THE LONGEST DAY
Friday 13 July / St-Jean-de-Maurienne to Annonay Davézieux, 226km
ROUTE/ Still in the Alps, with two good climbs before the route trends downhill all the way to Annonay Davézieux. Sounds a breeze, but a frustrating rollercoaster effect was inherent in five steep hills along the way, each with a long descent, allowing the sprinters to catch up.
THE CHALLENGE/ A difficult stage to control. Overall contenders would want to conserve after two tough days; sprinters would want to hurtle to the finish.
HOW IT UNFOLDED/ The 45th anniversary of Tom Simpson’s death on Mont Ventoux prompted hopes of a British feel-good story – and it came in a tremendous victory for David Millar, of the Garmin-Sharp team, who became the fourth British rider to win a stage in 2012 (after Cavendish, Froome and Wiggins). Team Sky, meanwhile, had an untroubled day with Wiggins retaining the race lead.
Millar, who was in a five-man breakaway from the get-go, beat Jean-Christophe Péraud in a sprint after an exhilarating ride. He was involved in the first escape attempt in the opening kilometres and stayed away over the two Category 1 mountain climbs when others fell back into the peloton.
After descending the second mountain, Millar, Robert Kiserlovski, Egoi Martinez, Peraud and Cyril Gautier opened up a lead of more than 12 minutes with the peloton happy to let them go – as none of the riders were in overall contention. The quintet rode well together until the final three kilometres when Peraud and Kiserlovski tried to attack but Millar covered them with ease. Peraud rallied another assault in the closing 200 metres but Millar kicked again to win by a few bike lengths.
‘It was absolutely perfect for me. Guys who get over two climbs like that don’t normally have a sprint and I soon realised I was the quickest there. I started planning my move 75 miles from the line. I was determined to just follow every move until the time was right,’ said Millar.
‘It’s nice, very poignant, to have won clean having made the same mistakes that Tommy made. I hope there’s a message there about how far the sport has come in the last 45 years, indeed five years. I’m an ex-doper who is now clean and there is never any point in hiding that. I have a duty to remind people where our sport has been. It is always important to show you can win races clean.’
Wiggins enjoyed a relaxed day in the peloton as Team Sky controlled the pace and chose not to chase down the escapees, though fans brandishing flares unnerved them towards the end.
STAGE 12 RESULT:
Winner. David Millar (GB); Garmin; 05h 42’ 46”
2. Jean-Christophe Péraud (Fra); AG2R
3. Egoi Martinez (Spa); Euskaltel; @ 6”
OVERALL STANDINGS:
1. Bradley Wiggins (GB); Team Sky; 54h 34’ 33”
2. Chris Froome (GB); Team Sky; @ 2’05”
3. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita); Liquigas; @ 2’23”
‘I’m covered in yellow stuff and got a bit of a burn on my arm. It was some nutter running up the hill with a flare and it shows you freak things like that can happen in the Tour. I’m fine though.’
Bradley Wiggins