Chris Froome showed he's one of the best in the world when it comes to individual time trials as he finished just 12 seconds slower than eventual Stage 11 winner Tony Martin of Germany on Wednesday. With his terrific performance in ITT, Froome further padded his lead over his next trailer Alejandro Valverde of Spain by three minutes and 25 seconds.
Yet again, the race is very far from over. With two-time Tour champion Alberto Contador threatening to break into the top-three, Froome is aware that he needs to double his effort to keep the yellow jersey.
Stage 12
Fougères to Tours (218 kilometers)
Thursday's competition is another flat stage in which sprinters are once again expected to take the spotlight from the GC leaders. Mark Cavendish, arguably the most prolific sprinter in the present era, has surprisingly been inconsistent throughout the tour, winning only one out of the five stages suited for sprinters so far.
But Cavendish's struggle may soon come to an end when the tour takes the riders through the 218 kilometer route from Fougeres to Tours. Of course, Marcel Kittel, André Greipel, Sylvain Chavanel, Michal Kwiatkowski and Peter Sagan will always be there to provide some stiff competition, but Cav is out to prove he's still the best in this particular cycling discipline. Moreover, Cavendish is also looking for some sort of revenge after he was sprayed with urine during yesterday's time trial.
TV Schedule, Streaming and Additional Information
NBC Sports Coverage of the 2013 Tour de France is scheduled to start (8:00 a.m ET). Online Streaming will be available on NBC Sports Extra* (subscription fee).
The General Classification standings of the race is available on the Tour de France 2013 website .
TSM will also supply live online links or go to the Sports Authority FB Group for live Tour de France streaming links and forums.