CHRIS FROOME kept the Tour de France title in British hands after the traditional victory procession for the leader through Paris brought the 100th edition of the race to a close.
Froome saw off his closest rivals for the maillot jaune - Colombian Nairo Quintana and Spaniard Joaquim Rodríguez - by 4:20" and 5:04" respectively.
Meanwhile, another Spanish contender, two-time winner Alberto Contador finished fourth in the general classification, 6:27" off the pace over the 21 stages.
This was as convincing a win as it was going to get for the Kenya-born cyclist who went mountain biking as a teenager in the rural highlands, north of the capital Nairobi.
And that early training would prove absolutely vital for the toughest Tour route in living memory, without doubt a more difficult route than Sir Bradley Wiggins faced last year.
Of course, that fact should in no way denigrate Wiggins' achievement of becoming the first British cyclist to win the Tour last year, before he went on to win gold at the London Olympics.
Rather, it is an accurate assessment of the difficulties which Froome faced in his efforts to ensure that the very British cliché about London buses rang true.
Britain had waited 98 years for a winner of the Le Tour; now there has been two in a row.
Starting on the island of Corsica for the first time in history, the race got off to an inauspicious start for Froome when he crashed in the neutral zone before the race started in Porto-Vecchio.
Thankfully, no serious damage was done - and, following Sky's third place in the team time trial in Nice on day four, Froome was already well-placed in seventh overall, with support from Australian team-mate Richie Porte.
On stage eight, the first in the Pyrenees, Froome launched his first major attack of the Tour on the climb to the summit finish at Ax 3 Domaines.
It worked. The offensive strategy was a significant early success, and a devastating blow to the confidence of his rivals, none of whom could match his pace.
But, just as quickly as Froome had built his advantage, it was almost lost as Team Sky riders dropped like flies early on the following day.
Froome was suddenly horribly exposed and 23-year-old Quintana, in particular, proved a menace by continuously attacking with his team Movistar.
However, Froome - entirely against the odds - chased Quintana down to hold on, and he ultimately extended his lead in the General Classification after his team-mate Porte's terrible day in the saddle.
It was a brilliant defensive ride by the leader, arguably more important than his stage win 24 hours earlier, and at least there was a rest day to recover immediately afterwards.
On the resumption, Froome's next big day came in stage 11 - an individual time-trial to Mont-Saint-Michel in which he excelled, finishing second behind German Tony Martin to extend his overall lead past three minutes.
But, on flat stage 13, that was cut by 69 seconds as crosswinds split the peloton, and Bauke Mollema and Contador gained vital time, with an ailing Team Sky unable to respond.
Nevertheless, there was still some British success to celebrate heading into Saint-Amand-Montrond as Mark Cavendish chalked up his 25th stage win since 2008.
Otherwise, though, the Manx Missile will not look back on the last three weeks with particular fondness.
Stage 13 would ultimately be his only win and, on stage 11, he had to contend with being booed while, disgustingly, he also had urine thrown at him by a spectator.
Back to Froome - and the pressure was now on, his lead having been cut as the riders lined up for a race-defining stage up Mont Ventoux on Bastille Day.
Froome was brilliant and attacked up the exposed peak, overtaking Quintana in the run-in to win the stage by 29 seconds and stretch his overall lead back over four minutes.
The ascent of Mont Ventoux achieved notoriety, 46 years earlier on 13 July 1967, when it claimed the life of Britain's first world road race champion Tommy Simpson.
Simpson died close to the summit after taking a cocktail of amphetamines and alcohol - and there is a permanent memorial near to where he perished.
Such was Froome's dominance that it was perhaps inevitable awkward questions would be asked. Could his success - and that of Team Sky, led by Team GB performance director Sir Dave Brailsford, actually be attributed to doping?
The response was unequivocal and understandably angry.
Following Mont Ventoux, Brailsford said: "We have a great performance and I jump for joy and 10 minutes later I guarantee I will be answering these allegations and questions about doping for the next few days.”
Meanwhile, Froome added: "I just think it's quite sad that we're sitting here the day after the biggest victory of my life, a historic win, talking about doping.
"My team-mates and I have been away from home for months training together and working our arses off to get here, and here I am accused of being a cheat and a liar."
But, if Froome had been angered by the ongoing insinuations, he would prove over the final few days that they had not shaken him.
On stage 17, an unusual mountain time trial, Froome took his third stage win of the Tour thanks to a combination of powerful riding and canny strategy.
Trailing his rival Contador throughout, an inspired swap to a time trial bike before the second of two category two climbs was probably the difference and he secured a nine-second win to put his overall advantage at 4:34".
For his rivals, Froome was still just about in reach, particularly as the centrepiece stage of the Tour was still to come.
The famous Alpe d'Huez would be climbed not once - but twice - to celebrate the 100th edition. It was, as one commentator described it, 42 hairpins of hell.
Froome, however, coped generally well - and, despite a 20-second penalty for taking on food in the final 5km of the stage, he still extended his lead by 37 seconds.
Some considered Froome's energy bar consumption as a rare sign of weakness but, in reality, it was probably another example of a shrewd tactical mind.
Without the extra energy, it was very possible that he would have lost more time than the penalty which was deducted from him. As it was, he was now in a formidable position with a lead of over five minutes.
Two more days in the Alps and, despite Quintana's win in stage 20, Froome's third-place finish meant that there was no significant bite into his advantage.
All he had to do tonight was remain upright on the cobbles of the Champs-Elysées, while sipping on champagne.
Mission accomplished. From Wiggins's super-domestique - and a second-placed finish - in 2012 to the maillot jaune champion of 2013.
As the French say themselves, "Chapeau! à M. Froome".
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION Maillot Jaune
| 1 | Chris FROOME (Gbr) | Team Sky | 83 hours 56 minutes 40 seconds |
| 2 | Nairo QUINTANA (Col) | Movistar | +4:20 |
| 3 | Joaquim RODRIGUEZ (Esp) | Katusha | +5:04 |
| 4 | Alberto CONTADOR (Esp) | Saxo-Tinkoff | +6:27 |
| 5 | Roman KRUEZIGER (Cze) | Saxo-Tinkoff | +7:27 |
STAGE-BY-STAGE Tour de France 2013
| (1) | 29 June | Porto-Vecchio - Bastia | 213km | Marcel Kittel (Ger) | Kittel |
| (2) | 30 June | Bastia - Ajaccio | 156km | Jan Bakelants (Bel) | Bakelants |
| (3) | 1 July | Ajaccio - Calvi | 146km | Simon Gerrans (Aus) | Bakelants |
| (4) | 2 July | Nice - Nice (team TT) | 25km | Orica-GreenEDGE | Gerrans |
| (5) | 3 July | Cagnes-sur-Mer - Marseille | 229km | Mark Cavendish (Gbr) | Gerrans |
| (6) | 4 July | Aix-en-Provence - Montpellier | 177km | Andre Greipel (Ger) | Impey |
| (7) | 5 July | Montpellier - Albi | 206km | Peter Sagan (Svk) | Impey |
| (8) | 6 July | Castres - Ax 3 Domaines | 195km | Chris Froome (Gbr) | Froome |
| (9) | 7 July | Saint Girons - Bagneres-de-Bigorre | 169km | Daniel Martin (Ire) | Froome |
| (10) | 9 July | Saint Gildas-des-Bois - Saint Malo | 197km | Marcel Kittel (Ger) | Froome |
| (11) | 10 July | Avranches - Mont Saint-Michel (TT) | 33km | Tony Martin (Ger) | Froome |
| (12) | 11 July | Fougeres - Tours | 218km | Marcel Kittel (Ger) | Froome |
| (13) | 12 July | Tours - Saint-Amand-Montrond | 173km | Mark Cavendish (Gbr) | Froome |
| (14) | 13 July | Saint-Pourcain-sur-Sioule - Lyon | 191km | Matteo Trentin (Ita) | Froome |
| (15) | 14 July | Givors - Mont Ventoux | 243km | Chris Froome (Gbr) | Froome |
| (16) | 16 July | Vaison-La-Romaine - Gap | 168km | Rui Costa (Por) | Froome |
| (17) | 17 July | Embrun - Chorges (TT) | 32km | Chris Froome (Gbr) | Froome |
| (18) | 18 July | Gap - Alpe d'Huez | 173km | Christophe Riblon (Fra) | Froome |
| (19) | 19 July | Le Bourg-d'Oisans - Le Grand-Bornand | 205km | Rui Costa (Por) | Froome |
| (20) | 20 July | Annecy - Mont Semnoz | 125km | Nairo Quintana (Col) | Froome |
| (21) | 21 July | Versailles - Paris | 134km | Marcel Kittel (Ger) | Froome |
JERSEY WEARERS The winners
| Yellow | General Classification | Chris FROOME (Gbr) |
| Green | Points Classification | Peter SAGAN (Svk) |
| Red polka dot | Mountains Classification | Nairo QUINTANA (Col) |
| White | Young Rider (under-26) Classification | Nairo QUINTANA (Col) |
| Black-on-yellow number | Team Classification | Team SAXO-TINKOFF (Den) |
| White-on-red number | Combativity Award | Christophe RIBLON (Fra) |
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