Jussi Veikkanen (FdJ), Arnaud Coyot (Caisse d'Epargne), Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), Alexandre Pichot (Bbox), Carlos Barredo (Quick Step), Fabian Wegmann (Milram) and Fumiyuki Beppu (Skil-Shimano) got away but Team Colombia HTC as they have done for most of this Tour chased them down to get their man Mark Cavendish in with a shout of victory.
With two laps of the Paris streets to go, the gap was down to 12 seconds. Colombia's Michael Rogers had a puncture but his eight team mates kept up the chase along with Lance Armstrong, Team Milram and the rest of the peleton.
Jussi Veikkanen, Fabian Wegmann and Fumiyuki Beppu were still ahead as the bell went for the last lap. They were caught by a peleton riding at over 50km an hour.
Garmin Slipstream with David Millar took to the front but George Hincapie
George Hincapie
and Mark Renshaw led out Mark Cavendish,achieving his first ever finish in Paris, who sped to the finish line to take the stage and his 19th victory of the season.
"Winning here in Paris is one of the most spectacular moments any sprinter can have," Cavendish said to Colombia's Press Office. "But it's one thing to do that sprint and another thing to execute it, and I'm always put in the best position possible by my team. I've got the most talented group of individuals I could ask for helping me to do that. It takes a lot of special people to make sure everything is done perfectly and that's what the guys do. I always said with that pressure on me, there's no excuse for not winning so I have to do it.
"I said before I came the Tour de France that I wanted the stage win and a finish and anything else would be a bonus. Having taken six wins and finished in Paris as well, I can't go away from this Tour disappointed with what I've achieved."
Spaniard Alberta Contador was the Maillot Jaune with Andy Scleck second and Lance Armstrong third.
Lance Armstrong
A delighted Bradley Wiggins was fourth and equalled the finish of Robert Millar in 1984 with Frank Schleck in fifth.
Bradley Wiggins 4th place
Franco Pellizotti won the King Of The Mountains with Thor Hushovd getting the Green Jersey and Andy Schleck Best Young Rider
Andy Schleck
The Tour De France 2010 starts in Rotterdam next July.
Pictures copyright of Covsupport News Service