Bradley Wiggins is breaking down the Tour into stanzas and, as he explained after taking the yellow jersey in stage seven, the time trial is something that he can look forward to. There are several reasons for him to be enthusiastic about the 41.5km TT from Arc-et-Senans to Besançon: he's a master in this discipline, once it's over there's a day of rest and recuperation, and he'll also be a day closer to the end of the Tour de France that he and his team are determined to win.
Of course there'll be a strong challenge from the rider in second overall, Cadel Evans. The BMC leader was second in the most recent long time trial at the Tour de France – the penultimate stage of the 2011 race when he took the yellow jersey a day before the end of the Tour. There is an expectation that Wiggins will be the rider with the most to gain but he's being coy about his chances and even said that he wasn't certain he'd gain ground on his rivals. But perhaps that's a hint of humility more than a realistic appraisal of his chances: he has been a dominant force in time trials already this year and there's a strong chance that he'll get his first stage win in the Tour de France in the ‘city of time'.