TIL Desk Sports/ Briton Chris Froome cemented his status as one of the greatest Tour de France riders when he secured his third title on Sunday after a three-week rocky ride. Germany’s Andre Greipel won the 21st and last stage, a 113-km ride from Chantilly ending on the Champs Elysees in Paris.
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. American Lance Armstrong won seven titles in succession from 1999 but was erased from the winners’ list after admitting to doping.
Frenchman Romain Bardet finished second overall 2:52 behind Froome, who had a 4:05 lead going into the last stage but was caught on the wrong side of a split in the finale of Sunday’s stage. Colombian Nairo Quintana, runner-up in 2013 and 2015 who was expected to push Froome to the limit, ended up a disappointing third, 3:08 off the pace.
