Magnifique! Chris Froome rides into Paris to become 100th winner of the Tour de France and second Brit in two years to take the title
- Froome took the title with a comfortable lead of more than five minutes a year on from Bradley Wiggins' victory
- Kenyan-born Froome looked confident as he set off from Versailles with a 5min 3 sec lead, saying 'C'est formidable!'
- Winner toasted his Team Sky colleagues with a glass of champagne as he approached the finish line
- Speaking to the crowd, Froome dedicated his win to his late mother Jane, who died of cancer
- He has fought off doping speculation as some said his riding style is reminiscent of Lance Armstrong's
By SARA SMYTH
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Union Jacks fluttered across Paris today as Champagne-sipping British cycling hero Chris Froome became the 100th winner of the Tour de France.
The 28-year-old Kenyan- born athlete was roared towards the finishing line at the Arc de Triomphe by thousands of fans who had travelled from the UK.
The yellow-shirted rider toasted his victory, saying: ‘I think it’s going to take a while to really sink in’ and dedicated the win to his mother Jane, who died of cancer.
Standing on the Champs Elysee in Paris with his Welsh-born fiancée Michelle Cound, the 28-year-old admitted he had ‘worried every day’ about the course, but was ‘so proud’ to have won.
Proud moment: Standing on the podium on the Champs Elysee in Paris , the 28-year-old admitted he had 'worried every day' about the grueling course. He said his win would take time to sink in
Sealed with a kiss: Chris Froom enbraces his Welsh-born fiancee Michelle Cound after crosiing the finish line
Emotional: Chris Froome waved to the crowd from his winner's podium. He dedicated his win to his late mother Jane, who died of cancer
Euphoria: Tour de France winner Chris Froom looked overwhelmed as he crossed the finish line. He smiles as he gives teammate Geraint Thomas a hug to celebrate his spectacular success
Historic win: Chris Froome cycles past one of the many Union Jack flags that were fluttered in Paris tonight. The 28-year-old spent 13 of the Tour's 21 days wearing the iconic canary yellow leader's jersey
Despite Ms Cound saying ‘I just wanted to be here at the end with Chris,’ the cyclist hugged his Team Sky manager Chris Brailsford first.
The pair were close to tears as they embraced moments before Froome climbed the famous Tour podium and the Arc de Triumphe was transformed by a stunning light show.
He toasted his Team Sky colleagues in an accompanying car, saying: ‘It's difficult for me to put it into words. It's been an amazing journey for me. The race has been a fight every single day.’
Ms Cound said beforehand: ‘Seeing him win on Sunday will be like a dream come true for me too. I would like to keep life as normal as possible afterwards, but I don't know how easy that is going to be.’
It was the climax of more than 2000 miles and 80 hours in the saddle which saw Froome follow in the wheel tracks of Sir Bradley Wiggins, who won last year.
Britain's Chris Froome enjoyed an early celebration with a glass of champagne on-the-go as he approached the finish line after spending three grueling weeks dominating rivals in one of the world's most challenging sporting events.
The confident cyclist showed no signs of nerves earlier today as he posed for pictures with a cigar in his hand, and in the final stages of the Tour's finish, he toasted his colleagues riding alongside him.
He looked sure a win was on the cards this morning as he joked with photographers and brandished the unlit cigar as he rode in today's final leg of the tour.
The Kenyan-born cyclist, who is wearing the overall leader's canary yellow jersey, looked self-assured after a third-place finish yesterday gave him a comfortable 5min 3secs advantage.
To claim the trophy, he needed to avoid an accident during today's procession to the Champs-Elysses.
Approaching the finish line: The pack make their way past the Louvre museum as they head for the Champs-Elysses
Birds-eye view: The riders make their way to the most iconic finish line in road racing after three weeks of tough competition
Dramatic: Overall leader's yellow jersey Britain's Christopher Froome can be seen riding to victory in the pack at Paris' landmark Arc de Triomphe
Six-time Olympic champion Chris Hoy said the win was a ‘huge achievement’.
Britain has scored the impressive feat of producing two riders who have won the Tour de France in consecutive years, with first Sir Bradley Wiggins and now Froome.
Last year Froome finished runner-up to team-mate Wiggins.
Tension still surrounds the two men after Froome sacrificed his own chances to support Wiggins’ bid for victory last year.
Even their partners became embroiled in an unseemly Twitter row, with Froome’s girlfriend, South African photographer Michelle Cound, tweeting: ‘Teamwork is also about giving the people around you, that support you, a chance to shine in their own right.’
Early celebration: Chris Froom cycles with a glass of champagne during the 133.5 km twenty-first and last stage of the 100th edition of the Tour de France
Chin, chin: Chris Froome does some serious multi-tasking as with an early celebration of his Tour de France win
Cheers: Britain's Chris Froome (centre) joined Colombia's Nairo Alexander Quintana (left) and Spain's Joaquim Rodriguez (right) in an early celebration with a cigar as they race to the finish in Paris this evening. The three hold the top spots in the tournament but looked relaxed as they made their way from Versailles this morning
Cath Wiggins replied to praise Team members Mick Rogers and Richie Porte for ‘genuine, selfless effort and true professionalism’ – but did not mention Froome.
‘It is a huge achievement and I almost feel sorry for Chris because people are almost getting blase about it,’ Hoy said
‘People think it is another British winner so that is what we should expect. But if you take a step back and get some perspective, you can see what a monumental achievement it is for him to have done this.’
Speaking at the National Lottery Anniversary Run at London's Olympic Stadium, he said: ‘For Britain to have two riders winning the Tour de France back-to-back is fantastic for British cycling.
‘Just a few years ago we did not have anyone who could podium, but now we have two cyclists who can win the Tour in consecutive years. It is a phenomenal achievement and what Chris has done is phenomenal.’
Wiggins pulled out of this year's race through injury, meaning that his fellow Team Sky rider Froome immediately became the hot favourite to bring home the honours.
Spectacular: The picturesque Parisian skyline provides a dramatic backdrop to the final laps of the race. As long as there are no accidents, the winner is a forgone conclusion by this stage in the race
Nearly there: The riders have endured three weeks of hellish climbs and endurance tests. Today's final procession in the Champs-Elysses marks the end of their super-human efforts
View form the road: Tired feet pedal their way down the home straight. The riders make laps around the centre of Paris before finishing in the city's main boulevard
Approaching the finish line: The pack rides towards Paris' landmark Hotel des Invalides during the 133.5 km twenty-first and last stage of the 100th edition of the Tour de France
Hoy said: ‘I think it would have been lovely to have seen Bradley racing this year and it would have been fantastic to see both him and Chris competing. Last year was Bradley's year and this year is Chris's.
‘Two Englishmen winning the Tour in two years is quite incredible,’ said Val Fraser, 42, who had travelled to Paris with her family from Birmingham.
‘We all wanted to be here to see history made,’ said Mrs Fraser. ‘The Tour is 100 years old, and the English are winning it – it’s incredible.’
Douglas Moore, a 21-year-old student from Bristol, said: ‘Paris is like a British city today – there are Union Jacks everywhere, and English is being spoken by everybody.
‘All of us feel massively proud to share in a day like this. To be honest the French look very jealous indeed – it’s like we’ve spoiled their party.’
Today's final Stage 21 set off against the stunning backdrop of the Versailles Palace. The riders were given the privilege of riding through the historic palace's manicured gardens.
The front-runner joked as he set off saying: 'C'est formidable'. He led the pack off on what was expected to be a leisurely 82 mile jaunt ending with a competitive sprint on the Champs-Elysees by riders chasing the stage win.
Many of the English in Paris today had arrived by bike, lining them along the Champs Elysee along with their flags and banners.
Some had painted their faces in the colours of the Union Jack, while others were still wearing mock Bradley Wiggins sideburns.
Froome sealed his victory on Saturday by coming third in stage 20, when he crossed the line making a thumbs-up gesture.
Celebration: Alphajet planes from the Patrouille de France (France's Patrol) fly over the Arc de Triomphe as the pack of riders cycles on the Champs Elysees Avenue during the final stage. It will be the first time the last leg has been completed at night
What a view: The pack of riders cycles past the Arc de Triomphe during the 133.5km final stage of the centenary Tour de France cycling race from Versailles to Paris Champs Elysees
‘It was quite an overwhelming feeling when I got to two kilometres to go, thinking “I've got five minutes to ride, this is wrapped up now, I'm here and nothing has gone wrong,”’ said Froome.
‘I'd been counting down every day to that point,’ added Froome, who started his career riding a mountain bike on dirt roads in Kenya.
Froome said the hardest part of his year’s Tour was suffering hypoglycaemia after not eating enough on the tortuous l'Alpe d'Huez climb last week.
‘I could feel I was completely flat on energy,’ he said. ‘It's a horrible feeling, when you have no more fuel left in your body, you see a sign saying it's five kilometres to go and those are all uphill when you have nothing left.’
Froome said he hoped today’s win was the first of many – and that he might eclipse the memory of American drugs cheat Lance Armstrong, whose seven ‘wins’ have all been erased.
Froome's clear physical superiority made him king of the 100th Tour. If he retains his lead to the finish, as expected, it would be the largest winning margin since 1997, when Jan Ullrich beat Richard Virenque by 9 minutes, 9 seconds.
Ullrich has since admitted to doping and Virenque also confessed to using performance-enhancers.
Lance Armstrong had larger margins of victory than Froome but all seven of the Texan's wins were stripped from him last year for serial doping, his name literally crossed out in the Tour's official history.
At the first Tour since that shockwave, Froome had to ride through a barrage of doubt and skepticism, especially since his strength in the mountains and time trials reminded some observers of Armstrong and the way he and his team used to suffocate the race.
Unlike other riders who cut short questions about doping and bristled, Froome said he was happy to discuss the issue that has so poisoned his sport. He insisted he rode clean and said he, too, felt let down by his cheating predecessors.
Froome also argued that his success demonstrates that cycling's anti-doping system - now among the most rigorous, invasive and sustained of any sport - must be working, because otherwise he wouldn't be able to win.
None of 100th Tour's podium finishers - Froome, Colombian Nairo Quintana and Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez - have failed a drug test or been directly implicated in any of cycling's litany of doping scandals.
Surely not? The top athletes pretend to take a drag from a cigar as they set off on the final leg of the Tour
What sprint finish? Frontrunner Chris Froome looked like a man who had already taken the title as he joked with a cigar in his hand on the final leg of the grueling three-week tour (left). He fist-bumped his competitors as they begin their final ride (right)
Thousands of fans have travelled to Paris in order to cheer Froome on - who says he can't describe the feeling of winning his first Tour. 'The arrival on the Champs-Elysees will be immense,' he said
'It's difficult for me to put it into words. It's been an amazing journey for me. The race has been a fight every single day. I'd like to come back and keep contending for the Tour for as long as I can and as long as I have the motivation.'
Froome's first cycling mentor David Kinjah - who has known the cyclist since he was 12 - paid tribute to the athlete. Froome was born in Kenya after his grandparents emigrated from Gloucestershire, leaving Kinjah with fond memories and absolutely no doubt his focus and determination would see him go far.
'Even though we don't see each other so much any more he has lived my dreams. He is wearing the yellow jersey every day and I almost felt like I was wearing it myself,' he said.
'My first impression of Chris Froome was just another young kid whose parents wanted to pay me some money to teach their boy,' said Kinjah.
Standing out: Froome (centre) has worn the overall leader's cancary yellow jacket since Stage 8 of the competition
In the lead: Chris Froome finished third in stage twenty yesterday, a 125KM road stage from Annecy to Annecy-Semnoz. He is on course to win the sport's most famous race
Unseemly: Chris Froome's partner Michelle Cound became embroiled in a Twitter row with Bradley Wiggins's wife Cath during the Tour last year
Formidable competitor: Despite his gruelling ride, Chris Froome joked before setting off this morning from the Versailles Palace. the frontrunner said 'C'est formidable' as he led the pack on the final stage
But soon I found out that Chris was just a poor white boy, his mother wasn't rich and we had not agreed on any money to pay me. And soon when we started to be friends, I never charged his mother any money because Chris was quickly becoming one of us and he loved to be in the village with us.
'He was like one of us, our brother. He was just funny and happy, a white boy who accepted our village and ate our food. At the beginning he was just determined to have fun.
'I was a bit scared at the beginning that I would be pushing him a bit harder and I did wonder if he would be strong enough in the head because he was lean and growing tall and he didn't look strong or anything, but soon after you saw the dedication.
'He would want to complete each and every training ride and he wouldn't stop. If he decided he wanted to complete the whole 100km he would do exactly that. No matter how much pain or how many hours he went through he would keep riding to the end.'
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