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British Cycling Podium Programme rider Bradley Wiggins refused to be drawn on thoughts of Tour de France victory as riders take in a rest day ahead of the 194.5km Mâcon-Bellegarde-sur-Valserine stage 10 on Wednesday.
The Team Sky man extended his lead to one minute 53 seconds over nearest rival Cadel Evans of BMC Racing after a stunning effort in the 41.5-kilometre time-trial from Arc-et-Senans to Besancon. Wiggins completed the course in 51 minutes and 24 seconds, one minute 43 seconds ahead of 2011 winner Evans.
The win, his first stage success in the Tour, tightened his grip on the yellow jersey in a day which saw a 1-2 with fellow British Cycling Podium Programme and Team Sky rider Chris Froome, who himself now sits third in the general classification after recording a time of 51:59 to sit 2:07 behind Wiggins in the overall, who insisted the race was far from over.
"It's never over until the fat lady sings and she hasn't entered the room yet," Wiggins said.
"This is just another day at the Tour. There's a long way to go. It's a fantastic position to be in, but there's always the possibility of a bad day. This race is far from over. Cadel is not going to give up until Paris."
Eleven stages still stand between Wiggins and British cycling history in the Champs-Élysées finish with five high mountain stages and one medium mountain stage remaining. The rise of teammate Froome into the general classification mix may help the 32-year-old, leaving Cadel Evans having to monitor the potential moves of both riders.
"It's just about not getting too carried away. We have to forget about this very fast - you start dwelling on your success and that's when things start going wrong. We get back up in two days' time and start from zero again."
Bradley Wiggins
The triple Olympic champion, however, is wary of the Australian.
"Cadel is far from finished. He will fight every inch of the way and I'm only human, I'm not a machine, there's always the possibility of a bad day,” Wiggins said.
"So far, so good and we'll just continue doing what we're doing. It's about being good for 21 days. I've been consistently good for the last few days and I have a good lead now.
"It's just about not getting too carried away. We have to forget about this very fast - you start dwelling on your success and that's when things start going wrong. We get back up in two days' time and start from zero again."
The stage result has left open a strong possibility of a two British riders gracing the podium, history in itself. Wiggins managed fourth in 2009 and Robert Millar in 1984. Millar, along with Froome, holds the record for the highest finish in a Grand Tour for a British rider, Millar in the 1987 Giro D’Italia, Froome in last year’s Tour of Spain.
The 27 year-old Kenyan, who is currently in the King of the Mountains jersey, is fully focused on his role in supporting Wiggins.
Froome said: "It's all for Bradley at the moment. I'd love to be the best I can be. I don't know if that's fifth, eighth, 10th, whatever it is, I'm going to be happy."
Wiggins added: "We'll continue doing what we've been doing since the start, keeping Chris there as long as possible.
"It's up to Dave and Sean (Yates, Team Sky sports director) to assess how we do this, whether we sacrifice at one point one position or we try to finish two on the podium."
The Tour de France resumes on Wednesday, we will bring you a report and reaction from the 194.5km Mâcon-Bellegarde-sur-Valserine stage 10.
