After 3rd place in the time trial in the penultimate stage, losing time to only Armstrong and Ullrich, Vinokourov moved to 6th, trailing Levi Leipheimer in 5th by two seconds. The final stage, usually a formality, became a showdown between Vinokourov and Leipheimer. A sprint prime with time bonuses came at 75 km in Châteny-Malabry. Leipheimer and his Gerolsteiner team came to the front. Leipheimer needed to prevent Vinokourov from getting it. Gerolsteiner set a fast tempo to discourage Vinokourov. But 1.5 km from the sprint, Vinokourov attacked. Soon only Leipheimer could hold his wheel, but he was not able to pass and so Vinokourov gained six seconds, Leipheimer four. Leipheimer was ahead only by a fraction of a second. When they reached Paris officials stopped the clock due to dangerous conditions (the cobblestone road was wet and slippery from rain), and the final sprint prime was cancelled.