Nibali wins Tour de France, as Europeans reclaim ascendancy

France and Italy the big winners as British challenge evaporates after the promise of Yorkshire

Italy's Vincenzo Nibali during the final stage of the 2014 Tour de France
(Image credit: JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images)

British sports fans may not have noticed but the Tour de France finished on Sunday afternoon in Paris with Italy's Vincenzo Nibali safely negotiating the final stage on the Champs-Elysees. It was the first win for an Italian cyclist since the ill-fated Marco Pantani won the event in 1998, six years before his death in 2004.

Sicilian Nibali has been the dominant rider in the 101st edition of the Tour, claiming his first stage win on day two of the race when he triumphed on the 201 km stretch between York and Sheffield. That was the day on which Mark Cavendish announced his Tour was over after a bad fall on the opening stage from Leeds to Harrogate. A few days later, when Chris Froome, Britain's other high-profile rider – and defending champion – also retired, British interest in the Tour plummeted.

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Bill Mann is a football correspondent for The Week.co.uk, scouring the world's football press daily for the popular Transfer Talk column.