BRADLEY WIGGINS CLINCHED the Tour de Romandie after a brilliant individual time-trial victory on stage five on Sunday.
Sky rider Wiggins clocked the fastest time on the 16.5km course through Crans-Montana in Switzerland, while Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Barracuda) was a narrow second.
Crucially, overnight leader Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank) was a distant one minute, 23 seconds slower than Wiggins.
Talansky’s fine performance saw him finish second to Wiggins in general classification, 12 seconds adrift, while Rui Costa (Movistar) took third.
Wiggins’ team-mate Richie Porte finished third on the stage and fourth overall, a spot ahead of another Sky rider in Michael Rogers.
Sanchez, whose two stage wins saw him take a nine-second lead into the final day, ended up 10th overall.
Wiggins eased to the win despite mechanical problems during the stage, as his chain unshipped and cost him several seconds, but his time of 28:56.6 seconds proved too good.
He is likely to move up to fifth in the UCI rankings thanks to his impressive win in Switzerland.
Reigning champion Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) finished 40th in the blustery conditions.
