Tour De France 2012 Coverage: Racers to Watch in Stage 15

Racers, start your... pedaling.

The final week of the Tour de France is upon us, and Monday is another chance for the leaders to widen their pace and the rest of the pack to stage a comeback attempt. Stage 15 is one for the sprinters before two tough days in the mountains.

It promises to be a fun sprint to the finish.

I've identified three riders you'll want to pay attention to on Monday as you catch all of the action starting at 8 a.m. ET on the NBC Sports Network.

Get geared up, people.

Bradley Wiggins

Wiggins doesn't have this race in the bag yet, but he does have a fairly dominant lead, currently sitting two minutes and five seconds ahead of second-place rider and teammate Christopher Froome.

Nothing is guaranteed, but assuming Wiggins continues to ride as steadily and solidly as he has, he'll be this year's Tour winner. From the Associated Press (via ESPN):

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After crashing out of the race with a broken collarbone last year, Wiggins has been enjoying the perfect Tour so far with the help of a team dedicated to his quest for cycling's most revered prize.

With only two big mountain stages remaining before the race ends in Paris next Sunday, and a long time trial where Wiggins is expected to blow his rivals apart, the former Olympic track champion looks all but guaranteed to become the first Brit to win the Tour. Yet, he is well aware of the dangers that can arise anywhere.

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Those dangers could crop up on Monday. While the Tour looks to be his, anything can happen. Monday will begin one of the longer weeks of his life.

Cadel Evans

Last year's winner is currently sitting in fourth place, a surprising three minutes and 19 seconds off of Wiggins' pace. It would appear that a consecutive Tour win is not in the cards for Mr. Evans.

But if Wiggins falls apart, Evans could also surge to the forefront in the final week. That would have to start with a big Monday where he gains ground on Wiggins, and obviously continues to chip away huge blocks of time throughout the week.

It's unlikely, but it's not impossible. And hope is the finest motivation there is.

Peter Sagan

The man currently wearing the green jersey will hope to reel off his fourth stage win on Monday and further his lead in points, currently sitting at 333 points (a cool 97 points ahead of second-place Andre Greipel).

No, winning the green jersey for most Tour points doesn't hold the same glory as taking home the yellow jersey for the best time, but it's still a fine accomplishment.

With a stage win on Monday, Sagan could pretty much wrap up a green jersey win for himself. And how sweet that would be.

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