Having dominated his rivals on all terrains, Vincenzo Nibali remains poised to win the Tour de France after avoiding drama yesterday in the penultimate stage, a 54-kilometre time trial won by Germany’s Tony Martin.
The Italian finished fourth on the day, nearly two minutes slower than the dominant Martin, who won in 1 hour, six minutes, but Nibali will nonetheless roll into Paris today with a commanding lead of 7:52.
France’s Jean-Christophe Peraud climbed to second overall ahead of compatriot Thibaut Pinot, as France is set to have two riders on the podium for the first time since Laurent Fignon and Bernard Hinault finished first and second in 1984.
Nibali will become the sixth man to win all three grand tours, barring a race-ending crash in a largely processional final stage that ends on the Champs Elysees, and the first Italian since the late Marco Pantani in 1998.
“It was not an easy time trial, it required a lot of power,” said Nibali, who has won four stages and has worn the yellow jersey for most of the race since snatching it on the second day in Sheffield.
Pinot, who will claim the white jersey for the best under-25 rider ahead of compatriot Romain Bardet, is 8:24 off the pace.
“Near the end, I was empty,” Pinot said.
“The last five kilometres felt really long.
“I have not realised yet. I think it will sink in tomorrow.”
Peraud started the day third overall behind Pinot, but managed to beat him despite suffering a puncture shortly after the halfway point.
Teammate Bardet also punctured two kilometres from the line, losing fifth place overall to American Tejay van Garderen, by two seconds.
Spain’s Alejandro Valverde, fourth in the standings, was never a threat.
Poland’s Rafal Majka, who claimed two mountain stages, will take the polka-dot jersey for the mountain classification, while Slovakian Peter Sagan will claim the green jersey for winning the points classification by a large margin.
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