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Tour de France 2012

Stage 20

Wiggins, the first Briton

  • Sunday 22 July 2012
  • 126 km
  • 699 m climbed
  • Won by Mark Cavendish

The road

181 m0 km20406080100126 km12

At the start

A hundred and twenty kilometres to history

Bradley Wiggins won the Chartres time trial by 1:16 from Chris Froome and carries 3:21 into Paris, with Vincenzo Nibali third at 6:19. Peter Sagan's green jersey has been safe for a fortnight and Thomas Voeckler's polka dots with it. All that is left is a hundred and twenty kilometres from Rambouillet, eight laps of the Champs-Élysées, and the most watched sprint of the year.

How it was won

  1. 3 km to go

    The last three are caught

    The day's token escape is swallowed with three kilometres to go on the Champs-Élysées, and a crash in the middle of the bunch takes down Danilo Hondo and Mikaël Chérel just before it happens.

  2. At the line

    Wiggins, the first Briton

    Mark Cavendish takes his fourth straight win on the Champs-Élysées, Sagan second and green, Goss third. Behind them Bradley Wiggins rolls across the line 3:21 clear of Chris Froome and 6:19 clear of Vincenzo Nibali — the first British winner of the Tour de France, ninety-nine editions in.

The result

Podium, Stage 20, Tour de France 2012
RankRiderTeamTime
1Mark CavendishSky Procycling3:08:07
2Peter SaganLiquigas - Cannondale+0:00
3Matthew GossOrica GreenEDGE+0:00
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