Tour de France 2012: Stage 9

Being a time-trial stage, today's route is a lot shorter than normal at 41.5 km (26 miles). The stage begins in Arc-et-Senans and ends in Besançon.

Tour Talk
Weekend Recap: Here are all of the highlights from the weekend stages.
- Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) is no longer in yellow as the Tour has reached the mountain stages which are not Cancellara's forte.
- Ryder Hesjedal (Canada), who had been ninth overall before a disastrous crash set him back to a dismal 108th place, has abandoned the Tour. Hopefully he can recuperate in time for the Olympics. Bonne chance, Ryder!
- Both the white and polka dot jerseys changed hands a couple of times this weekend. By stage eight's end, Rein Taaramae (Estonia) was in white, and Frederik Kessiakoff (Kazakhstan) was in the polka dot jersey. As for today's stage, it is a time trial, so the riders are racing against the clock. These stages best suit Cancellara (Switzerland), but today will be an important stage for Bradley Wiggins (Britain) and Cadel Evans (Australia) who are in first and second place overall and are currently separated by a mere 10 seconds. Wiggo, being in first place, will be looking to widen the gap between them.

Stage Highlights
Brian Holm, Tony Martin's directeur sportif, said of his star Omega-Pharma Quickstep rider before today's stage, "He was quite disappointed after his prologue so he wants to try something."
Tony Martin: Fist checkpoint (10 miles): 22:16; second checkpoint (20 miles): 40:49; third checkpoint (26 miles): 53:40.

Despite having had another punctured tire during the time trial today losing him 30 seconds (Martin had the first punctured tire of the season, in the first time trial during the prologue stage), and having broken his wrist, Martin managed to maintain the best time of the day for the majority of the stage. Tony kept the best time of the day until he was relegated to second place at every check point by Cancellara, a time trial specialist since he debuted at the Tour in 2004.

Fabian Cancellara: First checkpoint: 21:37; second checkpoint: 39:40; third checkpoint: 52:21.

However, Tejay van Garderen (USA) nearly beat Cancellara - a very rare feat in the time trials - when he came in faster at two out of three checkpoints, only losing momentum in the last couple of miles. Still, a very impressive performance by the up-and-coming American rider. Definitely someone Cancellara will need to be cautious of in the future. Down to the last few riders, Christopher Froome (Britain) took the Tour by storm yet again! I don't think anyone saw this coming. Froome, who seemed to be more of a climber, judging by Saturday's stage on La Planche Des Belles Filles, beat every best time at each of the checkpoints in today's largely flat stage. I think we just got served? However, in the end, as everyone had anticipated, the race came down to the two riders in competition for the yellow jersey. Wiggo and Evans were the last to ride.

Cadel Evans: First checkpoint: 22:07; second checkpoint: 40:21; third checkpoint: 53:07.
Bradley Wiggins: First checkpoint: 21:05; second checkpoint: 39:02; third checkpoint: 51:24.

A brilliant, and not even close, ride by Wiggo for the yellow jersey. Although the overall standings did not change, with Wiggo still in first place and Evans in second, the 10-second gap between the two riders was widened to a much more threatening 1 minute, 53 seconds. There are still two more weeks left in the Tour, but to close this kind of gap Evans is going to have to figure out how to get the best of Wiggo. And it won't be easy; finishing in the yellow jersey can be more tempting when you've already got it on.

Jersey Lineup End of Stage 9
• Yellow Jersey (best overall): Bradley Wiggins (Britain) Sky
• White Jersey (best young rider): Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC
• Green Jersey (best sprinter): Peter Sagan (Slovakia) Liquigas
• Polka Dot Jersey (King of the Mountains): Frederik Kessiakoff (Kazakhstan) Astana

Top 10 Finalists After Stage 9
1) Bradley Wiggins (Britain) Sky
2) Cadel Evans (Australia) BMC
3) Christopher Froome (Britain) Sky
4) Vincenzo Nibali (Italy) Liquigas
5) Denis Menchov (Russia) Katusha
6) Haimar Zubeldia (Spain) Radio Shack Nissan Trek
7) Maxime Monfort (Belgium) Radio Shack Nissan Trek
8) Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC
9) Jurgen van Den Broeck (Belgium) Lotto-Belisol
10) Nicolas Roche (Ireland) AG2R La Mondiale