Thousands of fans lined the streets of Paris on Sunday to see Geraint Thomas become the first Welshman to take home cycling’s biggest prize, the Tour de France. Clad in the winner’s yellow jersey Thomas crossed the finish line smiling, arm in arm with his teammate Chris Froome.

Two weeks ago the French football team had ridden along this same route in an open-topped bus to share their World Cup win with jubilant fans. But on Sunday, the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde played backdrop to Team Sky’s victory parade. For the fourth year running the Tour de France was coming home to Britain.

Thomas had sealed the deal on Saturday in the Basque country, with a third-place finish during time trials to maintain his overall lead. Back home in Wales, castles around the country lit up yellow to celebrate.

In Paris, all he had to do was cross the finish line, thanks to the unwritten rule that says race leaders cannot be challenged during the final stage.

Froome, who ended up finishing third, had started the tour as Team Sky’s leader, but ceded his position to Thomas in the Pyrenees when it became clear that the four-time champion could not make it a fifth this time. They stood side-by-side on the winners’ podium, Thomas wrapped in a Welsh flag, along with second placed Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands.

Ceri Davies, 49, flew in from Cardiff on Sunday morning to see Wales’s new champion don the yellow jersey for the final time.

“Because it’s Geraint and he’s a Welshman and he’s done the nation proud, I had to come out,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to come to see the Tour de France, and if you’re going to do it: Champs Élysées, Welshman in the lead, what more could you want?”

Thomas amid the peloton, riding toward the Arc de Triomphe. Photograph: Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty

Cheerful and relaxed, spectators enjoyed the overcast, blustery weather, a relief after the crippling heatwave that had gripped Paris during the week. It was a festival atmosphere along France’s most famous shopping strip as cycling fans, tourists and shoppers mingled in the streets, cheering on as the riders lapped the boulevard again and again.

There were as many Colombia flags draped over the barriers as there were union jacks and Welsh dragons, with fans from the cycling-loving nation turning out for Team Movistar’s Nairo Quintana, who finished 10th overall.

It was a happy end to what has been a fractious competition, during which the Team Sky bus was egged and Froome had unidentified liquid thrown at him by a spectator. Team Sky cyclists have been booed and spat at by crowds around the country, behaviour that the coach David Brailsford found himself in hot water for describing being part of French culture. Earlier in the week, riders were accidentally sprayed with tear gas by police, who were trying to stop protesting farmers disrupting the race.

But all that was forgotten as the peloton rounded the Tuileries gardens and sped on to the most famous boulevard in cycling for the final stretch of the 2,000-mile odyssey undertaken over the past three weeks. It was all cheers for the 145 riders who made it through the most gruelling race in the world. And there was nothing but praise for Thomas among fans.

Julien Doremus, 35, decked out in a French football top and a curly tricolore wig, said he was happy for Thomas. “He’s very strong,” he said. “He’s a soldier.” Doremus did not agree with those who booed Team Sky in the earlier stages of the race.

“That’s the spectators – they listen to the media and after that they can form their own opinions, but it’s not everyone who thinks that way. It’s only a small number of people who do things like that and criticise [Team] Sky. The majority of people are for the sport.”

Guillame Chaussivert, 20, and Tanguy Matter, 20, were there together at the final stage having followed the tour around the country for the past three weeks. They have watched Thomas’s performance up close. “He’s had a good tour, he’s in great form,” Chaussivert said.

There was less enthusiasm for Froome and Team Sky. “He’s not our favourite rider,” Matter said. “With all the doubts and problems …” Froome was cleared for an adverse finding relating to the medication salbutamol in last year’s Vuelta a España just days before the tour began, which seems to have affected Team Sky’s reception in France.

“They were whistled at a lot on the route, the French public don’t like them too much,” Chaussivert said. But the group of friends did not join in. “We remain respectful.”

The only sad note among French fans was the absence of a local rider in the top three. It’s been 33 years since a French cyclist won the tour, and the dream of a local victory seems to be getting further away.

But this year, at least, they have the ultimate consolation. Matter shrugged when asked if he was disappointed. “Yes,” he said. “But we have the World Cup.”