Froome seals place among greats
Britain's Chris Froome won his third Tour de France on Sunday to confirm his status as one of the all-time greats on the world's most gruelling race.
Froome finished with an almost three-minute advantage over Frenchman Romain Bardet with Nairo Quintana, the runner-up in 2013 and 2015, third.
"It's an absolutely amazing feeling. It feels like a privilege to be in this position," said Froome, who praised his Sky teammates for their support after a day which saw German Andre Greipel win the final stage on Paris' Champs Elysees.
"I've always had my teammates around me. This race was even tougher (than his previous victories). We haven't won the team competition but by far we've had the strongest team here - I'm incredibly grateful for that."
Froome won two stages during the race, taking his personal haul to seven in what was his most dominant performance yet.
Having finished just over a minute ahead of Quintana last year, 31-year-old Froome was expected to face his toughest challenge yet as the course was meant to favour the 26-year-old Colombian.
Froome himself described it as "a climber's Tour" but the man widely lauded as the best climber in the world and expected to push him to his limits, frustrated with his timidity.
Quintana claimed he was suffering from an allergy but his baffling contentment at finishing third - his worst Tour finish - spoke volumes.
The loss of Alberto Contador, who crashed on the opening two stages and then succumbed to illness on the ninth, robbed the race of one of its chief animators.
But it was a great Tour for the British as a whole, with Mark Cavendish winning four stages, more than anyone else, as he re-established himself as the world's best sprinter after three years of being shoved into the shadows by burly German pair Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel.
Cavendish, the Manx Missile, is now second on the overall stage win list with 30, behind only Eddy Merckx on 34, the five-time Tour winner and Belgian legend still top of the pile.
Britain won a third of the Tour stages, seven in total, with Stephen Cummings claiming a stage for the second year in a row.
For British team Sky, it was a fourth Tour win in five years - an amazing achievement for a team created in 2010, and for a country that had never had a Tour champion before Bradley Wiggins in 2012.
NAMPA/AFP
Froome finished with an almost three-minute advantage over Frenchman Romain Bardet with Nairo Quintana, the runner-up in 2013 and 2015, third.
"It's an absolutely amazing feeling. It feels like a privilege to be in this position," said Froome, who praised his Sky teammates for their support after a day which saw German Andre Greipel win the final stage on Paris' Champs Elysees.
"I've always had my teammates around me. This race was even tougher (than his previous victories). We haven't won the team competition but by far we've had the strongest team here - I'm incredibly grateful for that."
Froome won two stages during the race, taking his personal haul to seven in what was his most dominant performance yet.
Having finished just over a minute ahead of Quintana last year, 31-year-old Froome was expected to face his toughest challenge yet as the course was meant to favour the 26-year-old Colombian.
Froome himself described it as "a climber's Tour" but the man widely lauded as the best climber in the world and expected to push him to his limits, frustrated with his timidity.
Quintana claimed he was suffering from an allergy but his baffling contentment at finishing third - his worst Tour finish - spoke volumes.
The loss of Alberto Contador, who crashed on the opening two stages and then succumbed to illness on the ninth, robbed the race of one of its chief animators.
But it was a great Tour for the British as a whole, with Mark Cavendish winning four stages, more than anyone else, as he re-established himself as the world's best sprinter after three years of being shoved into the shadows by burly German pair Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel.
Cavendish, the Manx Missile, is now second on the overall stage win list with 30, behind only Eddy Merckx on 34, the five-time Tour winner and Belgian legend still top of the pile.
Britain won a third of the Tour stages, seven in total, with Stephen Cummings claiming a stage for the second year in a row.
For British team Sky, it was a fourth Tour win in five years - an amazing achievement for a team created in 2010, and for a country that had never had a Tour champion before Bradley Wiggins in 2012.
NAMPA/AFP
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