It seems, if you're British right now, you can't really do anything wrong right now when it comes to sport - apart from the golf.
Chris Froome's Tour de France victory was formally confirmed on the Avenue des Champs-Elysses this morning New Zealand time - his third place behind Nairo Quintana and Joaquim Rodriguez in the mountains overlooking Annency on Saturday effectively confirmed him as the winner of the Tour de France prior to the traditional finish around Paris on Sunday night given that the race around Paris' lovely streets is traditionally contested by the sprinters well down the field by this time.
It's a shame Lee Westwood and Mark Cavendish couldn't quite add the icing to what would have been a pretty tasty cake for Brits anyway - Westwood missing out on the British Open to the greatest round of golf played on any final day by Phil Mickleson and Mark Cavendish beaten on the line in Paris by Marcel Kittel, who has by far been the best finisher in this year's Tour de France.
But none of that will shadow what has been a glorious day for British sport. And in my opinion, it is good that British sport excels and shows the world that champions can be made without having to cheat.
 |
| Chris Froome has stood out in this year's Tour de France |
Chris Froome's victory hopefully underlines the case that cyclists do not need to take drugs to win the Tour de France - the reputable French newspaper, L'Equipe recently cleared Chris Froome as a doper n a recent article with substantial scientific evidence and crediting his - and newcomer Nairo Quintana's - superiority this year to Froome's upbringing where he spent hours and hours riding up the hills and high altitude of Kenya (Quintana likewise in Colombia).
Froome, like Bolt, appears to be a freak of nature and his superiority was evident even when his team wasn't quite there on the day. It's a shame that Team Sky didn't let Froome race Wiggins last year - otherwise we would have been looking at both Britain's first ever Tour de France winner and a double Tour de France winner too; not that we should take anything away from Sir Bradley Wiggins' historic achievement in 2012 which was superb in itself.
As for the cricketers, well, they're not entirely angelic with Stuart Broad's failure to walk in the last test still rankling deep with the Aussies. Mind you, people often overlook that the Aussies themselves on this tour have been far too panicky and emotional with the referral systems and that has come to haunt them in this test.
Unlike cycling, the cricketers are bound heavily by what the umpires do but it is often down to what the players do and perhaps it is not surprising that the team that is 2-0 up in the series is one that has made the right decisions and stamped their authority on the opposition at the right time.
Surprisingly, that team is England for once, with the Aussies looking an absolute rabble and quite possibly the worst Aussie side to tour England in a long time. That title will surely be confirmed should the English retain the Ashes by winning/drawing the 3rd test at Old Trafford next month.
In the meantime, Brits all over the world will be basking in their continued run of sporting glory particularly over their great foes from Down Under.
