 Wiggins won two track cycling golds in Beijing last year
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Bradley Wiggins gave himself a good chance of a podium finish at the Tour de France after making ground on his rivals in Thursday's time trial.
The British Garmin rider moved from sixth to fourth spot overall, just 11 seconds behind Lance Armstrong who moved up one place into third.
Champion-in-waiting Alberto Contador was fastest over the 40.5km course, finishing in 48 minutes 30.72 seconds.
Saxobank rider Andy Schleck lies second overall, 4.11 minutes adrift.
Friday's largely flat stage will have little impact on the final placings, but Saturday's 20th stage, 167km from Montelimar up to Mont Ventoux is likely to decide who takes the other two podium spots on Sunday behind Contador.
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606: DEBATE
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It was a remarkable performance by the Spaniard who is set to win his second Tour having triumphed in 2007.
The master of the mountains proved he is also one of the best time triallists.
He admitted after his epic feat that his intention was just to cement his position in the general classification (GC).
"For me to win a time trial at the Tour, it's just huge," said the Astana ace.
"I went out hard but thinking only to protect my place in the GC. But when I got to the first time check and saw my time it gave me a bit more belief.
"After that I just went as hard as I could to the finish. It was a crucial day for me, and I came through it far better than I expected."
Contador finished three seconds ahead of Olympic champion Fabian Cancellara and 1:45 minutes ahead of nearest rival Andy Schleck.
Schleck's brother and fellow Saxobank rider Frank dropped from third overall down to sixth while Astana's Andreas Kloeden remains in fifth, two seconds behind Wiggins.
British time-trial specialist David Millar finished 41 seconds behind Contador on a course he believed favoured the climbers because of the midlevel Bluffy pass climb, which wound upwards for 3.7km.
"I felt like I had stopped dead in my tracks, on the climb," he said.
Stage 18 result:
1. Alberto Contador (Spain / Astana ) 48mins 30secs
2. Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland / Saxo Bank ) +3"
3. Mikhail Ignatiev (Russia / Katusha ) +15"
4. Gustav Larsson (Sweden / Saxo Bank ) +33"
5. David Millar (Britain / Garmin ) +41"
6. Bradley Wiggins (Britain / Garmin ) +43"
7. Luis Leon Sanchez (Spain / Caisse d'Epargne ) +44"
8. Christophe Moreau (France / Agritubel ) +45"
9. Andreas Kloeden (Germany / Astana ) +54"
10. David Zabriskie (U.S. / Garmin ) +1:02"
Overall standings:
1. Alberto Contador (Spain / Astana ) 73hrs 15mins 39s
2. Andy Schleck (Luxembourg / Saxo Bank ) +4:11"
3. Lance Armstrong (U.S. / Astana ) +5:25"
4. Bradley Wiggins (Britain / Garmin ) +5:36"
5. Andreas Kloeden (Germany / Astana ) +5:38"
6. Frank Schleck (Luxembourg / Saxo Bank ) +5:59"
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