Wiggins all but clinches Tour victory

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHARTRES: Bradley Wiggins asserted his dominance of the Tour de France today, winning the final time trial and all but sealing overall victory in the three-week race.

The 32-year-old Team Sky leader obliterated the pack in the 53.5-kilometer ride from Bonneval to Chartres in Stage 19, and is poised to become the first Briton to take home the yellow jersey. Wiggins punched the air as he crossed the finish line in 1 hour, 4 minutes, 13 seconds, for his second stage win of this Tour and second in a time trial. Fellow countryman and Sky teammate Christopher Froome was second - 1:16 behind. Luis Leon Sanchez of Spain was third, 1:50 back.

Riders set off one-by-one in the race against the clock in reverse order of the standings, and Wiggins dominance showed right from the first time check. He was 12 seconds ahead of Froome at 14 kilometers. Because Wiggins had such a solid lead coming in, his only real — and outside — threat was from Froome, a successful time-trial rider, and less so Nibali, who is not quite as strong in the race against the clock.

Despite rumblings about behind-the-scenes competition between them, Froome showed he was a faithful teammate through to the end and that Wiggins had proved he deserved the win.

The standings below them were the stage’s biggest question mark: Whether young American Tejay Van Garderen could overtake Jurgen Van Den Broeck for fourth — he didn’t — or whether Frenchman Pierre Rolland, a strong climber but not a time-trialer, would stayin the top-10. He did.

The main top change was that defending champion Cadel Evans of Australia, who got passed by BMC teammate Van Garderen despite a three-minute head start, fell one spot to seventh in the overall standings. Wiggins has been the odds-on favorite to win after showing dazzling form with three stage-race victories this season. He was fourth in the 2009 Tour, a disappointing 24th in 2010, and crashed out last year.

The standings below them were the stage’s biggest question mark: Whether young American Tejay Van Garderen could overtake Jurgen Van Den Broeck for fourth — he didn’t — or whether Frenchman Pierre Rolland, a strong climber but not a time-trialer, would stayin the top-10. He did.

The main top change was that defending champion Cadel Evans of Australia, who got passed by BMC teammate Van Garderen despite a three-minute head start, fell one spot to seventh in the overall standings.