After 2,000 miles and discounting the largely ceremonial final stage, the 2008 Tour de France will be determined Saturday with an individual time trial.

The remaining 145 riders will pedal 53 kilometers (32.9 miles) from Cerilly to Saint-Amand-Montrond on a route that most features mostly twisting back roads.

And the one question on every Tour de France fans’ mind is: Can Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) of Australia overtake race leader Carlos Sastre (CSC-Saxo Bank) of Spain?

Sastre became the seventh race leader with his solo victory in the 17th stage that finished at L’Alpe d’Huez. But Sastre, riding in his eighth Tour and the fourth-place finisher last year, is not a particularly strong time trialist.

It was a different route, of course, but the results of last year’s 55km final stage 19 individual time trial provide a good comparison.

American Levi Leipheimer (Astana) of Santa Rosa, Calif., won the stage by 51 seconds over Evans, the race runnerup. Sastre was 16th, 3 minutes and 24 seconds behind Leipheimer and 2:23 behind Evans.

Although Frank Schleck (CSC-Saxo Bank) of Luxembourg is second overall, trailing Sastre by 1:24. Bernard Kohl (Gerolsteiner) of Austria is third, trailing by 1:33. But t’s Evans in fourth with a 1:34 deficit who will likely be the main challenger.

Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Chipotle) of Boulder, Colo., finished 19th in the final time trial last year, 3:58 behind Leip
heimer. Vande Velde is sixth overall, trailing by 4:41. And while overall victory is likely not possible, Vande Velde will be trying to move into a podium (top-three) finish.

Like all individual time trials, the field will ride individually in reverse order of their overall standings. The final 20 riders will begin in three-minute intervals.

A Tour stage has only once finished in St.-Amand-Montrond. In 2001, Lance Armstrong was victorious in a 61km time trial to secure his third overall title two days before the conclusion in Paris.

OVERALL STANDINGS AFTER 19 STAGES
1. Carlos Sastre, Spain, CSC-Saxo Bank, 82 hours, 54 minutes, 36 seconds
2. Frank Schleck, Luxembourg, CSC-Saxo Bank, 1 minute, 24 seconds behind.
3. Bernhard Kohl, Austria, Gerolsteiner, 1:33 behind.
4. Cadel Evans, Australia, Silence-Lotto, 1:34 behind.
5. Denis Menchov, Russia Rabobank, 2:39 behind.
6. Christian Vande Velde, Boulder, Colo., Garmin Chipotle, 4:41 behind
7. Alejandro Valverde, Spain Caisse D’epargne, 5:35 behind.
8. Samuel Sanchez, Spain, Euskaltel-Euskadi, 5:52 behind
9. Tadej Valjavec, Slovenia, Ag2r-La Mondiale, 8:10 behind.
10. Vladimir Efimkin, Russia, Ag2r-La Mondiale, 8:24 behind
Other Americans
36. George Hincapie, Greenville, S.C., Columbia, 1 hour 8 minutes, 28 seconds behind
97. Danny Pate, Colorado Springs, Colo., Garmin Chipotle, 2:35:59 behind.
132. William Frischkorn, Charleston, West Virginia, Garmin Chipotle, 3:24:44 behind.