The 53.5 kilometre time-trial between Bonneval and Chartres had been earmarked as a banker for Wiggins if things had not gone to plan in the mountains. Pre-race previews had set up this penultimate stage as a potential clash between two adversaries: Wiggins versus Cadel Evans. Purists might have wanted to see a showdown of nerves and firepower between the defending champion and the season’s top performer, but Team Sky were happy to see their leader still in the yellow jersey and with a comfortable two-minute-and-five-second advantage over the second-placed rider – their very own team member Chris Froome. The ambition behind setting up Team Sky in 2010 was to see the first Briton win the Tour de France. Three years down the line, could it really be a British 1–2?
To those not immersed in the world of cycling, all the talk about seven or eight men ‘helping’ Wiggins and ‘protecting’ him en route to Paris made him sound oddly vulnerable, which of course he was not. He was the most decorated British Olympic cyclist, with a haul of six Olympic medals that was the equal of Sir Steve Redgrave. Road cycling is a team sport, and the one thing Brailsford was keen to project was the unity and teamwork involved in Team Sky’s successes: ‘The guys work tirelessly for each other. They get on really well and they all back each other no matter what the situation is.’ For 19 days, it had been all about ensuring Wiggins had the space to do his stuff. And now, on 21 July 2012, he was poised to underline his superiority. Nowhere does Wiggins show his talent better than in a Race of Truth.
After warming up for the biggest moment in his life, in the glare of the world, Wiggins was last to go down the start ramp. Froome had just posted a stunning time. Pumped up, concentrated, determined, Wiggins put in a sublime display, stopping the clock in one hour, four minutes and 13 seconds. It was fully one minute and 16 seconds faster than Froome, who took second. It meant Wiggins would go into the champagne-swilling promenade of the largely processional stage in Paris with a huge advantage – three minutes and 21 seconds over Froome and six minutes and 19 seconds over Nibali.
‘It’s what I wanted to do – I wanted to go out with a bang,’ said Wiggins, with what could only at this stage be understatement. ‘It’s a long way, 53km, but it’s what I do best. I came out in March and looked at this course with Sean. I felt fantastic out there. From the first pedal stroke in the warm-up I normally know whether I’m on it or not. I knew today the minute I rolled off that ramp that I was on a good one. It’s the Tour. It doesn’t get much bigger than this. What a way to finish. I wouldn’t say it was a lap of honour, because it hurt, but I just wanted to finish the job off in style.
‘There was a lot of emotion in the last 10k. Everything was going through my mind. All the years of getting to this point, my family, disappointments, crashing out of the Tour last year, watching Cadel in this very position a year ago in Grenoble. I always imagined what that would feel like and now I know. I was thinking about my wife and children, my grandfather, my nan, my mother. That was just spurring me on with every pedal stroke. It sounds cheesy, but you work your whole life to get to this point – it’s the defining moment in your life. From the minute I got into cycling as a kid it’s all summed up for me today.’
His team mates mentally rode every second with him, even after their own efforts. ‘One of the highlights of the Tour for me was sitting in the car with Eddy and a soigneur getting updates on Bradley’s progress on my phone,’ recalls Richie Porte. ‘We saw Chris’s time, then Brad’s. Halfway through he was a minute quicker. That was mind-boggling. We knew they were good, but …’ Eisel watched him cross the line, rise up from his saddle and punch the air – ‘and I could see all the pressure and tension leave his body. He’d done it.’ Cavendish, too, buoyed by his victory the day before and anticipating another on the final sprint around the Champs-Elysées, was thrilled. ‘The yellow jersey is one of the most iconic symbols in sport and it’s been the proudest moment of my career to go through this Tour with Bradley. As I’ve said, we’ve grown up together. I’m incredibly proud of him.’
Nor was Siutsou forgotten. ‘We really wanted him to come to Paris,’ said Rogers. ‘We realised that with a broken leg it would be hard for him to catch a flight alone, so we were trying to book him transport. We really wanted him to be there. He was one of the key men throughout our whole successful year and he’d only had two days of the Tour. The celebrations in Paris were about the 2012 season, not just the Tour de France.’
And at last Dave Brailsford allowed himself to emerge from logical mode. The days had been ticked off. The glory beckoned. ‘It was an amazing result and it’s been an amazing Tour for us. I don’t think it came as any surprise as long as the guys stayed on their bikes today that they were going to come first and second. It went to plan.
‘Bradley’s had an amazing race. What a way to demonstrate he is the best rider in the race by finishing with a time trial like that. I’m incredibly proud of both him and Chris, as well as every single person in the team. It’s never been done before by a British rider, or by a British team – it’s a very special day.’
