cyclist Cadel Evans, who is now all but certain to become the first Australian to win the Tour de France after a stunning individual effort overnight.Evans, in third place going into the final time trial stage, overtook brothers Andy and Frank Schleck with a superb ride.All of Australia was cheering Evans as he took to the road last night after showing amazing determination in the gruelling mountain stages of recent days.He overcame mechanical problems in the 19th stage and put in a dogged and gutsy ride to finish on the wheels of the Schleck brothers, allowing him to go into the time trial 57 seconds behind the leader Andy.
Evans gave the time trial his all, finishing second in the stage, relegating the Schleck brothers to second and third.Tonight, Australian time, Evans will ride into Paris wearing the coveted maillot jaune, the yellow jersey, to officially claim his Tour de France victory.Senator Arbib said Evans' inspirational effort had won him the admiration of all Australians in going one better than his two second places in the Tour in 2007 and 2008."It will be a very proud moment to hear Advance Australia Fair playing in Paris for Cadel Evans - he has shown amazing determination to win the most prestigious bike race in the world," Senator Arbib said.Evans was a scholarship holder at the Australian Institute of Sport between 1995 and 2000 for Cross Country Mountain Biking.He has been the Australian male road cyclist of the year for the past five years and won the world championship road race in 2009.