The British press hailed a new cycling hero on Monday after Chris Froome became the second Briton in two years to win the Tour de France.
Chris Froome won the 100th Tour de France on Sunday, having dominated rivals over three weeks on the road and adroitly dealt with doping suspicions off it.
Kenyan-born cyclist Chris Froome was poised on Sunday to succeed Bradley Wiggins as the Tour de France champion and complete what has been a superb summer of sport for Britain.
Chris Froome may have tightened his grip on the yellow jersey but his capacity to deflect everything the Tour de France throws at him in the coming days, including treacherous weather and technical descents, could be key to overall victory in Paris.
It was supposed to be an epic Tour de France stage in which various rivals pooled forces to loosen Chris Froome's grip on the race's yellow jersey.
Racing in his first Tour de France, Matteo Trentin appeared to surprise even himself by winning Saturday's 14th stage in a sprint for the line in Lyon.
Froome defends ex-teammate after British sprint star pelted with urine
Tuesday's 10th stage of the Tour de France passed a part of the country with a rich history for producing great riders, but the day in Brittany served mainly to remind French fans they are no longer a dominant force in the sport.
There is no room for national sentiment on the world's biggest bike race: just ask Cadel Evans.
Move over Tour de France legend Eddy Merckx, because Britain's Mark Cavendish is gunning for the absolute record of stage wins in the world's biggest bike race.
When Simon Gerrans started cycling to help rehabilitate knee injuries suffered while racing motor bikes, he never imagined he would go on to emulate the feats of pioneering Australian compatriot Phil Anderson.