Froome Conquers France, Greipel Victorious in Paris

July 26, 2015 – Chris Froome won his second Tour de France title following Sunday’s 21st and final stage to Paris. Germany’s Andre Greipel won the stage, his fourth this year, ahead of Frenchman Bryan Coquard and Alexander Kristoff of Norway.

AFP/Yuzuru Sunada

Briton Froome crossed the line arm-in-arm with his Sky teammates to clinch a second Grand Boucle crown following his 2013 success. Colombian Nairo Quintana finished second overall with his Spanish Movistar teammate Alejandro Valverde taking third, his best finish at the Tour at the age of 35.

Rain had rendered the cobbles at the finish on the Champs Elysees dangerous so organisers ASO neutralised the race from the moment it reached Paris.

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. It allowed Froome, 30, and his teammates — wearing a black kit with the traditional blue stripe replaced by a yellow one in homage to their leader’s feat — to finish in a straight line, arm-in-arm over a minute after the stage winner.

Having already won the Tour in 2013, finishing in the same way but then because his lead to Quintana — second that time as well — was sufficiently large to allow him to do so, Froome became the first Briton to win the Grand Boucle for a second time.

Quintana finished at 1min 12sec overall with Valverde third over five minutes back. Last year’s winner Vincenzo Nibali finished fourth overall, ahead of two-time former winner Alberto Contador.

But on the final stage, a 109.5km run from the Parisian suburb of Sevres, Greipel, 33, emphasised his sprint superiority at this Tour. He had already won the second, fifth and 15th stages in sprint finishes. His expected rivals Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan could only manage sixth and seventh respectively.

Sagan did win the sprinter’s green points jersey, though, while Froome finished as king of the mountains and Quintana, 25, was the best young rider.

Final 20 kilometers of Stage 21

Results Stage 21:
1. Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 2:49:41
2. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar
3. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha
4. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN – Qhubeka
5. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr
6. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx – Quick-Step
7. Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo
8. John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
9. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
10. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team

General Classification:
1. Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 83:19:15
2. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:01:12
3. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:05:25
4. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:08:36
5. Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:09:48
6. Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:10:47
7. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing 0:15:14
8. Mathias Frank (Swi) IAM Cycling 0:15:39
9. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:16:00
10. Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar 0:17:30