Kittel ends Cav's Paris reign as Froome wins Tour
ByReuters
Updated 21/07/2013 at 22:00 GMT
Marcel Kittel ended Mark Cavendish's dominance in Paris by winning the final stage of the Tour de France as Chris Froome secured overall victory.
Britain's Mark Cavendish (L) reacts as stage winner Germany's Marcel Kittel (2nd R) crosses the finish line on the Champs-Elysee avenue in Paris, at the end of the 133.5 km twenty-first and last stage of the 100th edition of the Tour de France (AFP)
Image credit: AFP
Argos-Shimano sprinter Kittel won his fourth stage on the race by winning a thrilling sprint on the Champs-Elysees and in the process denied Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) a fifth straight triumph in the French capital.
Cavendish could only finish third in the stage as Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) took second place with the world's three best sprinters bursting clear of the peloton in the final 500m as the Tour enjoyed it first ever evening finish.
"Once again thanks to my team mates, it's a collective effort," said Kittel.
Cavendish conceded he was beaten by a stronger rider.
"Kittel was faster. I did 1,500 watts and usually when I do 1,500 watts I win by a few bike lengths," he said.
Froome was untroubled on the 21st and final stage of the three-week race, a 133.5-km ride from Versailles to Paris.
The Kenyan-born rider led Colombia's Nairo Quintana (Movistar) by four minutes and 20 seconds in the overall standings, with Spain's Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) third, a further 44 seconds back.
The 28-year-old Briton follows on from compatriot and team mate Bradley Wiggins, who sat out of this year's race for health reasons.
He built his success on awe-inspiring attacks in the mountain climbs as well as his time-trialing ability. It quickly became clear that his rivals would have to fight for the other podium positions.
"This is one yellow jersey that will stand the test of time," Froome said in his podium speech, in a reference to the doping scandals the sport has struggled with.
Froome sipped champagne with Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford and sports director Nicolas Portal as the peloton left the Chateau de Versailles in the late afternoon at a leisurely pace.
He finished arm-in-arm with his Team Sky team mates, who had dropped back from the main bunch and crossed the line in unison.
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Tour de France Pordium Champs-Elysees Froome Rodriguez Quintana
Image credit: Panoramic
"Crossing the line with the guys brought tears to my eyes. I expected it to be big but this is something else," Froome said.
"I think it is going to take a while to really sink in. This has been a spectacular race," he added.
Quintana claimed both the polka-dot best climber's jersey and the white jersey for the best young rider.
Rodriguez became the second rider to finish on the podium on all the grand Tours (France, Spain, Italy) without actually winning one.
Alberto Contador (Team Saxo-Tinkoff), the 2007 and 2009 champion, finished fourth after cracking on Saturday's penultimate stage.
France's Christophe Riblon (Ag2r-La Mondiale), who won the spectacular l'Alpe d'Huez mountain stage, was named the most aggressive rider in the race.
Peter Sagan (Cannondale) of Slovakia retained the green jersey for the points classification.
Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM) became the first rider to abandon the Tour on the Champs Elysees since 1977.
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