With the mountains out of the 2012 Tour de France, the cyclists are now heading north to Paris for the finish on Sunday. On Friday, Mark Cavendish, the world's top sprinter, won Stage 18, his second stage victory of the Tour this year.
Cavendish was behind Matthew Goss and Peter Sagan just meters away from the finish line in Brive-la-Gaillarde before he accelerated his way ahead of them and finished several lengths ahead of them. However, the next 13 cyclists all received the same time as Cavendish.
Bradley Wiggins still wears the yellow jersey with a +2:05 lead over Sky Procycling teammate Chris Froome.
Saturday will offer an individual time trial from Bonneval to Chartres.
Here are the top 10 finishers for Stage 18 (full standings):
| Pos. | Rider | Time | Gap |
| 1 | Mark Cavendish | 04h 54' 12'' | |
| 2 | Matthew Goss | 04h 54' 12'' | + 00' 00'' |
| 3 | Peter Sagan | 04h 54' 12'' | + 00' 00'' |
| 4 | Luis Leon Sanchez | 04h 54' 12'' | + 00' 00'' |
| 5 | Nicolas Roche | 04h 54' 12'' | + 00' 00'' |
| 6 | Tyler Farrar | 04h 54' 12'' | + 00' 00'' |
| 7 | Borut Bozic | 04h 54' 12'' | + 00' 00'' |
| 8 | Sébastien Hinault | 04h 54' 12'' | + 00' 00'' |
| 9 | Daryl Impey | 04h 54' 12'' | + 00' 00'' |
| 10 | Samuel Dumoulin | 04h 54' 12'' | + 00' 00'' |
SB Nation Denver is your source for 2012 Tour de France updates on Team Garmin-Sharp, and be sure to visit cycling blog Podium Cafe as well.
