Tour de France: Groenewegen wins on the Champs-Elysees

Chris Froome confirmed his fourth Tour de France victory by finishing in Paris. The Team Sky rider finished safely in the pack with his teammates as Dylan Groenewegen took a surprise sprint victory on the Champs-Élysées ahead of André Greipel.

"It's my first victory in the Tour de France, and on the perfect place for sprinters. It's a perfect day,” Groenewegen said after the 21st and final stage. "It's a dream, when I was a kid I watched the Champs-Élysées stage of the Tour on the television, so to win here today is an amazing feeling."

"The team did a great job to put me in a good position. Then I was in the wheel of Kristoff's lead-out, and sprinting on the left line."

Froome and his team enjoyed the run into Paris, celebrating their fifth overall victory in six years. He beat Rigoberto Urán (Cannondale-Drapac) by 54 seconds with Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) holding on for third.

"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. This year, I think will be remembered for being the closest and most hard-fought battle between the GC rivals.

"Definitely a celebration is overdue. I'm looking forward to it."

There was plenty of speculation over night as to whether Mikel Landa would attack Bardet to makeup that one second to take the final podium spot. The Spaniard made a joke attack as the peloton skirted Paris, but the smile on his face gave him away.

While the general classification riders had time to laugh and joke, Sunday was serious business for the sprinters. A nine-man group got away on the opening run up the Champs-Élysées, as the rain briefly fell, but it was never afforded more than 20 seconds of an advantage. Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step Floors) was the last to try and escape the clutches of the peloton, but it never looked like it would end in anything other than a sprint.

Katusha led the bunch through the final corner and onto to the Champs-Élysées for the last time, but LottoNL-Jumbo were in their wheels. Groenewegen went earlier than all the rest and began surging away from the rest. It looks like maybe he'd gone too early as Greipel began closing the gap but the German had given himself too much to make up and couldn't overhaul Groenewegen. For the Dutchman it is the biggest win of his career and his first at a Grand Tour. It is the second for LottoNL-Jumbo in this year's Tour de France after Primoz Roglic won on stage 17.

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