Tour de France: Chris Froome praised by British Cycling president Brian Cookson

Chris Froome: Briton celebrates his Tour de France success

Froome safely negotiated the final stage to win by a margin of four minutes 20 seconds from Colombia's Nairo Quintana and follow up Sir Bradley Wiggins' success for Britain last year.

"Chris Froome's victory in the biggest bike race in the world rounds off what has been a truly glorious year in the history of cycling in this country," Cookson said.

"Sir Bradley Wiggins started the ball rolling last year, followed by a wonderful London 2012. Their achievements have been matched by a growth in our membership of over 50% in the last 12 months.

'Commitment and talent'

"Chris's performance is testament to both his commitment and talent and of all the people who have contributed to his success.

"And he is not the only success of this year's Tour. Mark Cavendish, Geraint Thomas, Peter Kennaugh and Ian Stannard have all excelled and they are all products of British Cycling talent programmes."

Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said: "Congratulations to Chris Froome, Dave Brailsford and all at Team Sky for Froome's fantastic Tour De France win.

"He rode superbly for three weeks and no doubt will have inspired even more people to participate in cycling."

Britain's six-time Olympic champion Chris Hoy added: "It is a huge achievement and I almost feel sorry for Chris because people are almost getting blase about it.

"People think it is another British winner so that is what we should expect - but if you take a step back and get some perspective, you can see what a monumental achievement it is for him to have done this.

"For Britain to have two riders winning the Tour de France back-to-back is fantastic for British cycling.

"Just a few years ago we did not have anyone who could podium but now we have two cyclists who can win the Tour in consecutive years, it is a phenomenal achievement and what Chris has done is phenomenal."