PARIS - 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.

In two years, Britain has now had two different winners: Bradley Wiggins in 2012 and then Froome, a cooler, calmer, more understated but no less determined character than his Sky teammate with famous sideburns.

Froome rode into Paris in style - in the canary yellow race leader’s jersey he took on Stage 8 in the Pyrenees and never relinquished, vigorously fending off rivals whose concerted challenges turned this Tour into a thriller. Froome and his Sky teammates linked arms as they rode for the line.

The 100th edition was visually stunning, too, starting with a first swing through Corsica, France’s “island of beauty,” before veering through the Pyrenees to Brittany and then across France to the race’s crescendo in the Alps - 3,404 grueling kilometers (2,115 miles) in total.

Uniquely, the 100th Tour treated itself to a late-afternoon start for its final Stage 21 so the riders raced a few hours later on the cobbles of the Champs-Elysees as the sun cast golden hues over the peloton and the shadows lengthened over the dense, cheering crowds.

French Air Force jets in formation trailed red, white and blue smoke in the skies about the leafy avenue as the peloton powered up it for the first time and, exceptionally, circled like a necklace around the Arc de Triomphe in their brightly colored team jerseys.

After setting off from the magnificent Versailles Palace, the former residence of three kings and their seat of power until the French revolution of 1789, the riders were granted the privilege of meandering through the chateau’s manicured gardens, past lakes like mirrors, spurting fountains and statues looking on stonily.

As per tradition and because Froome’s big race lead made him untouchable, Sunday’s 133-kilometer ( 82-mile) final ride was a largely leisurely affair until the pace picked up sharply on the Champs-Elysees. Marcel Kittel won the final sprint on that famous avenue, the German’s sprinter’s fourth stage victory of this Tour.

Riders pedaled up to Froome to offer congratulations; he sipped from a flute of champagne as he rode; a Tour organizer stuck an arm from his car window to shake Froome’s hand. Peter Sagan colored his beard green to celebrate the green jersey he won for picking up the most points in sprints over the three weeks.

“It’s a dream to arrive in yellow on the Champs-Elysees,” Froome said before leading the pack from Versailles. “C’est formidable.”

His efforts to speak French have been gratefully noted by TV commentators here.

Nairo Quintana, the 23-year-old Colombian who secured second place behind Froome with an impressive victory on Saturday’s penultimate Stage 20, laughed as third-placed Joaquim Rodriguez tried to spark up a cigar in the saddle. The wind seemed to snuff out his lighter.

Neither Froome, Quintana nor Rodriguez have ever failed a drug test or been directly implicated in any of cycling’s litany of doping scandals. That is an encouraging and notable departure both from the era of Lance Armstrong and many other Tour podiums before and since.

Froome’s clear physical superiority made him overwhelming favorite going into the Tour and carried him through it. His winning margin of more than 5 minutes was the largest since 1997, when Jan Ullrich - who has since admitted to doping - beat Richard Virenque - who also confessed to using performance-enhancers - by9 minutes and 9 seconds.

Armstrong had larger margins of victory than Froome but all seven of the Texan’s victories were stripped from him last year for serial doping. In the Tour’s official history book, his name has literally been crossed out.

As the first Tour champion since that shockwave, Froome rode through a barrage of doubt and skepticism, especially since his strength in the mountains and time trials reminded some observers of Armstrong and the way he and his team used to suffocate the race.

Froome’s three stage victories - in the Pyrenees, on Mont Ventoux in Provence and in a mountainous trial - were the most for a Tour winner since Armstrong got five in 2004, results now annulled.

Unlike some other riders who cut short questions about doping and bristled, Froome said he was happy to discuss the issue that has so poisoned his sport. He insisted he rode clean and said he, too, felt let down by his cheating predecessors.

Froome argued that his success demonstrates that cycling’s anti-doping system - now among the most rigorous, invasive and sustained of any sport - must be working, because otherwise he wouldn’t be able to win.

At 28, Froome is entering his peak years as a bike racer. His prowess on climbs and in time trials gives him the essential ingredients to win more Tours. At Sky, he’s backed by one of the best-funded, organized and smartest teams.

With few exceptions, including the absent Giro d’Italia winner Vincenzo Nibali and Wiggins, the cream of cycling’s grand tour riders raced in the 100th edition. That Froome beat them so handily suggests he’ll again be the overwhelming favorite in 2014 - in the 101st Tour that starts in Leeds, northern England.

Tour de France results

21st (Final) Stage . An 83-mile largely ceremonial ride from the Chateau of Versailles to the Champs-Elysees in Paris PL. NAME COUNTRY TEAM TIME 1. Marcel Kittel Germany Team Argos-Shimano 3:06:14 2. Andre Greipel Germany Lotto-Belisol same time 3. Mark Cavendish England Omega Pharma same time 4. Peter Sagan Slovakia Cannondale same time 5. Roberto Ferrari Italy Lampre-Merida same time 6. Alexander Kristoff Norway Katusha same time 7. Kevin Reza France Team Europcar same time 8. Yohann Gene France Team Europcar same time 9. Daniele Bennati Team Saxo-Tinkoff same time 10. Murilo Fischer Brazil Francaise des Jeux same time 11. Daryl Impey South Africa Orica GreenEdge same time 12. Matt Goss Australia Orica GreenEdge same time 13. Ruben Perez Spain Euskaltel-Euskadi same time 14. Lars Ytting Bak Denmark Lotto-Belisol same time 15. Juan Jose Lobato Spain Euskaltel-Euskadi same time 16. Koen de Kort Netherlands Team Argos-Shimano same time 17. Boy van Poppel Netherlands Vacansoleil-DCM same time 18. Samuel Dumoulin France AG2R La Mondiale same time 19. Jose Joaquin Rojas Spain Movistar same time 20. Egoitz Garcia Spain Cofidis same time Also 31. Roman Kreuziger Czech Republic Team Saxo-Tinkoff :10 back 35. Alberto Contador Spain Team Saxo-Tinkoff same time 39. Andrew Talansky United States Garmin-Sharp same time 48. Nairo Quintana Colombia Movistar same time 51. Joaquin Rodriguez Spain Katusha same time 72. Brent Bookwalter United States BMC Racing same time 106. Tom Danielson United States Garmin-Sharp :34 back 128. Chris Froome England Sky Procycling 80:53 back 149. Tejay Van Garderen United States BMC Racing 1:18 back FINAL OVERALL STANDINGS 1. Chris Froome England Sky Procycling 83:56:40 2. Nairo Quintana Colombia Movistar 4:20 back 3. Joaquin Rodriguez Spain Katusha 5:04 back 4. Alberto Contador Spain Team Saxo-Tinkoff 6:27 back 5. Roman Kreuziger Czech Republic Team Saxo-Tinkoff 7:27 back 6. Bauke Mollema Netherlands Belkin Pro Cycling 11:42 back 7. Jakob Fuglsang Denmark Astana 12:17 back 8. Alejandro Valverde Spain Movistar 15:26 back 9. Daniel Navarro Spain Cofidis 15:52. back 10. Andrew Talansky United States Garmin-Sharp 17:39 back 11. Michal Kwiatkowski Poland Omega Pharma 18:59 back 12. Mikel Nieve Spain Euskaltel-Euskadi 20:01 back 13. Laurens ten Dam Netherlands Belkin Pro Cycling 21:39 back 14. Maxime Monfort Belgium RadioShack Leopard 23:38 back 15. Romain Bardet France AG2R La Mondiale 26:42 back 16. Michael Rogers Australia Team Saxo-Tinkoff 26:51 back 17. Daniel Moreno Spain Katusha 32:34 back 18. Jan Bakelants Belgium RadioShack Leopard 35:51 back 19. Richie Porte Australia Sky Procycling 39:41 back 20. Andy Schleck Luxembourg RadioShack Leopard 41:46 back Also 45. Tejay Van Garderen United States BMC Racing 1:38:57 back 60. Tom Danielson United States Garmin-Sharp 2:05:28 back 91. Brent Bookwalter United States BMC Racing 2:45:05 back

Sports, Pages 13 on 07/22/2013