Tour de France 2012 ended with first ever victory by a British rider on Sunday. Bradley
Wiggins made history on Champs-Elysees finishing carefully in the bunch,
pumping the air in achievement as he crossed the line after three weeks and
3,497km of racing.
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| British cyclist Bradley Wiggins made history winning Tour de France 2012 |
Wiggins even helped Sky teammate Mark Cavendish earning his fourth straight
sprint victory on the Champs-Elysees.
That saw him surpass seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong and Frenchman
Andre Darrigade in the overall stage-win standings, 11 short of Belgian Eddy
Merckx's record of 34.
Bradley Wiggins, 32, from London, finished 3 minutes
21 seconds ahead of fellow Briton Chris Froome to complete a one-two for
Britain and Team Sky. Vincenzo Nibali of Italy finished third, 6:19 off the
pace.
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| British cyclist Bradley Wiggins made history winning Tour de France 2012 |
Wiggins congratulated his teammates after crossing the line, gave a big hug
to his wife, clutched the hands of their kids and blew kisses and bowed to a
sea of union jacks.
“Cheers, have a safe journey home, don’t get too drunk,” said Wiggins, who
wrote in his autobiography about overcoming drinking problems after his early
successes in the Velodrome.
Cavendish claimed his 23rd Tour stage win and third this year. He also
became the first reigning world champion to win on the Champs-Elysees.
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| British cyclist Bradley Wiggins made history winning Tour de France 2012 |
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| British cyclist Bradley Wiggins made history winning Tour de France 2012 |
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| British cyclist Bradley Wiggins made history winning Tour de France 2012 |
As expected, Wiggins repaid Cavendish for his efforts earlier in the race
and led the Sky train in the final kilometre of the 120-kilometre stage before
leaving his place to Edvald Boasson Hagen, who delivered a perfect lead-out for
Cavendish.
“That was incredible, what a sight,” Cavendish said. “The yellow jersey,
Brad Wiggins pulling at the end after Chris Froome had been riding. ... I just
gave everything to the line, I wanted it so bad. It’s the cherry on top of an
amazing Tour for us.”
Cavendish accelerated coming out of the final corner, never looked back and
raised four fingers as he crossed the line.
The seven stage wins was a record haul for British riders in the Tour,
beating the previous record of six stage wins in 2009 - when all were won by
Cavendish.
This time the victories were divided up between Cavendish (3), Wiggins (2),
David Millar (1) and Froome (1).
Wiggins and his teammates were at the font of the pack as it arrived on the
streets of Paris for eight laps of a 6.5-kilometre circuit on the
Champs-Elysees.
Veteran rider George Hincapie, competing in his 17th consecutive and final
Tour, led the peloton onto the prestigious avenue alongside fellow American
Chris Horner.
With Sky determined to help Cavendish secure a fourth consecutive win in
Paris, Horner and Hincapie were immediately reined in. Several other riders
tried to break away but the peloton was not ready to give them any slack as the
race passed some of the capital’s most iconic monuments such as the Louvre
museum, the Eiffel tower and the Place de la Concorde.
Six riders including Jens Voigt of Germany finally escaped from the back
with 30 kilometres to go. They had a maximum lead of 30 seconds but were
progressively reeled in as Liquigas and Sky organized the chase.
The people back at homeland are definitely proud of their hero. Bradley victory
has also resolved the question of who should light the Olympic flame in UK.
UK Sport’s performance director Peter Keen said:
“He’s already lit it. I can’t think of a better thing to happen before Team
GB takes the field of play. It is an audacious, outrageous level of
achievement.”
Report Tags: Champs-Elysees, Mark Cavendish, Tour de France, Bradley Wiggins, Team Sky,
Chris Froome, Sky teammate, Historical victory by Bradley Wiggins, Peter Keen, UK
Sport’s performance director
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