BRADLEY WIGGINS became the first Briton to win the yellow jersey in the illustrious 109-year history of the Tour de France today.
The 30-year-old finished three minutes and 21 seconds clear of Team Sky team-mate and compatriot Chris Froome as British cycling ended a drought of more than a century by finishing with a 1-2.
It was not at all clear exactly how the host press and public would react to a British winner, considering the race is steeped in French history.
But, sad as it is for the passionate Parisians, Le Tour has not 'belonged' to France for some years now: in fact, the last home winner was Bernard Hinault in 1985.
Back then, Hinault was winning his fifth Tour and, at that point, the ninth French win in 11 years - but Le Tour is now very much an event of international status and, in fairness, the French press and public treat it as such.
Consequently, Wiggins has been affectionately cast in sports daily L'Equipe as some sort of eccentric Englishman and dubbed "Colonel Wiggo". He has also been appreciated for his rather quaint gentlemanly conduct.
That was in evidence on the Champs-Élysées today when he crafted an almost perfect set-up for another Sky team-mate, the "Manx Missile" Mark Cavendish.
Cavendish duly delivered a fourth successive win on the most famous rue in Paris for his 23rd stage win in the race overall.
But it was not only team-mates for which Wiggins has had a sense of fair play. On stage 14, his main rival Cadel Evans suffered a puncture after carpet tacks had been left on the tarmac in either an act of sabotage or rank stupidity.
Wiggins requested that the peleton held back and allowed defending champion Evans and the other affected riders to catch up so that they suffered no disadvantage for their misfortune. It seemed important to Wiggins that this was a fair win.
For, although his team Sky is funded by a multi-million pound operation, having a rich team is all, of course, in the rules.
Unfortunately, part of Le Tour has been overshadowed once again by the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Frank Schleck, of the RadioShack-Nissan team, was the highest-profile casualty of the testers this year.
However, Wiggins is on record as stating that dabbling in such methods was not worth his while - and, even in this cynical modern age, it seems churlish to doubt him.
Instead, a year off the booze has made the Londoner fitter than ever and reach the potential which his contemporaries agree had always been there.
Wiggins, a triple Olympic gold medallist no less, has today reached what he would surely consider to be his pinnacle.
This has of course been a gruelling victory - just as any Tour de France victory is - but, actually, the whole race in the last 21 days has gone about as smoothly as it could.
It actually started quietly in Belgium as Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara won the prologue stage, a time trial around Liege.
Wiggins, though, was handily placed in second, just seven seconds down, and importantly ahead of his main rival Australian Cadel Evans.
That position was maintained throughout the opening week as Le Tour ambled around flat ground in the north east of France.
But, as the race headed into Alps, it was inevitable that Wiggins would eventually take the lead in the general classification - and he duly made his move on stage seven.
Cadel, too, had a good first day in the mountains - and the BMC Racing Team rider slotted in just behind Wiggins, only 10 seconds down.
As such, another move was required but he again rose to the occasion in the second individual time trial which took the field from Arc-de-Senans to Besancon.
Wiggins won stage nine for his first ever Tour stage victory. More importantly, his time of 51'24'' meant he went 1'53'' ahead of Aussie Evans.
Froome also made a move in the time trial, ending the day in third place, only 2'07'' down on Wiggins. A rest day followed before an uneventful day on stage 10.
Then, on stage 11, which was still in the Alps, Wiggins and Froome effectively killed off Evans's challenge, with around half the race left.
Evans had actually tried to attack on the Col de la Croix de Fer, just over mid-point of the stage, but Team Sky reeled him back in.
Wiggins and Froome then took advantage of an exhausted Evans who ultimately ended the day 3'19" down on the leader.
Froome, who moved into second, briefly challenged Wiggins, before being advised on his team radio to back down. It was a testament to Team Sky's togetherness that Froome was happy to oblige.
Any thoughts that Wiggins did not deserve this crown, however, were soon dispelled by his performance in the final individual time trial on stage 19.
Already with a lead of 2'05" over Froome, and almost 10 minutes over sixth-placed Evans, Wiggins confirmed his status as the world's best time-trialist by taking his second stage of the year in 1hr 04'13".
The victory increased his lead over Froome to 3'21". Evans, almost 16 minutes behind, was no longer a threat.
In fact, no one was. All that was left for Wiggins was to enjoy his procession into Paris, sip the champagne, and receive the adulation from all quarters.
The congratulations included The Jam front-man Paul Weller who referred to Wiggins' "amazing achievement".
Weller's comments will have meant a lot to Wiggins, who is a well-known fan of the Mod culture... as his haircut and three-inch sideburns testify.
That may be quite a throw-back, but Wiggins' Tour de France win will now be forever marked in history. Britannia finally rules les rues!
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