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Summary It was Wiggins' first Tour stage victory and came two days after he seized his first yellow jersey.
Overall leader Bradley Wiggins took another important step towards his dream of becoming the first Briton crowned in the Tour de France with an emphatic victory in the races first major time trial on Monday.The Team Sky leader clocked 51 minutes and 24 seconds on the winding 41.5-km course between Arc et Senans and Besancon, to leave all his major rivals gasping for air. Wiggins beat his team mate Christopher Froome, who surprised many with his time, by 35 seconds.He beat Olympic and multiple world champion Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, the prologue winner, by 57 seconds.U.S. rider Tejay Van Garderen set an early quick time but Wiggins beat it by 66 seconds and, most importantly, defending Tour champion Cadel Evans saw his 10 second deficit stretch to 1:53 overall before the first rest day in the race and with the Alps looming.Vincenzo Nibali, never a specialist against the clock, limited the damage by finishing eighth, 2:07 adrift, but the Italian is already 2:23 behind Wiggins in the general classification.Most Tour contenders made it clear a first survey of their chances would be made after the ninth stage but the main lesson learned was that Wigginss leading rival in the two weeks to come could be in his own ranks.
