Bradley Wiggins Wins Tour de France, Becomes First British Winner
Paris, France – Bradley Wiggins on Sunday became the first Brit to win the Tour de France, protecting his yellow jersey during Sunday’s final processional ride into Paris while helping Sky teammate Mark Cavendish win the sprint portion of the event for the fourth straight time as the races competitors headed down the Champs-Elysees.
A favorite from the on-set of the race Wiggins headed into Saturday’s final time trial with a sizeable lead which he extended with a commanding performance. Finishing in second was Sky teammate Christopher Froome with a time of 3 minutes, 21 seconds behind overall. In third place was Vincenzo Nibali of Italy who was 6:19 off the pace.
Not only did Wiggins win the Tour de France, Froome’s second place finish marks the first time since 1984 that two riders from the same country have finished in first and second place. The last riders to accomplish back-to-back placement for a single country were Frenchmen Laurent Fignon and Bernard Hinault
Cavendish has now claimed victory in 23 Tour stages including three in 2012. Wiggins also become the first reigning world champion to win on the Champs-Elysees.
According to ABC News:
“The seven stage wins was a record haul for British riders in the Tour, beating the previous record of six stage wins in 2009 — when all were won by Cavendish.”
As our very own Dan Evon pointed out before the Tour de France commenced, Wiggins was the man to beat heading into the race and remained humbled by his status in the racing world.
Wiggins will also be competing at the 2012 London Olympics which gives him just over one week to rest before starting the August 1st International event.
