page_title: 2012 Tour de France, Stage 11 to Stage 20
section_title: Stage 13
hierarchical_section_title: 2012 Tour de France, Stage 11 to Stage 20 / Stage 13
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Passage des 8 échappés au Pic St-Loup sur la D1 (km 120). Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ-BigMat), Michael Morkov (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank), Roy Curvers (Argos-Shimano), Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur-Sojasun), Maxime Bouet (AG2R La Mondiale) et Jérôme Pineau (Omega Pharma-Quick Step).
context_page_description: Stage 11 of the 2012 Tour de France was contested on 12 July and the race concluded with Stage 20 on 22 July. The second half of the race was situated entirely within France; starting with a mountain stage from Albertville to La Toussuire-Les Sybelles – incorporating two hors catégorie climbs during the stage – before the customary race-concluding stage finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
  Following his victory in the ninth stage individual time trial, Team Sky rider Bradley Wiggins held the lead into the second half of the race. He maintained his race lead throughout the second half of the race, holding a lead of 2 minutes and 5 seconds – transpiring from stage 9 – until the race's final individual time trial, held on the penultimate day of the race. Wiggins won the stage by 1 minute and 16 seconds ahead of his team-mate Chris Froome, and Wiggins ultimately held his lead into Paris the following day to win the race overall by 3 minutes and 21 seconds, to become the first rider from Great Britain to win a Grand Tour race.
context_section_description: 14 July 2012 — Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Cap d'Agde, 217 km (134.8 mi)
  This transitional stage took the Tour to the Mediterranean Sea. The day's only categorised climb over Mont-Saint-Clair at Sète and the wind off the sea were two potential disruptions to the race in the final 28 km (17.4 mi) of the stage. For the celebration of Bastille Day, the breakaway had extensive French representation, with five of the eight-rider move – Cofidis rider Samuel Dumoulin, FDJ–BigMat's Mathieu Ladagnous, Jimmy Engoulvent of Saur–Sojasun, Maxime Bouet (Ag2r–La Mondiale) and Jérôme Pineau, representing the Omega Pharma–Quick-Step team – from the country. The group was rounded out by Pablo Urtasun of Euskaltel–Euskadi, Saxo Bank–Tinkoff Bank's Michael Mørkøv and Argos–Shimano rider Roy Curvers.
  The octet made their escape in the opening 20 km (12.4 mi) of the stage, and their advantage eventually stemmed to a maximum of almost 10 minutes at the 35 km (21.7 mi) mark, before Orica–GreenEDGE sent riders forward to the front of the peloton in order to bring the gap down. Urtasun led the group across the line at the stage's intermediate sprint point in Mas-de-Londres, but behind, points classification leader Peter Sagan (Liquigas–Cannondale) was able to launch his sprint for the line before Orica–GreenEDGE's sprinter Matthew Goss did so, and extended his lead in the standings as a result. Pineau looked to go clear with 65 km (40.4 mi) to go, but his move was anticipated by Mørkøv, before he attacked of his own accord. Mørkøv held a one-minute advantage over his former breakaway companions all the way to the foot of the Mont-Saint-Clair, but the peloton were able to close the advantage to them all before the summit of the climb.
  BMC Racing Team's Cadel Evans and Lotto–Belisol rider Jurgen Van den Broeck both attacked on the Mont-Saint-Clair, and their accelerated pace ripped the peloton apart, with many riders falling off the back of the peloton. Around 25 riders remained in the lead group, with only Sagan and Van Den Broeck's team-mate André Greipel out of the sprinters making the group. Further moves came from Astana rider Alexander Vinokourov, Michael Albasini of Orica–GreenEDGE, and Rabobank's Luis León Sánchez, but they were closed down by Lotto–Belisol – looking after Greipel for the finish – and Team Sky for race leader Bradley Wiggins. Wiggins led out team-mate Edvald Boasson Hagen for the sprint, but Greipel launched his own off his wheel and managed to fend off a quick-finishing Sagan to take his third stage win of the Tour by half a wheel, the first such feat by a German rider since Erik Zabel in 2001.
caption: The day's breakaway at Pic Saint-Loup just over halfway into the stage. Jérôme Pineau leads Jimmy Engoulvent, Maxime Bouet, Roy Curvers, Michael Mørkøv, Mathieu Ladagnous, Samuel Dumoulin and Pablo Urtasun.
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