Sir Bradley Wiggins close to claiming victory in Tour of California

Former Tour de France winner is one stage away from overall victory

Sir Bradley Wiggins in the Tour of California yellow jersey on stage four (Getty Images)

Sir Bradley Wiggins is one stage win away from claiming overall victory at the Tour of California after finishing the penultimate stage in the front group.

It was Peter Sagan who triumphed on the seventh stage from Santa Clarita to Pasadena with a sprint to victory yet Wiggins maintained his 30-second advantage over Rohan Dennis (Garmin-Sharp).

Wiggins, who was well supported by his Team Sky colleagues across the 142.8 kilometres, told teamsky.com: "I'm glad we've got another day ticked off and it's all down to tomorrow now.

"We'll continue to do the same thing there and keep an eye on the Garmin guys, as we've been doing every day.

"If we do that, I'm sure we'll be all right."

Thor Hushovd of BMC Racing ignited the sprint during a fractured finish on the city-centre circuit but Commondale's Sagan overhauled the Norwegian over the final 100 metres to pick up his first stage win of this year's Tour.

PA