He again claimed victory at the stage 18 mountain time trial from Sallanches to Megève.
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“It’s an absolutely incredible feeling”.
“I’ve always had my team-mates around me”.
A day after crashing in similar conditions, Froome remained upright on the long, wet descent off the Col de Joux Plane alongside his rivals, and went into Sunday’s largely processional stage into Paris leading by four minutes and five seconds from Frenchman Romain Bardet of AG2R La Mondiale.
“Everyone should believe in Chris Froome…it’s good to see clean guys winning”, said Porte.
Yesterday, Froome, 31, joined Belgium’s Philippe Thys, American Greg LeMond and France’s Louison Bobet on the list of triple winners.
In doing so, Froome is the first man to retain the Tour de France in over 20 years. “It’s the biggest event we have on our calendar and to be here in the yellow jersey, it’s every cyclist’s dream”. “Chris was brilliant so overall it’s been a great three weeks and we’ll come back to do it all over again next year”.
“These events put sport into perspective but it also shows the value of sport to free society”, Froome said.
“My son, Kellan, I dedicate this victory to you”, said Froome. “Vive le Tour, Vive la France”.
Being in the position that I am now, I’m understanding how tough it is to win a race like the Tour de France.
The 23-year-old Orica BikeExchange racer impressed in the mountains and was second for six stages and third for six more before dropping to fourth on stage 19.
Froome and his teammates dropped back behind the other leaders just before the line but they were given the same finishing time as the main pack when the official results were released. It’s only my second attempt.
It’s very satisfying and I’m very happy.
Mark Cavendish, the British sprinter who won four stages in this Tour, abandoned the race before the Alps. The rider nicknamed “The Gorilla” won four stages a year ago.
Froome also recognised that his use of multiple surprise attacks in this year’s race, which netted the lead on stage seven and severely dented his rivals’ morale, had had an important effect on his Tour racing style.
Only Eddy Merckx has won more stages, and nobody has more victories on the road than Cav.
It’s been far from a classic Tour de France but the 2016 edition did provide one of the most memorable moments in the race’s history.
Team Sky trio Geraint Thomas, Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard all rode selflessly to help Froome win the race.
All nine Team Sky riders made it to Paris in support of Chris Froome. However, it was his unerring consistency in the stages between that extended his lead and kept the likes of Bardet and Quintana at bay.
“Thanks for your kindness in these hard times”, Froome added, switching to French as he addressed the local fans.
It was an 11th stage win at the Tour for Greipel.
World champion Sagan continued his domination of the points classification, which rewards consistently high finishes on each stage.
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Andre Greipel of Germany won the 21st leg in a sprint finish.
