PARIS -- Riding a bright yellow bike to match his shiny leader's jersey, defending champion Chris Froome won his fourth and most challenging Tour de France title on Sunday.

The Kenyan-born British rider finished 54 seconds ahead of Colombian Rigoberto Uran overall, the smallest margin of his wins.

This was the third straight win for the Team Sky rider. His first in 2013 came the year after former teammate Bradley Wiggins sparked a mini-era of British dominance.

Frenchman Romain Bardet, runner-up last year, placed 2 minutes, 20 seconds behind in third place, denying Spaniard Mikel Landa -- Froome's teammate -- a podium spot by just one second. Italian Fabio Aru finished fifth.

As per tradition, the 21st stage was reserved for sprinters and mostly a procession for Froome, 32, and the other overall leaders.

Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen won the final stage.</s>Britain's Chris Froome wins his fourth Tour De France in the last five years. Time_Sports</s>(CNN) Britain's Chris Froome moved within one win of the all-time record when he clinched his fourth Tour de France win on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Thanking his Team Sky team mates, Froome crossed the finish line of the 21st and final stage in Paris to win cycling's toughest race for the third time in a row, 54 seconds clear of Cannondale-Drapac's Rigoberto Uran of Colombia in second place and two minutes, 20 seconds faster than France's Romain Bardet of AG2R La Mondiale's in third.

"I'm speechless, it's just an amazing feeling," Froome said in a televised interview. "The Champs-Elysees never disappoints. There is something magical about it when you spend three weeks thinking about being here in this moment. It's so rewarding every time."

Froome, a 32-year-old Briton, embraced his wife and young child after he clinched his fourth win in five years near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris after what is traditionally a champagne-sipping procession on the final day of the Tour.

His fourth title puts him just one shy of all-time record-holders Miguel Indurain of Spain, Belgium's Eddy Merckx and Frenchmen Bernard Hinault and Jacques Anquetil.

"A huge, huge honor to be talked about in the same sentence with those kind of guys," Froome said. "Just their place in history of the Tour de France, just feels so privileged to be in this position and have the opportunity to be going for this kind of record."

Although American Lance Armstrong won seven Tour de France titles between 1999 and 2005, he was stripped of his titles in 2012 for doping.

It was also the fifth Tour de France victory for Britain's Team Sky, which first won the title in 2012 with Bradley Wiggins before Froome took it in 2013, 2015, 2016 and again this year.

Froome received 500,000 euros ($583,000) for winning cycling's most grueling race, a 3,540km trek across four countries, 635 cities, over 23 mountain passes or climbs and watched by up to 12 million spectators.

Unlike previous years, Froome's fourth title wasn't a given from the start, with the general classification going down to the wire and only being decided on the penultimate time trial on Saturday in Marseille.

But Froome, who had entered the time trial with a narrow 23-second lead over Bardet and a 29-second lead over Uran, dealt his rivals a decisive blow when he finished third with a powerful ride in Marseille, extending his lead over Uran to 54 seconds. Bardet faded badly, slumping from second place to third in the overall standings at two minutes, 20 seconds behind Froome.

"Each time I've won the Tour, it's been so unique, so different, such a different battle to get to this moment," Froome said. "They're all so special in their own way. And this year will be remembered for being the closest of the four battles between the GC [general classification] rivals."

Froome, who did not win a stage but finished third four times, may be on the cusp of becoming one of the all-time cycling greats, he is not among Britain's best-known sporting heroes.

The Kenyan-born British rider has often been overshadowed at home by the now retired Wiggins, the first British Tour de France winner in 2012 and a five-time Olympic champion.

Last year, Froome didn't even make the 16-strong shortlist for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year despite winning his third Tour de France title.

Born in Kenya to English parents, who ran a crop farm, Froome started cycling seriously when he 13 years old. An avid collector of snakes and a keen mountain biker in the Kenyan bush when he was young, Froome went to secondary school in Johannesburg and studied economics at the University of Johannesburg for two years before becoming a cycling pro. He now lives in Monaco with his young family.

Although Froome was booed at the start of the time trial yesterday in Marseille, and also got a hostile reception when he nearly caught up with his main French rival Bardet at the finish line in the stadium, he has always remained gracious.

"The atmosphere here is incredible, it's huge," he told reporters yesterday.

Today's stage, a 103km trek from Montgeron, where the Tour started in 1903, to Paris, started with the riders and their supporting staff enjoying a glass of champagne as rain fell and thousands of spectators lined the streets.

Andre Greipel had been looking to win a third straight sprint victory on the Parisian cobbles, but in the end, Dylan Groenewegen of the Netherlands crossed the finish line at the Champs-Elysees just ahead of the German in a time of two hours, 25.39 minutes.</s>MARSEILLE, France — Chris Froome all but secured his fourth Tour de France title by finishing third on Saturday in Stage 20, a time trial in Marseille that was won by Maciej Bodnar.

Only the largely ceremonial stage into Paris along the Champs-Élysées on Sunday stands between Froome and his fourth triumph in five years.

The finish is set to be the tightest margin of Froome’s Tour wins. Rigoberto Urán of Colombia moved into second over all at 54 seconds, while Romain Bardet of France held on for third by just one second ahead of Mikel Landa.

Bardet, 26, was seeking to become the first Frenchman to win the Tour since 1985, but time trials are not his strong suit, and going into Marseille on Saturday, his chances had been all but dismissed.</s>PARIS — Britain’s Chris Froome moved within one win of the all-time record when he clinched his fourth Tour de France win on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Thanking his Team Sky team mates, Froome crossed the finish line of the 21st and final stage in Paris to win cycling’s toughest race for the third time in a row, 54 seconds clear of Cannondale-Drapac’s Rigoberto Uran of Colombia and with a two minutes, 20 seconds lead over Bardet of AG2R La Mondiale’s in third.

Froome, a 32-year-old Briton, embraced his wife and child after he clinched his fourth win in five years as he crossed the finish line near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris after what is traditionally a champagne-sipping procession on the final day of the Tour.

His fourth title puts him just one shy of all-time record-holders Miguel Indurain of Spain, Belgium’s Eddy Merckx and Frenchmen Bernard Hinault and Jacques Anquetil.

Although American Lance Armstrong won seven Tour de France titles between 1999 and 2005, he was stripped of his titles in 2012 for doping.

It was also the fifth Tour de France victory for Britain’s Team Sky, which first won the title in 2012 with Bradley Wiggins before Froome took it in 2013, 2015, 2016 and again this year.

Froome received 500,000 euros ($583,000) for winning cycling’s most grueling race, a 3,540km trek across four countries, 635 cities, over 23 mountain passes or climbs and watched by up to 12 million spectators.

Unlike previous years, Froome’s fourth title wasn’t a given from the start, with the general classification going down to the wire and only being decided on the penultimate time trial on Saturday in Marseille.

But Froome, who had entered the time trial with a narrow 23-second lead over Bardet and a 29-second lead over Uran, dealt his rivals a decisive blow when he finished third with a powerful ride in Marseille, extending his lead over Uran to 54 seconds. Bardet faded badly, slumping from second place to third in the overall standings at two minutes, 20 second behind Froome.

Froome, who did not win a stage but was third four times, may be on the cusp of becoming one of the all-time cycling greats but he is not among Britain’s best-known sporting heroes.

The Kenyan-born British rider has often been overshadowed at home by the now retired Wiggins, the first British Tour de France winner in 2012 and a five-time Olympic champion.

Last year, Froome didn’t even make the 16-strong shortlist for the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year despite winning his third Tour de France title.

Born in Kenya to English parents, who ran a crop farm, Froome started cycling seriously when he 13 years old. An avid collector of snakes and a keen mountain biker in the Kenyan bush when he was young, Froome went to secondary school in Johannesburg and studied economics at the University of Johannesburg for two years before becoming a cycling pro. He now lives in Monaco with his young family.

Although Froome was booed at the start of the time trial yesterday in Marseille, and also got a hostile reception when he nearly caught up with his main French rival Bardet at the finish line in the stadium, he has always remained gracious.

“The atmosphere here is incredible, it’s huge,” he told reporters yesterday.

Today’s stage, a 103km trek from Montgeron, where the Tour started in 1903, to Paris, started with the riders and their supporting staff enjoying a glass of champagne as rain fell and thousands of spectators lined the streets.

Andre Greipel had been looking to win a third straight sprint victory on the Parisian cobbles, but in the end, Dylan Groenewegen of the Netherlands crossed the finish line at the Champs-Elysees in a time of two hours, 25.39 minutes just ahead of the German.</s>Chris Froome all but clinched his fourth Tour de France crown in five years with an outstanding time trial run here.

Although he had to settle for finishing third against the clock, pipped by a Polish one-two of Maciej Bodnar and Michal Kwiatkowski by just six seconds over the 14-mile course, he now carries a 54-second advantage into tomorrow's roll into Paris - his widest lead in the entire race.

And although Va Va Froome will become only the seventh man in Le Tour's history to win the Yellow Jersey without winning a single stage, he won't care two hoots when he tops the podium on the Champs Elysees again.

Starting the day only 23 seconds ahead of French crowd favourite Romain Bardet, Froome didn't just devour the course like a dragon devouring maidens.

Last man down the ramp, he almost humiliated Bardet, following him into the Stade Velodrome finish by only seconds after they had come down the ramp two minutes apart.

Assuming the top three trundle into Paris safely, Rigoberto Uran will finish second and Bardet scrambled on to podium by one second ahead of Froome's Team Sky colleague Mikel Landa.

Where does this leave Froome among British sporting legends?

Take your pick - but in this correspondent's estimation, he is right up there among the greats now.

To win the Tour de France once is a remarkable achievement; to win it four times, including a hat-trick of titles in the last three years, is mind-blowing.</s>Chris Froome is set to win his fourth Tour de France title after increasing his lead in Saturday's penultimate time trial in Marseille.

With Sunday's stage into Paris traditionally a procession, Froome will be able to celebrate on the roads into the capital as he lead grew to 54 seconds over former team-mate Rigoberto Uran.

Frenchman Romain Bardet began the stage second, 23 seconds down, but faded badly and only retained a podium spot by one second ahead of Team Sky's Mikel Landa.

Bodnar, who was cruelly denied victory out of a breakaway on stage 11, completed the 22.5 kilometre course in a time of 28 minutes 15 seconds to win by just one second from his compatriot Kwiatkowski, with Froome a further five seconds back.

Froome's third place on the day means he is only the seventh man in history to win the Tour without picking up a stage victory on the way.

But he was able to enjoy the final metres all the same as he could be seen chasing down the struggling Bardet on the last straight towards the Stade Velodrome.

The 32-year-old would have known at that point his fourth Tour, and third in a row, was in the bag as Colombian Uran had, moments before, run wide on one of the final corners, touching the barriers and losing all momentum.

The Cannondale-Drapac rider recovered to take eighth place on the day, which sees him move up to second overall - matching his previous best in a grand tour as he was second in the Giro d'Italia in both 2013 and 2014.

Irishman Dan Martin finished in 40th place, enough to keep the Quick-Step Floors rider in sixth place in the general classification - his best ever finish in the Tour de France.

Bury's Simon Yates hung on to seventh place overall, securing the young riders' white jersey which was won by his twin brother and Orica-Scott team-mate Adam 12 months ago.</s>Ten days ago, it seemed conceivable that the indomitable Chris Froome might lose the Tour de France. The three-time champ had looked spent climbing up the Pyrenees, squandered his lead, and had to hand over the yellow jersey. Today, as the legendary bike race came to a close during a ceremonial final stage making loops along the Champs Élysées in Paris, Froome had mounted a massive comeback to collect his fourth win, by 54 seconds over Colombian rider Rigoberto Urán in second-place, for the closest contest in a decade.

It may be the ending that cycling experts had been predicting all along, but getting here came via some of the most exciting television the Tour has offered in years. The problem with Froome’s dominance in previous Tours is that he’d get the yellow jersey early and then his Team Sky (the strongest team in the TDF) would spend the rest of the time playing defense, which has meant slowing down the peloton and putting the lid on any attacks — which also means keeping anything interesting from happening. When Froome lost the yellow jersey to Italian Fabio Aru in this year’s Stage 12, Team Sky had to scramble and go on the offensive, first to protect their faltering leader from losing any more time, and then to help him gain that time back. Even when Froome got the jersey back a couple days later in Stage 14 (out of 21), there was only a second spread among the top four riders, making this year’s Tour the tightest in history for most of its run.

And who knows what would’ve happened if Richie Porte, the contender most likely to give Froome a run for yellow, hadn’t crashed out badly, going 72.5 kilometers-per-hour (45 mph) in Stage 9 and broken his collarbone and pelvis.

That crash-tastic day also took out Froome’s No. 1 wingman, Geraint Thomas, who at the time had been in second place. An earlier crash in Stage 4 had taken out legendary sprinter Mark Cavendish, as well as other legendary sprinter Peter Sagan, who’d been kicked out of the Tour for apparently elbowing Cavendish and causing his crash.

Froome’s quick recovery from losing yellow to Aru is a testament to how much teamwork matters in cycling. The Stage 14 when he took back the lead wasn’t one of the big mountain stages where everyone expects the race to really play out. There was one climb, and because Froome has a great team and Aru had a weak team, Froome stayed at the front. Then when the peloton split, Aru was on the bad side of the split and lost 30 seconds. Soon Aru had lost enough time to slip off the podium.

All that stood between Froome and victory were two tough stages in the Alps, and a time trial on the penultimate day (yesterday) in Marseilles. Froome is a great time trialist and would surely beat the two mountain-specialists tied for second place and then only 27 seconds back, Urán and Frenchman Romain Bardet. So the rest of the Tour became a nail-biter of a waiting game to see if Urán or Bardet could drop Froome at some point on an Alpine climb and gain enough of a time cushion to make up for whatever they’d lose to him in a time trial. Froome, though, proved undroppable.

Then in Saturday’s time trial, the last chance for anyone to mount a counteroffensive before today’s ceremonial finale, he proved to be a force, finishing third, just six seconds back from the day’s winner, Polish rider Maciej Bodnar. Froome was so fast he nearly passed Bardet, who’d started the course two minutes before he did. Bardet had started the day just 23 seconds back from Froome and ended it two minutes and 20 seconds down. Plus he’d dropped from second to third, holding onto his podium spot by just one second, from Froome’s teammate Mikel Landa.

Landa’s contract with Team Sky ends this year, by the way, which means next year, we could see him leading his own team to vie for yellow opposite his old teammate. Can he triumph when he’s no longer expending himself to help Froome win?

Here are the final overall standings:

1. Christopher Froome (GBR/Sky), at 86h20:55.

 2. Rigoberto Uran (COL/CAN), at à 0:54.

 3. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM), at 2:20.

 4. Mikel Landa (ESP/SKY), at 2:21.

 5. Fabio Aru (ITA/AST), at 3:05.

 6. Daniel Martin (EIR/QST), at 4:42.

 7. Simon Yates (GBR/ORI), at 6:14.

 8. Louis Meintjes (RSA/EAU), at 8:20.

 9. Alberto Contador (ESP/TRE), at 8:49.

 10. Warren Barguil (FRA/SUN), at 9:25.

Australian Michael Matthews won the green “points” jersey for best overall sprinter.

Frenchman Warren Barguil won the polka dot jersey for best overall climber.

And Froome’s fellow Brit Simon Yates won the white jersey for best young rider.

Avert your eyes if you don’t want to know what a cyclist’s legs look like 2800 kilometers into this thing.

In the end, Froome wasn’t the best man in the mountains; he was just very good in the mountains and the best man against the clock. He now has four Tour wins, which puts him in the history books just behind Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain, who have five wins. (If you’re not counting Lance Armstrong’s seven wins, of which he’s been stripped.) The closest, most exciting Tour in recent memory came down not to dramatic attacks in the mountains, but to patience and shrewd strategy and kicking ass at time trials. And it was an amazing thing to watch.</s>Riding a bright yellow bike to match his shiny leader's jersey, defending champion Chris Froome won his fourth and most challenging Tour de France title on Sunday.

The 32-year-old Kenyan-born British rider finished 54 seconds ahead of Colombian Rigoberto Uran overall, the smallest margin of his wins.

This was the third straight win for the Team Sky rider. His first in 2013 came the year after former teammate Bradley Wiggins sparked off an era of British dominance.

Frenchman Romain Bardet, runner-up last year, placed 2 minutes, 20 seconds behind in third place, denying Spaniard Mikel Landa — Froome's teammate — a podium spot by just one second. Italian Fabio Aru finished fifth.

As per tradition, the 21st stage was reserved for sprinters and mostly a procession for Froome and the other overall leaders.

Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen won the final stage in a dash to the line, edging German rider Andre Greipel and Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen.

Moments later, Froome and the rest of the peloton crossed the line after eight laps of an eye-catching circuit around the city's landmarks, finishing as usual on the famed Champs-Elysees.

Froome now needs only one more title to match the Tour record of five shared by Jacques Anquetil, Eddie Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain.

Froome sealed his win on Saturday, finishing third in the time trial in Marseille where he put more time into Uran and Bardet, who dropped from second to third.

After more than three weeks of stressful racing, it was a relaxed and easygoing atmosphere as riders set out from Montgeron in the Essone suburb south of Paris to the evening finish 103 kilometers (64 miles) away.

Froome chatted casually with two-time champion Alberto Contador, the Spanish veteran, as if they were on a sight-seeding ride.

Right in front of them, Frenchman Warren Barguil — wearing the best climber's red-and-white polka dot jersey — swapped race anecdotes with Australian Michael Matthews, wearing the green jersey awarded for the Tour's top sprinter.

Matthews became the third Australian to win the green jersey, all this decade, following Robbie McEwen and Baden Cooke.

Froome's teammates wore a yellow stripe on the back of their Team Sky shirts. They allowed themselves a flute of champagne, chinking glasses with leader Froome, as they casually rolled through the streets under cloudy skies beside cheering fans packing the roads into Paris.

Everyone was in high spirits, happy to be make it through a grueling race that saw Australian Richie Porte, one of the pre-race favorites, and Froome's teammate Geraint Thomas both crash out. Britain's Mark Cavendish, a 30-time Tour stage winner, and Marcel Kittel — winner of five stages this year — pulled out injured after crashes.

As the slow-moving peloton passed near where Frenchman Yoann Offredo grew up, a television camera moved alongside, asking what it was like to be riding so close to home.

“I might nip to the bathroom,” he said, jokingly.

Another rider, Cyril Gautier, asked his girlfriend Caroline to marry him: the proposal scrawled on a piece of paper held up by the smiling Frenchman as he blew a kiss to the camera.

The route to another victory continued to unfurl before him without mishap — although he did have to change bikes at one stage. Barguil had a brief hiccup, needing to catch up after a puncture, but generally the peloton took in the sights.

Riders passed the Hotel des Invalides — a magnificent, sprawling set of buildings ordered by King Louis XIV in the 17th century — and actually rode through the resplendent Grand Palais exhibition hall, then past the golden statute of Joan of Arc, up the famed Champs-Elysees from the iconic Place de la Concorde and its towering 23-meter Egyptian obelix, and around the Arc de Triomphe.

Some might say Froome did not shine too brightly because he didn't win a stage, but neither did American Greg Lemond when clinching his third and final Tour in 1990.

For Froome, consistency and a dogged ability to respond when put under pressure were the keys to his latest success.</s>PARIS (VN) — Chris Froome has won the Tour de France for the fourth time.

The 32-year-old Briton from Team Sky crossed the finish line on the Champs-Élysées near the back of the peloton, one hand in the air and with his entire team around him.

It was the closest Tour in years, decided not with daring uphill attacks but by the methodical accumulation of seconds. Fifty-four seconds, to be precise, was narrow gap over second place Rigoberto Urán (Cannondale-Drapac). Romain Bardet (AG2R) clutched third by just one second, 2’20 down on Froome.

The victory brings Froome’s Tour win count to four. Only Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain have won more Tours de France. Each has five.

“I never dreamed of being up there of even come close to Eddy Merckx, Anquetil, or Indurain. It’s amazing to be in this position, it’s such a privilege,” Froome said.

The Tour was once again won on the back of Froome’s impressive time trials. While many of his rivals, including Urán, Bardet, and Astana’s Fabio Aru, were able to match Froome in the high mountains they were unable to do so against the clock.

“The key for me in the Tour with respect to Froome was the 51 seconds I lost in the opening stage time-trial in Dusseldorf,” Urán said. “In the mountains there wasn’t much difference and I improved a lot.”

Froome gained 1’16” over second-place Uran across the Tour’s two time trials, a wider gap than his 54” win margin.

“Given the course we had this year it was always the tactic to ride a three week race and not go out one day with the aim to blow the race apart or smash it with a stage win,” Froome said. “It was just about chipping away on eveyr stage and making sure there weren’t any major losses on anyway.”

The Sky leader’s race was not without its setbacks. After failing to eat enough on the stage to Peyragudes, Froome lost seconds and the yellow jersey to the Italian Aru, dropping badly in the final 300 meters of the steep climb.

“I’m grateful it wasn’t any worse than that,” Froome said of the stage. “If you have a bad day in the mountains you can lose minutes.”

Aru would return the jersey two days later in a seemingly innocuous but decisive stage that seemed to characterize the unusual nature of this Tour de France.

“It’s certainly not getting any easier,” Froome said. “This one was the closest of my Tour de France career.”

As Froome dropped atop the Peyragudes, his teammate Mikel Landa rode on, fueling speculation that the domestique may want to challenge for victory. That issue was settled in stage 9, as Chris Froome suffered the second ill-timed mechanical of the race and was forced to chase while Bardet’s AG2R pushed on. Landa dropped off the lead group to pull his leader back to the front.

Wary of Froome’s time trial prowess, his rivals looked to the final stages in the Alps to make the time they needed ahead of Saturday’s Marseilles time trial. Bardet was particularly active, setting his entire team against the face of the Col d’Izoard and adding attacks of his own near its peak.

Nothing could break Fortress Froome, though, or his exceptional team. He came into the final time trial with a healthy gap, and only extended that lead. A fourth yellow jersey, earned against the clock and in the Tour’s unpredictable margins, was his.
In road cycling, Britain's Chris Froome wins his third consecutive Tour de France and fourth in five years, finishing 54 seconds ahead of Colombian Rigoberto Urán.