Froome cruises to third Tour de France

German rider Andre Greipel won the last-gasp sprint finish on Sunday in Paris, claiming his first stage win of this year's Tour.

"Today we had a great plan," to manufacture a good chance in the final sprint, Greipel told ARD television, adding that previous such efforts had not worked out. "This one worked brilliantly. The win really is thanks to the team."

Fourteen different riders have been first to cross the line during the 2016 race.

Chris Froome claimed his third outright Tour de France victory, also defending last year's title.

The last day of the Tour de France is always a sociable, relaxed affair. The peloton laps a circuit around Paris and the Arc de Triomphe at a gentle pace, with a kind of non-agreession pact in force; there are no breakaway groups, and until the final lap, no sprints either.

Beer and bubbly after a long Tour

Froome, 31, did endulge in the traditional means of celebration, a neat champagne flute shared with Team Sky boss Dave Brailsford riding alongside in the team support car.

Earlier in the stage, however, the Team Sky riders had seemed to favor beer - and Belgian Leffe beer, at that - for their in-saddle refreshments. Kenyan-born British rider Froome, the beneficiary of his teammates' hard work for much of the Tour, was able to somewhat return the favors, serving as waiter for his buddies by collecting several bottles at once to share out. He even found the time to take a selfie for fans online.

Tony Martin was forced to retire from the race on the final stage with a knee injury. "I already had pains yesterday, but somehow I'd reached the finish," he told German public TV channel ARD, saying he'd wanted to complete the event but realized early in the stage that he had no chance. "It's hugely annoying, but to ride on despite the knee injury makes absolutely no sense."

Other jersey winners, besides the yellow

Froome retains the yellow jersey for completing the 21 stages and 3,535 kilometers (2,196 miles) in the fastest overall time. Romain Bardet was second in the standings, 2 minutes and 52 seconds adrift. Nairo Quintana rounded out the podium, just a few seconds further back.

Slovak rider Peter Sagan took the Green Jersey as the winner of the overall points competition, reward for his consistent finishes high in the order in several stages, inlcuding three outright stage wins. Sagan has dominated this discipline for the last five Tours without exception.

The title of "King of the Mountains" and its accompanying Polka-Dot Jersey went to Polish rider Rafal Majka of UCI ProTeam Tinkoff.

Meanwhile, the White Jersey - awarded to the Tour's most impressive young (under-26) rider - went to British rider Adam Yates of Orica-BikeExchange. The 23-year-old just missed out on a place on the overall podium, finishing fourth in the overall classifications.

Next year's Tour, the 104th, begins on July 1, 2017 - with the opening stage starting in the western German city of Düsseldorf.