Having won four stages a year ago, he had yet to taste victory this time until Sunday as Mark Cavendish, who quit the race to focus on the Olympics earlier this week, dominated the sprints, winning four stages.
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Froome, riding for Team Sky, entered the day with a healthy lead after negotiating rainy roads during Saturday’s next-to-last stage in the Alps.
Chris Froome refused to set limits on his Tour de France ambitions on Monday as he reflected on a surreal victory and the moment he ran up Mont Ventoux and left his team-mates laughing all the way to Paris.
Froome ended up 2 minutes, 52 seconds ahead of Bardet, while Nairo Quintana of Colombia finished third overall, 3:08 back.
Britain’s 23-year-old Adam Yates of Orica-BikeExchange wrapped up the young rider classification, Pole Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) having already secured his status as 2016’s best climber.
Froome’s bike is broken and, when a replacement reaches him, he struggles to get his shoes into the pedals.
German Greipel, also the victor in Paris 12 months ago, pipped the late-charging world champion Peter Sagan to the line in the traditional sprint on the Champs-Elysees after racing clear of Norway’s Alexander Kristoff on the run-in.
“His performance over the last three weeks has enthralled the country and we are proud Chris has chosen the Classic as his last race before Rio”.
“If anything it shows my will to win, how badly I wanted it”, he said.
Team Sky rider Froome survived two crashes and even a jog up a mountain road to add to his 2013 and 2015 triumphs and become the first rider to retain his title since Spaniard Miguel Indurain in 1995.
Although final stage victory went to Andre Greipel of Lotto Soudal, it was Froome whose cumulative time of 89 hours, six minutes and one second over 21 grueling stages ensured he would be the last man atop the podium on the Champs Elysee.
Froome, already Britain’s only multiple-Tour victor, is now one of just eight men – not counting the disgraced Lance Armstrong -to have won three or more Tours, and will have his sights set on record five-time winners Jacques Anquetil, Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault and Eddy Merckx.
Elected the super combative rider of the Tour, world champion Peter Sagan livened up the race on a daily basis with his bold attacks and breakaways. But he lauded Tour organizers for deciding to keep the race going.
“I think he can win more [Tours]”.
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Yet it is an indication of just how far British cycling has progressed in the last decade that the jury remains out on whether Froome’s latest success makes him the UK’s greatest bike rider because there are now so many candidates.
