That, then, is more or less that. Thanks all for your company and comments these last three weeks, and enjoy the rest of your weekends!
Reading from a prepared speech, Froome thanks his family and team for helping him nail his toughest challenge, then the other riders - “we race hard together, we suffer together, but the most special thing is the camaraderie in the peloton”.
He goes on: “I will never forget what an incredible privilege it is to wear the maillot jeune, and to stand here on the Champs Elysees.”
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'I feel privileged to be in this position'@chrisfroome - Always humble pic.twitter.com/mjWvx015qE
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) July 23, 2017
Froome waves his teddy and flowers, then collects his nipper. He’s dead, dead happy.
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He waves to the crowd, has the yellow jersey draped over him, and imagine knowing the joy he feels right now. Or maybe don’t.
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AND HERE COMES CHRIS FROOME!
Warren Barguil, also of Sunweb, enjoys his polka-dot jersey as king of the mountains; his olds are greeting.
Out comes Michael Matthews of Sunweb to don his green jacket after accumulating most points. He looks like Rory McIlroy with a tan.
Groenewegen is on the podium, where all sprinters want to be. He looks chuffed, and his missus is greeting.
We sing La Marseillaise...
So, Froome wins by 54 seconds from Riggoberto Uran; Roman Bardet is third, a second ahead of Mikel Landa, with Fabio Aru fifth.
The main man speaks: “Amazing ... the Champs Elysees never disappoints when you’ve spent three weeks thinking about it at this moment ... amazing. Feels like more than a month on the road also feels amazing to see them [his wife and young son] again.
Each time it’s felt so different, a different battle to get to this moment ... this year will be remembered for being the closest and hardest-fought battle between the GE riders.
I feel so privileged to be in this position ... definitely a celebration is overdue.”
Talking of yerman, here’s William Fotheringham’s report.
“I read the Fotheringham piece,” says David Jamie Wells, “and surely the animosity towards Froome this year is far more basic: the perception Sky ‘strangled’ this tour; the strength of the team made the mountains more like a team time-trial/team pursuit. 4 or 5 riders, to 3 led by Kwiatkowski, to 2 with Landa, and then Froome over the line. The consequence was time-trial gains have decided it in a race that was meant to limit time-trial gains. It was so well done that the romanticised idea of the tour (which was probably imagined anyway) died.
People prefer the idea of the heroic cyclists banging the pedals up the hills mano-a-mano, indulging in some French lifestyle, possibly seducing the local girls with their jerseys, and then being back on their bikes the next day. Of course, this probably didn’t even happen in the 30s, but stories like taking the train helped make the legend.”
I can see that. But professional sport is professional sport, and part of that is knowing how to win, I suppose.
Phew. That was quite a sprint, and it’s been quite a jaunt overall, the closest of all-time. But the result is the result, and the pretenders still can’t find a way of beating Froome and Team Sky.
Roi de Paris @GroenewegenD / @GroenewegenD, King of Paris! #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/wUL4IrsBLp
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 23, 2017
CHRIS FROOME WINS HIS THRID TOUR IN A ROW, HIS FOURTH IN TOTAL!
He shares the moment with his team and basks in the congratulations. What a man!
Hagen was third, by the way...
Dylan Groenewegen wins the stage! His first ever!
Groenewegen leads, bumps Princetov, and here comes greipel, BUT GROENEWEGEN WINS! AMAZING STRENGTH!
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Greipel isn’t there as they come down the final straight...
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The pace is serious now, Greipel is in position....
Stybar’s been caught, obviously, and they come by the Louvre...
Be careful chaps...
Sunweb are all down the far-right, winding it up, and they go around the Place de la Concorde for the last time.
3.5km to go!
Stybar leads now, but it doesn’t much matter - no one’s getting home unopposed now, and the lads are moving after him in a swarm.
Some break from the group to go on the smooth stuff right next to the kerb. The peloton is now a pincer.
Aaaaaand there’s the bell. And there’s Team Sky settling in at the head of the peloton, chasing Astana’s Dimitriy Gruzdev who’s having a go.
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There’s now one big group, but stretched out - if the pace slows, it’s going to be a blanket finish, and already the chaps will be looking to get their sprinters into position.
9.5km to go now...
The leaders are looking at each other, and THEY’RE NOT NO LEADERS NO MORE!
The peloton are closing .. AND TONY MARTIN ATTACKS!
These are our dealers * leaders: Imañol Erviti (Movistar), Miki Schär (BMC), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Daryl Impey (Orica-Scott), Julien Vermote (Quick-Step Floors), Marcus Burghardt (Bora-Hansgrohe), Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin), Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie) and Dion Smith (Wanty-Groupe Gobert
To win, you need to be in the first six coming around the final corner, more or less.
*scuse the poverty of my 90s t-shirt bantz.
The gap is down to 10 seconds! But we’re two laps from the bell and the peloton will have put in far more than they anticipated in getting to this point.
The blokes are having a right go at these cobbles; I shudder at the mere thought of the pain that might inflict.
Still the peloton can’t put a dent in things ... they did not expect this when the break came. I doubt even the breakers did.
The peloton need to gap to be at around 12 seconds, maximum - with three tours restants, that just does not look likely.
We see an overhead of Paris; it is suuuch a city. It doesn’t have the jungle that London has, but.
The lead is now back to 20 seconds with four laps to go; the peloton is/are running out of time!
The leaders are holding their 18-second lead. That’s pretty smart work, and with 23.5km to go, the chasing sprinters will be starting to wonder.
De Gendt is putting it in to close the gap....
The peloton now trail by 15 seconds; they are led by teams rather than individuals, namely Cofidis, Lotto-Soudal and Lotto-Jumbo; Roglic leads for them, trying to get Groenewegen into position.
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The serious rain has stopped - just mizzle now.
Froome is gliding along and there are five laps to go. I’ve no idea who’s going to win, obviously; no one does.
Englad are rolling at Lord’s! Savour and suffer the final two overs, here.
Impey - Daryl, not Andy - was first at the intermediate sprint. Er, no he wasn’t, ta official Tour side. Michael Schär took him out at the last.
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Barguil has a puncture, but just needs to get himself over the line ... except his buddies are into the chase for home. They’ll find a way.
With 45km to go, these are the leaders: Imañol Erviti (Movistar), Miki Schär (BMC), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Daryl Impey (Orica-Scott), Julien Vermote (Quick-Step Floors), Marcus Burghardt (Bora-Hansgrohe), Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin), Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie) and Dion Smith (Wanty-Groupe Gobert).
They’re 20 seconds ahead of the next lot.
Andre Greipel fancies his chances of winning this stage, and earlier today said all the frivolity isn’t fun for the sprinters. Can he get into position? It’s now raining hard.
The leading group comprises: Erviti, Schar, Lutsenko, Impey, Vermote, Burghardt, Politt, Chavanel and Smith.
48km to go, and Chavanel is up with the leaders now. Will the sprinters be able to reel them in?
The break has been reeled in, more or less. Van Keirsbulck leads the chase.
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Impey attacked down the main road, and he’s still in front as they going round the Arc,
They’re going through the Place de la Concorde, and about to swing onto the Champs Élysées.
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The racing begins!
“I wasn’t going to comment again but...” begins C. Lear, “sailing a hobby?!
Try doing a wall-sit for 5 minutes. Then imagine doing it for half an hour. Then imagine doing it on a boat, while your arms are burning from holding the ropes, spray is in your face, you’re constantly trimming the sails, you’re trying to read every single wave to get the best line over it, you’re reading the water and the sky to work out what the wind’s going to do, you’re working out tactics against the other competitors. Not to mention the starts, which are across an imaginary line on the water you have to work out yourself and then perfectly time your crossing over it, because if you don’t you’ll be screwed (the positive drafting effect in cycling is a negative one in sailing).
Sailors need explosive power, huge core fitness, arm and leg strength, tactical awareness, a good understanding of physics, quick reactions, the ability to concentrate for hours, and excellent teamwork if they’re sailing with others. A hobby?!
As for Ben Aislie... he not only won all those Olympic golds, but was a huge factor in one of the greatest sporting comebacks in history (see the 2013 America’s Cup). Of course he should be on your list!”
I’m not saying it isn’t difficult.
Through the Louvre they go, crowd noise echoing off the ceiling. I love Paris; aesthetically and historically, way way better than London.
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59.2km away. They’re about to move onto the main Pairs thoroughfare, and there are bare people waiting for them.
🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺 #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/CgfLvfKm6n
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 23, 2017
“Brian Jacks. End of” reckons Paul Haynes of the Superstars superstar.
Froome is swapping bikes. In commentary, they suggest his new one has a gopro on it.
A toast from @chrisfroome to you #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/DiGUU5HMtn
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) July 23, 2017
“How would you rate Ben Ainslie’s achievements,” asks Chris Keylock, “including the defining interview of the 2012 games” - which I can’t publish, I’m afraid, copyright and all that.
I guess I consider sailing a hobby.
Meanwhile, planes plume the tricolor.
71.7km to go. Sky are in formation, but they appear to have aborted the sesh. Lads, we need to have a chat.
“Lewis and Ennis only got a gold each,” retorts Paul Roome. And how does not getting a gold diminish Radcliffe’s record? I mean, she owned her event. Her world record is incredible … we shouldn’t really judge someone on the ability to hit form and avoid injury on a one off-day every four years, especially not in an event like the marathon. Lewis and Ennis never got close to a record … and to paraphrase Steve Ovett (unbeaten in 40+ races in the late 70s I think), “the heptathlon [decathlon] is 6[9] Mickey Mouse events and a slow 800m [1500m]”.
PS - Cook was running against the doped-up Russians and Americans of the 80s … I just feel really sorry for her. Maybe if the retrospective testing that Ennis is benefitting from now was available then we might be celebrating a double sprint champ. Alas, we’ll never know.”
But it was a gold which said they were the best all-round athletes in the world. Lewis also won Olympic bronze and World silver; Ennis has Olympic gold and silver, plus three World golds.
I am not sure that would’ve come over to my wife. No, I am not sure at all.
Doesn't get more romantic than a marriage proposal scrawled across a torn route profile. Will the future Madame Gautier say yes? #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/hTohyh2BJM
— Felix Lowe (@saddleblaze) July 23, 2017
Why not read this on yerman Froome?
Spieth and Kuchar are tied at the top of the Open leaderboard. Open this in another tab, yo.
“Re: bike type today,” tweets Keith Sutherland, “presumably the extended cobbles sections are a factor”.
Ah - I guess they do the same for the Tour t’Weatherfield.
Simon Yates is really happy and looking forward to arriving in Paris. His brother is training hard for the Vuelta.
At Lord’s, England have got Harmanpreet! They’re still in trouble, but it’s a start.
We’ve all got a mate like that, talks a good game then does everything possible to avoid and adds two onto the end-of-night tally. Pathetic.
Froome is now spraying beer - far be it from me to suggest that he’s a jibber.
88.3km to go. That’s a lot of drinking, as Froome gets sprayed with bubbles and beers come out. Basically they’re getting the train, but on their bikes.
“I’d add Tanni Grey-Thompson and Sarah Storey,” emails C. Lear. “As for what teams need to do to stop Froome, I think it’s more what to do to stop Sky. Other teams either need more super-domestiques so they can control the race in the way Sky do - difficult because of budgets and the experience Sky now have in doing so. Or they need to attack far more often and wear Sky out as the only team wanting to control the race in the way they do. Neither are easy! I’d note too that excluding time trials from the Tour (not a viable option, just mentioning it) would have made a difference to this year’s result.
Here’s Neil Mackie: “Plenty of names have been nominated already but someone who seems to get overlooked by most is Rachel Atherton. Downhill mountain biking may be a niche within a niche but from round 2 of the 2015 World Cup until she recently injured her shoulder she won every race. Plus she’s a four-time world champion and likely to make that five times this year.”
My days...
“Could you explain why the cyclists are not using road bikes for the final stage?” asks Rob Blackmore. “They look more like hybrids to me.”
I can’t I’m afraid. Anyone?
Froome necks the dregs and hands his glass to an arm out of a car, then dashes close to the spectators, exhorting them to fete him.
Apparently Froome can sling the glass when he’s done as “it’s plastic”. Er...
Relive the best of this year’s Tour with this collection of superb snaps.
They’ve started on the Personality, I’m pleased to report - looks like rosé fizz to me. Froome has a glass.
So how many Tours can Froome win? What do the rest need to do to stop him?
It’s raining. But not in my heart.
“Blimey you led with the chin there,” says Matthew Trim, “possibly just to get people riled up. Anyway, I’ll play:
Alistair Brownlee
David Weir
Eric Bristow/Phil Taylor
and finally
Arthur Puckrin (look him up, I’ll bet Froome can’t do anything that Arthur has done this last year).”
Not looking to rile anyone - I was surprised by how few there actually are. Phil Taylor is there, Weir I’ll give you, and yeah Brownlee is probably one; he occurred to me and I decided against him, but I’m not sure I could justify why.
Everyone’s having a gay old time.
Chris Froome is wearing sunglasses. The sun isn’t out. No further questions yer honour.
We’re off! The lads have eased out of Montgeron, where the first Tour started in 1903
“Are there time bonuses in this stage?” asks Henry Heath. “If so will Landa fancy a sprint for third?”
Yes there are bonuses, and yes, he’ll be going for it - but he’ll need badness to befall Brdet.
This is NOT an advert.
We've got to look fresh for the ride into Paris! Check out the @CastelliCycling kit we'll wear alongside the yellow jersey #TEAM5KY #F4OOMEY pic.twitter.com/vRzIDBydVr
— Team Sky 🚲 (@TeamSky) July 23, 2017
#TDF2017 stage 21 profile 🍾:
— Team Sky 🚲 (@TeamSky) July 23, 2017
🚲 103km
🚩 15:40 UK
🏁 18:18 UK
📺 Live on Eurosport/ITV4
🌤 Weather#TEAM5KY #F4OOMEY pic.twitter.com/DQMFORiVkI
“’Denise Lewis, Jessica Ennis’, begins Paul Roome. “They might not even be in our top three female athletes. Radcliffe, Gunnell, Packer and Holmes all arguably superior. Kathy Cook too set records in all 3 sprint distances at a time when the opposition was less than fair - and those records lasted 30+ years.
The lack of any women in other sports in your list is a bit of a shame too. Grainger? Pendleton? Laura Davies?”
Lewis and Ennis were the best athletes in the world; I don’t think we can say that about Cook. Radcliffe never won Olympic gold; Gunnell won one; Packer is before my time. I included Holmes later on, though I wonder about track cycling a bit - how many actually do it? - I went for Laura Kenny. And Laura Davies was an oversight, though I’d have to take your word for it.
Kwiatkowski speaks to Eurosport: “Today is just happiness ... we’ve been motivated for three weeks ... today we have to enjoy it ... there is not many times in your life when you achieve something like that.”
Also elsewhere: the run-rate is creeping up for India.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling” says Sean Kelly of completing the Tour, though in his day you had to sprint your way home. His arms are a spectacular feat of engineering.
Elsewhere, things have got real for Jordan Spieth. Scott Murray has the latest.
Mr Jeff tweets our attention to the work of Chrissie Wellington.
“Is there any recognition for the best domestiques?” asks Danny Fraser. “My vote would be for Kwiatkowski, the man was everywhere: leading Froome in the technical finishes, splitting the peloton in crosswinds, repeatedly riding himself to a literal standstill in the mountains, giving Froome a wheel and a pat on the arse. If the organisation can judge a combativeness award, one for the guys who suffer the most seems fair.”
Do they suffer the most because they don’t get kavod, or do they actually have to work the hardest?
Ha! I was waiting for an angler, and here’s John Feltrup emailing in with Bob Nudd. Here he is!
Laura Kenny and Kelly Holmes?
Er, Steve Redgrave and Chris Hoy. Mo Farah, begrudgingly, Seb Coe.
So go on then, who have I missed out?
Preamble
Chrrrp ... crrrk ... pop ... slurrrp ... burrrp! Le Tour’s superhumans are all set for another Sunday’s suffering, oh yes they are! And sometime in the early evening, Chris Froome will collect his third consecutive title, his fourth in a total - a frankly astonishing achievement that takes him beyond Louison Bobet, Greg LeMond and Philippe Thys, alone as the only man one behind Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil Bernhard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.
And that’s just in cycling. Outside of it, Froome is right there with Denise Lewis, Jessica Ennis, Lennox Lewis, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Daley Thompson, Andy Murray, Nick Faldo, Gareth Edwards, Phil Taylor, Ian Botham, AP McCoy, George Best and whoever I’ve forgotten as one of Britain’s greatest ever sportsmen. We are privileged to be living in his time; imagine his distress should he not win Sports Personality of the Year! Ouch! Stinng! Burrrrn!
Start: 15.50 BST
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