Bradley Wiggins Wins Tour de France
Bradley Wiggins has become the first Briton to win the Tour de France, with a victory on Sunday that saw him cross the finish line minutes before his closest rival.
In a 33 mile ride from Bonneval to Chartres at the 19th stage of the Tour de France, Wiggins timed in three and a half minutes ahead of his second place competitor, Chris Froome.
"I don't know what to say. Only one more day to go, and I've won the yellow jersey," Wiggins said on Saturday.
He completed the 53.5 kilometer time trial in one hour, four minutes and 13 seconds, earning a solid first place victory.
"I've a lot of emotions and a lot of relief it's finished. It's a dream come true, but I've been working to win this for the past five years. The job is done, almost," Wiggins related.
The early victory appeared to foretell the inevitable as Wiggins secured an overall victory on Sunday, becoming the first Briton to win the Tour de France. His first place win was secured 3 minutes and 21 seconds ahead of Froome, who placed in second; Vincenzo Nibali of Italy finishing in third.
Dave Brailsford, manager of the Sky team said Saturday that the assumed victory came as no surprise.
"We made it our objective to win this race within five years with a clean, British rider, and that's what we've done. It might be a surprise to everyone else, but it's not a surprise to us," Brailsford told CNN.
