CELEBRATION
Sunday 22 July / Rambouillet to Paris, 120km
ROUTE/ A processional finish into Paris for the man in yellow until the Champs-Elysées, where the sprinters would contest the stage win.
THE CHALLENGE/ To set up Mark Cavendish for a fourth successive win on the Champs-Elysées. Team Sky’s sprinter aimed to remain unbeaten on the famous boulevard, having won there in the three Tours he has completed in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
HOW IT UNFOLDED/ Cavendish began his sprint early and held off Peter Sagan’s challenge with Matt Goss chasing hard in third. The victory lifted the Manxman’s tally of stage wins to 23, to surpass seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong and Frenchman André Darrigade and move into fourth in the overall stage-win standings, 11 short of Belgian Eddy Merckx’s record of 34.
The day, however, belonged to Wiggins, who safely negotiated the streets of Paris to complete formalities after the previous day’s emphatic time-trial performance had put him in a league of his own. The three-time Olympic track champion crossed the line arms raised, having helped set up Cavendish’s sprint victory in front of a sea of British fans who had flocked to the Champs-Elysées.
The race ended with a Team Sky one-two on several levels. Wiggins became the first British rider to win the Tour de France while Cavendish claimed his goal of a fourth consecutive final-stage victory with some ease. Wiggins finished in the chasing peloton around the streets of Paris with a winning margin of three minutes and 21 seconds. Fellow Brit and Team Sky team mate Chris Froome consolidated second place with Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali third.
Team Sky achieved the rare feat of a 1–2 on the podium, the first since 1996, when Bjarne Riis of Denmark finished ahead of his German team mate at Telekom, Jan Ullrich. It was also the first time compatriots have celebrated a 1–2 since France hailed Laurent Fignon’s win ahead of five-time victor Bernard Hinault in 1984.
Thomas Voeckler of France won the polka dot jersey for the 2012 race’s best climber, with Peter Sagan of Slovakia securing the green jersey in the points competition.
With a well-deserved taste of champagne, Wiggins could reflect on three testing weeks, in which he had worn the yellow jersey for 13 consecutive stages as he toiled over the Alps and the Pyrenees to beat the world’s best by more than three minutes in the intense 20-stage, 3,500km race.
‘I’ve got to get used to that [being a legend in the spotlight], it’s going to take a while. I’m just trying to soak it all in. You never imagine it will happen to you but it’s amazing.’
STAGE 20 RESULT:
Winner. Mark Cavendish (GB); Team Sky; 03h 8’ 7”
2. Peter Sagan (Svk);Liquigas; @ same time
3. Matthew Goss (Aus); Orica GreenEdge; @ same time
OVERALL STANDINGS:
1. Bradley Wiggins (GB); Team Sky; 87h 34’ 47”
2. Christopher Froome (GB); Team Sky; @ 3’21”
3. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita); Liquigas; @ 6’19”
‘I don’t know what to say, I’ve had 24 hours for it to soak in. I’m still buzzing from the Champs-Elysées, the laps go so quick. We had a mission with Cav and we did it. What a way to finish it off.’
Bradley Wiggins