It was billed as a showdown between Alex Dowsett from Movistar, the British TT champion, and some guy called Wiggins,who is the Olympic champion. Dowsett beat Wiggins in the Giro time trial, although the Sky rider suffered a puncture.
Early good times were set by some good Brits (including a surprisingly good time from Cavendish) and then Jack Bauer's effort held strong for a while. Dowsett looked shaky on the wet corners and may have been suffering from not pre-riding the course, settling on a drive round, while Bradley went out and rode the circuit. Dowsett's ride was maybe sub-par and he finished fifth on the stage.
Bauer's time stood until Ian Stannard deposed him with a solid ride. That was nothing compared to Wiggins' race as he clearly put this season's issues behind him and tore round to post the only sub-20-minute time. He finished before the gold-jersey rider, Ciolek, even left the start house, already knowing he was likely to lose the race lead. Wiggins' time put him into first place on the GC with a lead of 37 seconds that it seems likely he will aim to defend to London. This was a local ride for the Knight of the realm and he was clearly 100% committed to the race in every part of his preparation and execution.
Let's not make this all about the road, so here's a bit of behind the scenes action from Tracey Hannah:
And as RedBull point out you don't get this sort of dedication in football:
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