Stage 19 is the final individual time trial and the last chance for GC riders to make any difference in the Tour de France 2012.
The 53.5 km course from Bonneval to Chartres will be a fight against the clock, a "race of truth" for the riders to see how they stack up against one another.
The relatively flat course will take each rider over an hour to cover. The riders will depart from the start gate by the order of the GC standings three minutes apart, with yellow-jersey holder Bradley Wiggins (Sky) going last.
Wiggins is the favorite to win the stage after winning the Stage 9 individual time trial in dominating fashion
Other favorites for the stage include Christopher Froome (Sky), Tejay Van Garderen (BMC), and Cadel Evans (BMC) who placed second, fourth, and sixth respectively in Stage 9.
Riders with an outside shot at the stage win based on past history include Levi Leipheimer (Omega), Denis Menchov (Katusha), and Andreas Kloden (RadioShack).
After riding a hard three weeks, it will come down to whoever has the most left in the tank.
Unfortunately, time trial specialists like Fabian Cancellera (RadioShack), Tony Martin (Omega), and Sylvain Chavanel (Omega) have abandoned the race for various reasons and won't compete for the stage win.
GC contenders who have done comparatively poorly in past individual time trial and could stand to drop in the GC include Jurgen Van Den Broek (Lotto) and Pierre Rolland (Europcar). This could mean a jump for Van Garderen from 5th in the GC to 4th and riders like Nicolas Roche (Ag2r) or Kloden jumping into the Top 10.
It should be an exciting stage. Keep your browser here for live coverage of Stage 19 of the Tour de France.
*** Stage 19 has ended, please click here for the latest live coverage of the Tour de France: /world-others/
