Nibali closes in on Tour title after time trial

Perigueux, France (SportsNetwork.com) – Italian Vincenzo Nibali is set to become the winner of the 2014 Tour de France after a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s time trial.

German Tony Martin won Stage 20 after completing the 54-kilometer ride from Bergerac to Perigueux in a time of 1 hour, 6 minutes and 21 seconds. It was his second stage won of this year’s Tour.

Nibali crossed the finish line 1:58 behind Martin, but increased his lead in the overall standings.

With Nibali in firm control of the yellow jersey, Saturday was a race to reach the podium in Paris.

Only 15 seconds separated Frenchmen Jean-Christophe Peraud and Thibaut Pinot and Spaniard Alejandro Valverde in a heated battle for second and third at the start of the stage.

Peraud placed seventh to jump ahead of Pinot for second. He trails the leader by 7:52. Pinot is 32 seconds behind his countryman after finishing 12th, while Valverde is another 1:31 slower in fourth after placing 28th Saturday.

The Tour concludes on Sunday with the traditional finish along the Champs Elysees in Paris.

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