Froome finished with an almost three-minute advantage over Frenchman Romain Bardet, with Nairo Quintana, the runner-up in 2013 and 2015, third.
“It’s an absolutely amazing feeling. It feels like a privilege to be in this position,” Froome said. He praised his Sky teammates for their support after a day which saw German Andre Greipel win the final stage on Paris’ Champs Elysees.
“I’ve always had my teammates around me. This race was even tougher [than his previous victories]. We haven’t won the team competition, but by far we’ve had the strongest team here. I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Froome won two stages during the race, taking his personal haul to seven in what was his most dominant performance yet.
Having finished just over a minute ahead of Quintana last year, 31-year-old Froome was expected to face his toughest challenge yet as the course was meant to favour the 26-year-old Colombian.
Froome himself described it as a climber’s Tour but the man widely lauded as the best climber in the world and expected to push him to his limits, was frustrated with his timidity.
Quintana claimed he was suffering from an allergy, but his baffling contentment at finishing third — his worst Tour finish — spoke volumes.
The loss of Alberto Contador, who crashed on the opening two stages and then succumbed to illness on the ninth, robbed the race of one of its chief animators.
It was a coming of age for Bardet, who won a stage for the second year in a row and demonstrated impressive progression after finishing sixth in 2014 and ninth last year.
