Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TOUR DE FRANCE:
At long last, four-time winner Froome feels the love on his way past l’arc de Triomphe
IT has taken four Tour de France wins, leaving him within striking distance of the all-time legends, for Chris Froome to be loved at home and abroad.
By the roadside in France, they used to throw cups of urine and spit at him – but now Froome has earned the grudging respect, if not outright admiration, of the people he denies a home-grown champion.
And in
Britain, where oddballs have seemed more interested in his national identity than his staggering achievements – he was born in Kenya, but his parents were English – perhaps we are waking up to Froome’s greatness.
Until now he has been curiously unloved but, after winning four Yellow Jerseys in five years, he will soon have as many of them as Brazil’s football team.
Rolling into the Paris sunset here last night, Froome revealed he intends to keep chasing the maillot jaune for another five years.
It will take something special to deny him joining Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Miguel Indurain and Bernard Hinault on five wins in the most gruelling assault course on the sporting calendar.
Over the last three weeks and 2,199 miles, Froome barely put a pedal wrong. Only when the tank was empty, in a 400-yard ramp finish on a Pyrenees altiport and he lost the Yellow Jersey for 48 hours to Fabio Aru, did he look fallible.
He said: “The opportunity to win a fourth Tour has inspired me and motivated me more than ever before.
“It is an honour to be up there with the riders who have won this Tour the most times. It’s a history I’m very proud to be a part of.
“I will never forget what it means to wear the maillot jaune and what a privilege it is to wear it on the podium here.
“I want to dedicate this to my family, Michelle and Kellan. My life with you is what makes all the sacrifices worth it.
“This Tour has been my toughest challenge yet – the performance of my rivals has pushed me harder than ever before, so I want to pay tribute to my rivals.
“We race hard against each other, suffer together, but the most special thing is the friendship and camaraderie in the peloton. I’ve fallen in love with the Tour de France, and it would be a huge honour to come back next year and have the opportunity to challenge such a privileged record.”
Seconds after crossing the line on the Champs Elysees, Froome headed straight to wife Michelle and 20-month-old Kellan (below) for an emotional reunion.
He added: “I’d still like to keep racing into my late thirties and to keep competing for the Yellow Jersey but it doesn’t get any easier.
“I hope people take me for what they see. I think they have come to know me a lot better over the last few years, and the French public has certainly turned.
“I’ve had an amazing reception on the roads this time. It certainly hasn’t always been like that but, as people have got to know me as a person, the trust has improved.”
MARTIN finished in sixth place in the general classification.
The 30-year-old’s (inset) successful campaign was the best result by an Irish rider since Stephen Roche – Martin’s uncle – won the yellow jersey in 1987.