Cadel Evans sealed his first Tour de France title by finishing second to Tony Martin on the individual time trial in Grenoble to move into the overall lead ahead of the final procession to Paris.
- Tony Martin powers his way to victory
Evans (BMC Racing) sat third in the general classification going into the 42.5km test but leapfrogged Leopard-Trek brothers Andy and Frank Schleck to stand just one step from being the first Australian to win the Tour after finishing second in 2007 and 2008.
Martin won the Criterium du Dauphine time trial over the same course in June and the HTC-Highroad rider made no mistake in repeating victory to win his first Tour stage, clocking 55:34 minutes to beat Evans by seven seconds, while defending champion Alberto Contador finished a further 59 seconds back in third.
The peloton now just has the final 95km stage to ride – where the yellow jersey is traditionally safeguarded – with Mark Cavendish looking to complete his green jersey campaign with a third consecutive victory on the Champs-Élysées.
“I really can’t quite believe it right now. I have been concentrating on one event for so long,” said Evans. “Today, we went through the process, like we had the plan every day – and the plan every day was A, B, C, D.”
Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme added: “This is the victory of a complete rider. It is the consecration of a career.”
- Cadel Evans finishes second to pull on the yellow jersey
Evans, four seconds behind Frank at the start of the day, needed to overturn a 57 second deficit on Andy to head to the French capital as champion elect and quickly wiped out the 26-year-old’s advantage, moving into the virtual yellow jersey soon after the first check point at 15km.
The 34-year-old Evans, who, like Martin, also knew the course courtesy of riding the Dauphine, continued his charge towards the title, eventually finishing two minutes, 31 seconds faster than Schleck.
Frank Schleck finished 20th on the day to confirm his third place overall, while Thomas Voeckler, who lost the yellow jersey to Andy Schleck on the previous stage to Alpe d’Huez, held off Contador for fourth in the general classification.
Stage 20
1. Tony Martin (GER/HTC-Highroad) 55m 33s
2. Cadel Evans (AUS/BMC Racing) +7″
3. Alberto Contador (SPA/SaxoBank) +1’06”
4. Thomas De Gendt (BEL/Vacansoleil-DCM) +1’29”
5. Richie Porte (AUS/SaxoBank) +1’30”
6. Jean Christophe Peraud (FRA/Ag2r La Mondiale) +1’33”
7. Samuel Sanchez (SPA/Euskaltel-Euskadi) +1’37”
8. Fabian Cancellara (SWI/Leopard-Trek) +1’42”
9. Peter Velits (SLO/HTC-Highroad) +2’03”
10. Rein Taaramaee (EST/Cofidis) same time
General classification
1. Cadel Evans (AUS/BMC Racing) 83h 45m 20s
2. Andy Schleck (LUX/Leopard-Trek) +1’34”
3. Frank Schleck (LUX/Leopard-Trek) +2’30”
4. Thomas Voeckler (FRA/Europcar) +3’20”
5. Alberto Contador (SPA/SaxoBank) +3’57”
6. Samuel Sanchez (SPA/Euskaltel-Euskadi) +4’55”
7. Damiano Cunego (ITA/Lampre-ISD) +6’05”
8. Ivan Basso (ITA/Liquigas-Cannondale) +7’23”
9. Thomas Danielson (USA/Garmin-Cervelo) +8’15”
10. Jean-Christophe Peraud (FRA/Ag2r La Mondiale) +10’11”
