Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) crushed stage twenty of the Tour de France as leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) rode an authoritative time trial to defend his overall lead going into tomorrow’s last stage.
Danny Pate (Sky) set the early best time in the 54km individual time trial from Bergerac to Périgueux. But it was the world time trial champion who set the one that would stick – 1:06:21.
“I felt quite good actually,” said Martin. “I thought I was more tired. I managed to keep a good tempo from start to finish, I didn’t falter, I’m glad about my performance.
“It’s true I knew the course well and I had to wait for two weeks to get there. Luckily I had won a stage already so it eased the pressure.”
Samuel Dumoulin (Giant-Shimano) took second on the day at 1:39 behind Martin with Jan Barta (Team NetApp-Endura) third at 1:47.
Nibali, meanwhile, hit the line fourth at 1:58, confirming his dominance of the Tour with a single stage left, the traditional parade into Paris with its finish on the Champs-Élysées.
“I haven’t even thought about it yet, I’ve always thought about giving my maximum and not about what I might achieve or records or entering into Tour history,” Nibali said. “I just thought about getting to the end of each stage and getting on my bike because that’s what I like the most.” – VeloNews
View the results here.
