Tour De France 2012 Standings: Bradley Wiggins Closing In on Victory

Bradley Wiggins is looking to become the first British winner of the Tour De France should he hang on to his lead.

According to Jamey Keaten of The Boston Globe, Wiggins all but locked up his first Tour De France title when he was the victor in Stage 19, which was his second Tour victory of 2012 in a time trial.

Despite being the favorite heading into the Tour, Wiggins was questioned about his lack of preparation and inability to race in the mountains, as noted in Keaten's article, but it appears that Wiggins will silence his critics.

Wiggins, a three-time Olympic track racing champion who made the jump to cycling, has been in the news of late for his comments regarding doping in the sport. 

ESPN.com has Wiggins quoted as saying,

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If people want to see those incredible 220-kilometer lone breaks in the mountains, maybe it's not realistic anymore. ... As wonderful and as magical as they were to watch, I remember watching as a kid in the 90s, Virenque and stuff, you know, but maybe the sport's changed now. ... I think the Tour is a lot more human now with everything the UCI is doing.

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Keaten of The Boston Globe also notes that Wiggins' allegiance to Team Sky was also questioned, but his teammate Christopher Froome squashed that notion when he said, ‘‘I’m very happy. The [Sky] goal this year was to win the Tour with Bradley. To be second [for me] is an added plus.’’  

For a guy who shattered both his collarbone and his dreams of a 2011 Tour win last year, he seems to be enjoying his time on the Tour, as evidenced by this tweet.

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Always wanted to be part of a lead out train that leads Cav to the win, today was my first in the TDF, another great day for the team

— Bradley Wiggins (@bradwiggins) July 20, 2012"

For a complete list of standings in the 2012 Tour De France, you can visit ESPN's Tour De France Tracker.

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