He was spat at, sprayed with urine, repeatedly accused of being a doper and on Saturday “died a thousand deaths” in one of the most gripping finales to a general classification battle seen in years. But after all the trials and tribulations of the last three weeks, Chris Froome eventually emerged triumphant, with his dignity intact, declaring his second Tour de France title to be very much a “win for Britain”.
Froome, who admitted that he feared he might have lost the famous maillot jaune to Movistar’s Nairo Quintana during Saturday’s final, nail-biting ascent of Alpe d’Huez, with the Colombian riding away from him in the final kilometres, still has the formality of riding into Paris, where he will be formally crowned Britain’s first two-time Tour champion. But in a hugely emotional press conference, the 30-year-old spoke of the pain, relief and satisfaction he felt at having come through what has clearly been an immense ordeal.
“We’ve definitely been up against it in this year’s Tour,” Froome said with some understatement, admitting that he had again been spat at by “a few fans” on the way up the Alpe. “It’s just going to make it that much more special coming away with a victory.
“As a team we’ve been up against it, which could have taken away from what we’ve achieved. But as a group I think it’s brought us closer. I want to thank the guys for putting up with all the rubbish that’s been going on the last few weeks.”
Born in Kenya, educated in South Africa and now a resident of Monaco, Team Sky’s leader has struggled for recognition and appreciation in the land of his parents’ birth, despite stressing in interviews that he sees himself as British.
Perhaps now, having faced weeks of slurs and innuendo, and after holding on to win the closest Tour finish since 2008 – when Carlos Sastre beat Cadel Evans by 58 sec – he will begin to get the recognition that his achievements deserve.
Froome, who broke down in tears at the finish, was in no doubt about the country for whom he had just walked through fire. “What kind of a question is that?” he fired back when asked to which country he dedicated the win. “Of course, it’s a win for Britain. I spent my childhood in Africa and have friends back there who will celebrate this. But my parents, my grandparents, my great-grandparents are British. This is 100 per cent a British victory.”
It was a victory that remained in the balance until the very final seconds of the final climb. And what a final climb it was.
Alpe d’Huez, the most famous theatre in cycling, was always going to lay on a grand spectacle. The atmosphere had been building for days, with costumes and beer and crowds 10-deep in parts lapping up the sunshine. They were treated to magnificent drama.
Movistar had smelt blood the previous day on the road to La Toussuire, where Quintana took 30 seconds out of Froome, reducing the Briton’s advantage to 2 min 38 sec overall. And it was clear from the moment the Spanish team tried a classic one-two approaching the top of the Hors Categorie Col de la Croix de Fer, with first Alejandro Valverde and then Quintana attacking from the front of the bunch, that Sky were going to be in for a tough day.
Froome quickly found himself alone and had to chase over the top of the Col alone, before being rejoined by Richie Porte, Wout Poels and Geraint Thomas on the descent.
That, though, was only the hors d’oeuvres. On the Alpe itself, as Thibaut Pinot [FDJ] surged ahead of a couple of other breakaway companions to establish a decisive lead, the race for the general classification really came to the boil. Quintana finally made a move stick 8km from the top and Froome was powerless to respond.
Quintana soon opened up a lead of over a minute. The yellow jersey seemed for a minute to be hanging in the balance. Sky did not panic, though, and Froome had Poels and then Porte – his trusty BMC-bound lieutenant – to thank for pacing him almost the entire way up the climb. Froome eventually went around Porte and chased to the line, crossing it in 1 min 20 sec behind Quintana to claim the overall title by 1 min 12 sec.
“I was on my absolute limits, I felt like I was dying a thousand deaths on the Alpe,” he admitted afterwards, adding that he had been suffering from a “tight chest” since the second rest day on Tuesday. Yet he still also won the King of the Mountains jersey.
“For the record, I haven’t had to apply for any TUEs,” he said before anyone could ask. That, of course, was a reference to the Therapeutic Use Exemption he took for a corticosteroid at last year’s Tour of Romandy, which he went on to win.
Of course, Froome was asked about doping again. That is par for the course now, particularly for the yellow jersey wearer. He answered the questions patiently but forcefully. He said he did not think that comparisons with Marco Pantani, Jan Ullrich and Lance Armstrong – made by his former Barloworld boss Claudio Corti in a newspaper article on Saturday morning – were fair. He repeated once again that he had specifically targeted La Pierre-Saint-Martin on stage 10 as a place where he would attack, whereas others waited for the Alps.
And he said he would not apologise for standing up for himself, whether that was boarding Astana’s team bus to remonstrate with Vincenzo Nibali earlier this Tour, or to those who accuse him of doping.
“I like to think I’m a pretty approachable person,” he said. “But make no mistake, don’t take that for a weakness. I’m going to stand up for what I believe in. I’m going to stand up for my team mates also.”
Generally, though, this was a more positive day, one that saw Froome wobble, teeter, look eminently human, before emerging victorious. He said he was looking ahead, to fatherhood, to further yellow jerseys. “I’ve set the goal of trying to do this until the age of 36, 37, 38 maybe,” he confided, adding that he was looking forward to further clashes with Quintana.
Froome’s team manager Sir Dave Brailsford said it was about time his rider was given the credit he deserved. “It was a bit close in the end, but I think Chris has shown real mettle and what he is all about in this race,” he concluded. “I don’t think many people get to see what we see every day. He’s a deserved winner and a credit to Britain.
“Chris is the most unbelievable competitor and polite, nice guy off the bike but on the bike he’s the most resilient character. I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody like him. He’s perfect for the job, as it were. He deserves more credit than he gets.
“The way he puts up with the abuse he gets, he’s so composed. A true champion. Britain doesn’t have many champions like this fella.”
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