Lenny Boyle
Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky Achieve the Impossible
21/07/2012
The French were comparing it to England’s World Cup triumph in 1966. And you can see why. The biggest annual sporting event in the World, it’s 99th outing, and Team Sky achieved the impossible: Bradley Wiggins became the first Briton to win the Tour De France, his team mate Chris Froome was second. And Mark Cavendish finished in style with a fourth, out of four, stage win on the Champs Elysee.
Fellow cyclist Sir Chris Hoy - and how long before a Wiggins knighthood is announced - has already said it is the greatest ever achievement by a British sportsman. That is of course up for debate. But not in France. For the French there is no debate; this is the greatest British sporting achievement ever.
Wiggins played a major role in his team mate Mark Cavendish’s securing a seventh British stage win of this year’s tour. He led the peloton briefly for Cavendish before pulling away and allowing the man from the Isle of Man to sprint ahead for a dramatic final stage victory. He brandished four fingers for the cameras. He has won the final stage for the last four years in a row.
Wiggins and his team mates will have little time to celebrate as they immediately begin their Olympic preparations. Froome and Cavendish are due once again to help Wiggins compete in the 250km road race on the opening day of the London 2012 Games.
Only in years to come will Bradley Wiggins’ achievement be fully appreciated. But in the mean time his magnificent Tour has been a shot in the arm for British cycling.
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