Childhood dream comes true for Tour de France winner Thomas

Britain's Geraint Thomas fulfilled his childhood dream by winning the Tour de France on Sunday, after the 21st and final stage won by Norway's Alexander Kristoff.

Thomas, of Team Sky, finished the race in Paris with a near two-minute lead on Dutch rival Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) to secure his first yellow jersey, with teammate and four-time and defending champion Chris Froome finishing third at 2:24.

"It's still not sinking in, it's incredible," said Thomas, looking gaunt and tired after three weeks of "suffering day-to-day" on the 105th edition.

The Welshman, 32, the third Briton to win the race after Froome and Bradley Wiggins, secured Team Sky's sixth victory in the race from the past seven editions.

"Big respect to Froomey," he said. "It could have been awkward, there could have been tension... he's a great champion and I've always had respect for you. The dream was always to participate, and that dream came true 11 years ago.

"Now, up here, being in the yellow jersey in front of all of you (the crowd) is just... wow."

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Thomas, known for having a beer while watching his favourite sport of rugby, was quick to grab a Welsh flag before he jumped on to the top step of the podium before listening to a rendition of God Save the Queen.

"I started cycling because of this race. I remember running home from school to watch it," said Thomas, who paid a heartfelt tribute to his wife Sara, who was emotional on the sidelines.

"The amount of support I've got... ah, my wife. Big thanks to Sara. She's been with me through thick and thin."

Thomas, who won back-to-back stages in the Alps before sealing victory with a third-place finish in the penultimate stage time trial on Saturday, took a 1min 51sec lead over Dumoulin into the 21st stage from Houilles to Paris.

The final stage is usually a festive affair, and Thomas was seen celebrating with fellow Sky teammates early in the stage as he soaked up becoming the first Welsh yellow jersey winner.

It took several laps of the inner-city circuit around the Champs Elysees for the race to kick into action.

And after a six-man breakaway was reeled in late on, the sprinters' teams upped the pace to chase down a last-ditch attempt by Belgian champion Yves Lampaert, of Quick Step.

Lampaert was caught with only 220m remaining, and from there UAE team sprinter Kristoff surged to the line and held off Germany's John Degenkolb and Frenchman Arnaud Demare.

Thomas rolled over the line seconds later, smiling and joking with teammate, training partner and friend Froome.

Slovakian sprint king Peter Sagan failed to get in contention for the final sprint days after suffering injuries in a crash in the Pyrenees. But he had three stage victories and won his sixth green jersey for the points competition. - AFP