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Britain’s Froome wins 2nd Tour de France

On the stage he won he got criticised.

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However, the 30-year-old Froome also heaped praises to Porte, describing the Aussie as a talented climber and one of the best riders in the peloton.

In recent years, skill in time-trials and mountains has been crucial to Tour victory.

And even that does no justice to the exciting final two stages in which Nairo Quintana started eating into Froome’s lead with incessant attacks every time the road angle started rising.

“If I had been told at the end of the first week that I would finish so high in the GC, with a stage win to top it, I would have signed on the dotted line”.

He rode into Paris without incident on Sunday’s final stage to claim victory in the overall classification. I’m happy to do that.

Many French love to boast that the Champs-Elysees is the world’s most handsome avenue.

“I feel better now because I I wanted this picture of the podium so badly”.

“I’ve had a look and it seems to be a tough course, hard and suitable to my characteristics”, Nibali said in December, according to Italian comments in Gazzetta dello Sport translated by Cyclingnews.com. “It may be the worst in the Tour de France!”

Telegraph sports writer Oliver Brown called it “possibly the most ill-tempered and antagonistic Tour de France in recent memory” and said it was “sordid justice” that Froome should be an unpopular victor despite no evidence of doping.

The GoPro footage shows the exciting sprint finish along the Champs-Elysees in which Germany’s Andre Greipel powered his way to victory, claiming his fourth win of the 2015 Tour.

Yet the Colombian didnt have to contend with the scrutiny, doubt and thinly-veiled suggestions of doping that Froome was forced to respond to on an nearly daily basis, mostly with patience but also with bristle as the race wore on. “We were close, but I am pretty sure we will come back and be very ambitious next year”.

Just as when Froome first won in 2013, Quintana was again runner-up, although the margin between them is much smaller this time.

It was Team Sky’s third Tour de France triumph in four years; Bradley Wiggins prevailed in 2012, and Froome succeeded him in 2013. It meant the official timing was stopped just after riders past the finishing line for the first time ahead of 10 laps of the famous Parisian avenue. He still had to ride the laps to complete the full race distance of 2,084 miles.

After becoming the first Brit to win two Tour de France titles, Froome is enjoying a well-earned rest after three gruelling weeks in the saddle.

“The Maillot Jaune is special, very special, ” Froome said, using the yellow jerseys French name.

Team Sky came second in the overall team rankings.

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Team Sky were, according to Brailsford, driven on this year by the memory of last year’s Tour when Froome was ruled out after suffering a broken hand and fractured wrist in a crash early in the race.

Chris Froome wins 2015 Tour de France