Britain’s Bradley Wiggins wins historic Tour de France

AP - Bradley Wiggins became the first Briton to win the Tour de France by safely protecting the yellow jersey during Sunday’s final processional ride into Paris - and even helping Sky teammate Mark Cavendish earn his fourth straight sprint victory on the Champs-Elysees.

Wiggins secured his win with a dominating performance in Saturday’s final time trial to extend his already commanding lead. Fellow Briton and Sky teammate Christopher Froome finished second, 3 minutes, 21 seconds behind overall. Vincenzo Nibali of Italy finished third, 6:19 off the pace.

The last time two riders from the same nation finished first and second in the Tour was in 1984, when Frenchman Laurent Fignon defeated Bernard Hinault.

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.

As expected, Wiggins repaid Cavendish for his efforts earlier in the race and led the Sky train in the final kilometer of the 120-kilometer stage before leaving his place to Edvald Boasson Hagen, who delivered a perfect lead-out for Cavendish.

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 front of the pack as it arrived on the streets of Paris for eight laps of a 6.5-kilometer 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 kilometers to go. They had a maximum lead of 30 seconds but were progressively reeled in as Liquigas and Sky organized the chase.