Published July 25, 2016 08:47PM
Photography by Cor Vos, Kristof Ramon, BrakeThrough Media
Puting a positive spin on a frustrating Tour de France that had delivered one close call but no sprint victories, Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) took victory on the Champs Elysees in his German national champion’s jersey.
“I can’t describe it,” Greipel said. “I’m just super proud of what we’ve achieved today. I’ve raced for three weeks for that. The team kept believing in me. We’ve tried many times and we walk away from the Tour with two stage wins, with Thomas De Gendt and myself. This morning, we had a good plan. There was a head wind at the end. I just tried to stay calm. Once we hit the finale, we were one guy too short so I chose to follow Alexander Kristoff who was the strongest. But this is another stage win at the Tour de France. It’s wonderful.”
As expected after Saturday’s final mountain stage in the Alps, Chris Froome (Team Sky) won the 2016 Tour de France, his third overall victory in four years. The Briton crossed the finish line arm-in-arm with the eight teammates who helped guide him to victory.
“It’s amazing,” Froome said. ‘Amazing. It doesn’t wear off after two times. Rolling on the Champs-Elysées is the same, it’s an amazing feeling. My teammates have emptied themselves every day, so it was important to show on the finishing line this is a team sport, this is what it’s all about, what we’ve worked for.”
Read the full stage 21 race report, highlight video, and results here.