Yellow wins the day - and Tour de France - for British cyclist

Associated Press

PARIS

Resplendent in yellow and riding a canary yellow bike, Chris Froome won his second Tour de France in three years on Sunday, with a leisurely pedal into Paris to wrap up a spectacular three-week slog of furious racing.

Cheered on the Champs-Elysees under suitably rainy skies for Britain's third triumph in the 112-year-old race, Froome emotionally promised in his winner's speech never to dishonor the yellow jersey soiled by previous dope cheats, most infamously Lance Armstrong.

"The Maillot Jaune is special, very special," he said, using the jersey's French name.

"I understand its history, good and bad," he said. "I will always respect it."

Froome took it easy on the last Stage 21, his work done having grimly resisted a late assault by Nairo Quintana on his hard-won Tour lead the previous day on the final Alpine ascent.

As when Froome first won in 2013, the Colombian was again runner-up, although the margin was much smaller this time: 1 minute, 12 seconds, the tightest win since 2008.

Third-placed Alejandro Valverde, Quintana's Movistar teammate from Spain, made the podium for the first time, moving up from fourth last year.

On rain-soaked roads that caused numerous spills in the women's race before the men rode in, the tired 160 riders — of 198 who started — didn't bother racing for much of the largely flat 110-kilometer (68-mile) ramble from Sevres, in the French capital's southwest.

To minimize risk of crashes, Tour organizers stopped the clock early, on the first of 10 laps up and down the Champs-Elysees' slick cobblestones.

That locked in Froome's lead to guarantee victory. He smiled broadly as he pedaled past flag-waving spectators. He still had to ride the 10 laps to complete the full race distance of 3,360 kilometers (2,088 miles). But knowing the title was his, he didn't have to panic when a paper bag got stuck in his back wheel. He simply stopped and changed bikes. He also had time to raise a glass of Champagne in the saddle and stop to put on a raincoat under the iconic yellow jersey.

While sprinters dashed ahead for the stage win — snatched by Andre Greipel, his fourth and Germany's sixth at this Tour — Froome and his teammates, wearing yellow stripes on their shorts and helmets, linked together, arms over each other's shoulders, and pedaled slowly over the line.

"This is your yellow jersey as much as it is mine," Froome said.

Their powerful riding, chasing rivals in the mountains and protecting Froome on flats, was vital. So, too, was the meticulous planning of Dave Brailsford, the organizational brains at Froome's Team Sky. Having set the goal in 2009 of nurturing Britain's first Tour winner within five years, Sky has won three of the last four: Bradley Wiggins in 2012 and now Froome's two.

That puts Britain on a par with the United States, with three from Greg LeMond — and minus seven stripped from Armstrong.