Bradley Wiggins Wins The Tour de France 2012, First British Champion

British cyclist Bradley Wiggins has won the 2012 Tour de France, making him the first Briton ever to win the race. Wiggins, who rides for Team Sky, was already in the lead before a strong win in Saturday's time trial secured him the yellow jacket.

Coming in second was Wiggins' Sky teammate and fellow Briton Christopher Froome, just three minutes and 21 seconds behind. In third place was Italian rider Vincenzo Nibali, at six minutes and 19 seconds behind Wiggins. This is the first time since 1984 that riders from the same country took first and second.

The Tour de France win is the latest in a long line of awards for Wiggins. He has competed in the Summer Olympics since 2000, taking home one bronze medal that year. In 2004, he won a brone, silver, and gold medal for his track cycling. At the 2008 Bejing Games, Wiggins' team broke the world record for pursuit cycling and took home a gold medal.

Wiggins has also won the 2011 and 2012 Critérium du Dauphiné, the 2012 Paris-Nice, and the 2012 Tour de Romandie.

Wiggins will not be at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, as his focus is now primarily on road racing.

The 2012 Tour de France was the 99^th iteration of the race, running from June 30 to July 22. The race began in the Belgian city of Liège and, as is customary, concluded on Paris' Champs-Élysées.

Under the points classification, Slovakian rider Peter Sagan took home the green jacket, while French rider and Team Eurocar member Thomas Voeckler was named King of the Mountains. American racer Tejay van Garderen won the youth competition, and team RadioShack-Nissan won the team competition. Danish rider Chris Anker Sørensen was named most combative rider.