Tour de France 2012: Bradley Wiggins All But Wraps Up Victory

Another thrilling Tour de France has come to an end. With the final sprint to the Champs-Elysees on Sunday, the 2012 edition of the most well-known Grand Tour came to an end. Bradley Wiggins became the first British-born rider to ever capture the title and wear the yellow jersey on the podium.

Wiggins and Team Sky dominated the Tour, as was expected from the outset. Wiggins was tagged as the early favorite to win before the event even began. Over the course of the Tour, Wiggins steadily gained time over his biggest threat, last year’s champion Cadel Evans. Evans attempted several unsuccessful attacks throughout the Tour.

Bradley Wiggins finished the 2012 Tour de France on Sunday in a place no British cyclist ever has been before: on top.

Wiggins coasted to the finish in the traditionally laid-back final stage of the Tour, finishing 3:21 ahead of Sky teammate Chris Froome in the final general classification rankings and becoming the first Briton to win the event, in its 99th running. Vincenzo Nibali of Liquigas finished in third, 6:19 behind Wiggins, as the only other rider besides Froome within 10 minutes of him.

After long, grueling weeks, it has all come down to this. The final stage of the 2012 Tour de France will take place Sunday and, barring a catastrophe, Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky will earn his first title in the most prestigious and important Grand Tour of them all.

Heading into Sunday’s Stage 20, Wiggins will hold a 3:21 lead in the general classification over teammate Chris Froome. The final ride will be 120km from Rambouillet to the Champs-Elysees in Paris. It is a road stage and the shortest of the tour, which will certainly not be met with argument from the weary riders. The stage is almost entirely flat, with two short climbs near the beginning. You can expect the customary mad dash for the finish line before the awards are handed out.

As the Tour de France gets closer and closer to its final ride down the Champs Elysées, Great Britain’s Bradley Wiggins is putting more and more distance between himself and the field. After the yellow-jersey wearer won the Stage 19 time trial, he’s nearly sealed the overall Tour victory, which would make him the first British winner in the Tour’s history.

Wiggins crushed the field in the time trial, finishing the 53.5 kilometers in one hour, four minutes and 13 seconds. He was followed by his Team Sky teammate Christopher Froome, who finished a minute and 16 seconds behind him. Team Sky was formed in 2010, and head coach Dave Brailsford proclaimed they would give the U.K. a Tour winner within five years, according to the BBC. Brailsford was exultant after the race.

Just two stages remain in the 2012 Tour de France. With the final day ride to the Champs-Elysees considered more of a formality, Saturday’s Stage 19 time trial from Bonneval to Chartres is likely the last chance anyone has to take the yellow jersey away from Bradley Wiggins.

If all goes according to plan, however, Wiggins will likely assume the final podium atop the general classification. While two to three minute gaps are predicted for the finish along the long 53.5-kilometer trial, those within striking distance of the leader aren’t expected to have strong enough rides. The SB Nation blog Podium Cafe doesn’t see Wiggins’ Sky teammate Christopher Froome making up the difference of 2 minutes 5 seconds to reach the top of the leaderboard, and third-place Vicenzo Nibali (2:41 back) was considerably slower than Froome during the first time trial.

The 2012 Tour de France is entering its final few days. On Friday, Stage 18 stretched from Blagnac to Brive-la-Gaillarde and saw Team Sky reassert its dominance over the rest of the field. Mark Cavendish pulled away and was able to capture the stage, effectively sealing the win for Sky lead rider Bradley Wiggins.

Only two stages remain in the Tour. Saturday will see a time trial which will likely only see Wiggins and the rest of Team Sky extend their lead heading into Sunday’s final ride to the Champs-Elysees.

The 2012 Tour de France continues on Friday with a Stage 18 that is not expected to have a dramatic effect on the current order, including Bradley Wiggins’ grip on the yellow jersey.

Wiggins took a decisive lead during Thursday’s Stage 17, putting himself in prime position to capture his first Tour de France title with just three stages remaining. Wiggins now holds a 2-minute, 5-second lead over Sky teammate Chris Froome and is looking to become the first ever British winner in the 109-year history of the Tour.

Stage 17 of the 2012 Tour de France is over, as the riders completed their 143.5 km (89 mile) route from Bagneres-de-Luchon to Peyragudes. Alejandro Valverde completed the stage in the top spot with a time of 4:12:11, just 19 seconds ahead of Bradley Wiggins and Christopher Froome.

Finishing up in second place keeps Wiggins as the wearer of the coveted yellow jersey, as he’s still in the overall individual top spot in the Tour de France through 17 stages.

The reality of Bradley Wiggins winning his first Tour de France is becoming more and more likely with each passing stage.

Currently holding a 2:05 lead over Chris Fromme, Wiggins will look to at least remain in the thick of things with assistance from his SKY teammates during Thursday’s Stage 18 from Bagnères-de-Luchon-Peyragudes as he maintains his status as the holder of the yellow jacket.

Stage 16 of the 2012 Tour de France is now complete after Wednesday’s 197-kilometer ride through the Pyrenees from Pau to Bagneres-de-Luchon. The first of two difficult, back-to-back mountain stages was won by Thomas Voeckler. He managed to edge out Chris Anker Sorensen and claim both the stage and the polka-dot “King of the Mountains” jersey.

In the general classification, Bradley Wiggins stayed in the yellow jersey and held tight to his lead over Sky teammate Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali of Liquigas. Defending champion Cadel Evans fell off the pace and dropped out of the top five in the general classification standings, effectively ending any realistic chance of a repeat.

If you’ve ever ridden a bicycle, the odds are exceedingly good that you’ve fallen off of a bicycle. Beyond the sheer, heart-sweating terror of the instant where you’re actually in the act of transitioning from the vehicle to the ground, falling off a bike really sucks. You scrape yourself up, you’ll probably be sore later and it’s unspeakably embarrassing if anyone happens to be watching. And that’s just if you happen to wobble in your grandmother’s driveway and tumble into her rosebushes.

If you’re on a carbon-fiber, state-of-the-art machine going several 10s of kilometers per hour, wearing nothing but spandex and pushing yourself to the very limits of human exhaustion and you happen to crash ... well, that’s something else altogether. We’re going to take a look at some of the most recent, most notable and most horrifying crashes in Tour de France history, but first, please allow me to give you a little perspective.

There’s still plenty of racing left, but we’re nearing the home stretch of the 2012 Tour de France

Wednesday’s stage 16, or “Pau - Bagnères-de-Luchon” is a 197 km (122 mi) mountain stage that, if raced well by current yellow-jacket holder Bradley Wiggins, could be the stage that sparks conversation of the Brit being the likely winner of the 2012 editon of the race.

For the second time in his cycling career, Frank Schelck is taking an early exit from the Tour de France, but this time is a bit more crippling to his image.

Schleck, who hails from Luxembourg, tested positive for the substance Xipamide, a diuretic, on Saturday, according to the International Cycling Union and reported by the New York Times. One might infer that Schleck was looking to increase his rate of uriniation to flush out an additional banned substances from his system.

In the latest sign of the apocalypse, people who are being called “deviants” sabotaged the Tour de France on Sunday when they threw tacks and small nails onto the road, causing several accidents and forcing the leaders to slow the race for a few hours.

In comments to VeloNation, long-time pro cyclist Frank Schleck doubted that anything could be done:

The 2012 Tour de France continues with Stage 15 on Monday in France. The stage will consist of a 158.5-km trek from Samatan all the way to Pau. The riders making the journey in Stage 15 will hope for no foul play from spectators this time as some tacks were thrown onto the course for Stage 14 causing nearly 30 riders to suffer flat tires.

Stage 15 consists of three different climbs for the riders, starting off with a 2.1-km category 4 climb at Côte de Lahitte-Toupière. That climb will be followed up by a 1.9-km category 3 climb and then a 1.5-km category 4 climb in the final stretch run of the stage.

It needs no context. It’s just a giant water bottle sprinting up a hill.

This is from the Tour de France, where spectators do all sorts of crazy things. The water bottle is, unfortunately, an advertisement for Clean Bottle. Still looks funny, though.

Stage 14 of the 2012 Tour de France concluded on Sunday morning, but there might have been some nefarious action afoot. Defending 2011 Tour champion Bradley Wiggins suffered a flat tire due to debris in the road, debris that wound up being tacks and gave about 30 riders flat tires, according to race director Jean-Francois Pecheux.

After finishing the Stage, Wiggins was upset but also noted there’s not much that can be done. “What can you do? It’s something we can’t control. There’s nothing stopping more of that sort of stuff happening,” Wiggins said.

As the Tour de France moved into the Pyreenes, the event became dramatic, if not dangerous, as possible fighting between cyclists, and tacks and nails being thrown onto the road by unruly fans were the story.

While Spaniard Luis Leon Sanchez won the stage, the real story was toward the end of the stage, as ITV4 showed video of spectators throwing tacks on to the course. A number of racers’ bike tires were punctured, including Robert Kiserlovski, who was forced to remove himself toward the end of the stage after crashing due to a busted tire.

Stage 14 of the Tour de France is the first in the Pyrenées, the steep mountains that traverse the border between France and Spain, but, according to the Tour’s official website, it’s “more of an appetizer than a mountain stage proper.” The riders will never really leave the foothills of the Pyrenées but, at 191 kilometers with some sections at an 18 percent grade, it’s a challenge to all -- climbers in its distance and all-around riders with its hills.

Bradley Wiggins of the United Kingdom continues to hold onto the yellow jersey and he’s two minutes ahead of his teammate, Chris Froome. Wiggins grabbed the jersey in the first mountain stages, so it would be surprising to see him relinquish it during Stage 14.

As the 2012 Tour de France made its move from the Alps into the Pyrenees, Great Britain cyclist Bradley Wiggins holds the yellow jersey through 13 stages.

Wiggins holds a 2:05 lead over his Sky Procycling teammate Christopher Froome despite finishing 12th in Saturday’s 217-km trek from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Le Cap d’Agde.

There’s some insane people lining the small mountain roads the Tour de France peloton winds its way up as the race hits the mountain stages. Hoards of people pack the sides of these small, essentially one-lane roads, leaving just enough room for riders to squeak by. And then there’s the attention-seekers trying to make a name for themselves on TV -- like the guys with flares who nearly started a war with the peloton on Friday.

Bringing flares as riders ascend a mountain really isn’t a good idea in the first place. Getting close enough to the group that riders are inhaling smoke is worse. And burning Bradley Wiggins, the Tour leader and man in yellow ... well, that’s about as dumb a thing a fan can do.

Stage 13’s 217-km trek from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Le Cap d’Agde is in the books, and Andre Greipel of Lotto-Belisol is the winner of the Bastille Day ride. It was a sprint finish in an unexpectedly difficult race but Greipel came on and just edged out Peter Sagan of Liquigas-Cannondale in a photo finish. The stage lasted just under five hours, with Greipel crossing the line in a time of 4:47:59.

It was a picturesque day in a beautiful part of France, with many vacationers taking in the race on the holiday. But the transitional stage, which takes the Tour from the Alps to the Pyrenees, was much more difficult than expected as significant crosswinds affected the competitors during the relatively flat portions. A number of cyclists, including Mark Cavendish and Tyler Farrar, dropped off during the Category 3 climb before the finish. The descent from that climb and the final stretch to Le Cap d’Agde was a mad dash, however, with Greipel taking the stage win in the final centimeters.

The 2012 Tour de France is officially out of the Alps with Stage 13’s 217-km trek from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Le Cap d’Agde featuring just one Category 3 climb just before the finish. There will be two opportunities for sprinters to gain points Saturday at Mas de Londres: at the 190-km mark and, of course, at the finish line.

Bradley Wiggins held his 2:05 lead over Sky Procycling teammate Christopher Froome on Thursday, and will wear the yellow jersey for the sixth straight stage. Peter Sagan will wear the green jersey as the Tour’s points classification leader.

There’s always odd shots interspersed with coverage of the Tour de France. When a race is guys riding bikes for hours (and hundreds of miles a day), there has to be a few light-hearted shots to hold the viewer’s attention. This one was my favorite.

In a somewhat heated moment at the finish line, the crew in the truck randomly cuts to seals dancing. Really, that’s all this is. A random, and adorable, shot of seals doing tricks.

David Millar has captured his fourth career stage victory in the Tour de France, defeating four other riders in a sprint at the end of Stage 12. Bradley Wiggins’ Team Sky and the rest of the peloton allowed the five-man breakaway to stay away, and Millar defeated Jean-Christophe Peraud at the line to take the stage. It’s the fifth stage win of the Tour for Millar’s team, Garmin-Sharp.

Matthew Goss finished in sixth place, beating Peter Sagan at the line in a sprint when the peloton reached the finish line. That helped Goss gain on Sagan in the race for the green jersey, but Sagan still holds a significant lead of 56 points.