Paris: In the end it was a champion’s speech as well as a champion’s ride. Chris Froome cemented his status as one of Britain’s greatest sportsmen as he claimed his third Tour de France title, and second in succession, beneath the Arc de Tromphe.
Team Sky’s leader then thanked the French public for heaping kindness upon him this year rather than abuse and innuendo, at what he acknowledged was “a difficult time” for the country. To loud acclaim he ended with the words “Vive le Tour et vive la France!”
The scenes were remarkably different to a year ago, when a joyless, toxic atmosphere prevailed following Froome’s second victory in Paris. The doping whispers that trailed the team around France and had led some fans to shout abuse at Froome and others to spit and throw urine at him, were largely absent from this edition.
Seizing the opportunity to cement that thawing of relations, Froome paid special tribute to the French this year and particularly to the victims of the Nice terror attack.
“This Tour has obviously taken place against the backdrop of terrible events in Nice,” he said. “And we pay our respects once again to those who lost their lives. Of course, these kinds of events put sport into perspective, but they also show why the values of sport remain so important in a free society.
“We all love the Tour de France because it’s unpredictable but we love the Tour more for what stays the same; the passion from the fans from every nation along the roadside, the beauty of the French countryside, and the bonds of friendship. These things will never change.”
He then added in French: “Merci encore pour votre gentillesse pendant cette difficile periode. Vous avez la plus belle course du monde, et c’est un tres grand honneur de porter ce maillot jaune. Vive Le Tour et Vive La France!” [“Thank you for your kindness during this difficult period. You have the most beautiful race in the world and it is a great honour to wear this yellow jersey. Long live the Tour and long live France!”] He had already thanked his team, his wife Michelle, and dedicated the win to his eight-month old son Kellan, who he cradled in his arms at the finish line.
It was a statesmanlike speech which, he will hope, heralds a sea change in the way he and Team Sky are viewed. It has been all round a much smoother race for the British team this year, the only real booing coming on Mont Ventoux after the race jury’s controversial decision to award Froome the same time as Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) after a crash caused by fans wrecked Froome’s bike and he took the extraordinary decision to run up the road until a spare one arrived. Had the jury stuck to the original time cuts, which relegated Froome sixth, it might have made for a better race. As it was, Sky’s and Froome’s superiority was total, the Briton’s winning margin of 4?min 05?sec over Romain Bardet (AG2R) barely telling the story of a team performance which was so dominant Sky finished with five riders in the top 35, with accusations that they had bought their success
“To an extent I do understand where that’s coming from,” Froome conceded. “But we’ve shown in this race that it’s not just about who’s on the roster but actually how you race the race.” That is true. Sky were ruthless and Froome showed commendable opportunism, taking time off his rivals with his thrilling descent on the Peyresourde and his stunning attack off the front in a sprint stage in Montpellier. His third yellow jersey must rank among Britain’s finest sporting achievements. It is easy to forget that until 2012 Britain had laboured for 100 years without anyone even finishing on the podium. Froome joins Greg LeMond, Louison Bobet and Philippe Thys as a three-time champion. Only Miguel Indurain, Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault have won more, with five titles each. Sky’s dominance meant it was not perhaps a vintage battle for yellow, but there were other great stories: the return of Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) to the top table with four sprint wins, Bardet’s second place, Adam Yates’s emergence as a grand tour contender. Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) was fourth behind Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Britain’s first winner of the white jersey for best young rider. Elsewhere, Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) wrapped up his fifth straight green jersey while his team-mate Rafal Majka took the polka dots. Sagan narrowly lost to Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) in Sunday’s traditional bunch sprint on the Champs-Elysees. Far behind, Sky’s nine-man squad linked arms for the traditional photo-opportunity as they crossed the line. There were no wobbles like last year’s, when Richie Porte veered precariously. Froome will make a rare appearance in the UK next weekend when he rides in Sunday’s RideLondon-Surrey Classic. He then flies to Brazil, where he will attempt to win both the Olympic road race and the time trial. Froome’s team manager Sir Dave Brailsford said his rider had ended the Tour in “better shape than he ever has before” and predicted that he would “be knocking on the door for the top spot on the podium” in both events.
