Cerilly, France - As the 20th, and decisive, stage of the 2008 Tour de France got under way Saturday in the city of Cerilly, Australian Cadel Evans was certainly hoping that he could avoid a replay of last year's 20th stage.

As in 2007, the next-to-last stage of the Tour is an individual time trial, and again Evans trails a Spanish rider by less than 2 minutes in the standings.

And, as last year, the Australian is given an excellent chance of making up the deficit, because the winding, hilly 53-km course from Cerilly to Saint-Amand-Montrond suits his style.

But in last year's time trial the 31-year-old Evans fell short of making up a gap of 1 minute 50 seconds with the eventual Tour winner, Alberto Contador, by only 23 seconds, the second smallest winning - or losing - margin in the history of the Tour de France.

As Saturday's stage got under way, with Austrian Bernhardt Eisel rolling down the starting ramp, Evans trailed Spaniard Carlos Sastre by 1 minute 34 seconds. According to their past head-to-head time trial performances, the Australian has an excellent chance of making up the time on Sastre.

But in the Tour de France, anything can happen, especially if, as on Saturday, rain is forecast for the event. As a result, any of five riders has a chance of taking one of cycling's most cherished prizes.

Sastre's Team CSC teammate, Frank Schleck of Luxembourg, stood second, 1:24 behind the Spaniard as the stage began. Austrian Bernhard Kohl was in third, at 1:33, and Russia's Denis Menchov was fifth, 2:39 adrift.

Whoever comes out of Saturday's stage with the race lead is virtually certain to win the Tour because Sunday's final stage is traditionally a ceremonial parade to honour the winners, and usually ends in a mass sprint to the finish on the Champs Elysees in Paris. (dpa)