The British have been a long time coming to the Tour de France, but now they have very much arrived. Six stage wins, fourth place in the race for the yellow jersey and a huge contribution to the rehabilitation of an event that has struggled to shed its tarnished image - all achieved with only four riders among the 180 on the start line three weeks ago.

Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish departed Monaco as the ill-fated pairing from the Beijing Olympics, but arrived on the Champs Élysées yesterday as the standard-bearers of a new generation of confident Britons who are leading the way in European road racing through attitude and ability.

Wiggins's fourth place overall equals the best British performance, by Robert Millar in 1984. Cavendish's six stage wins after yesterday's masterclass make him the most successful Briton in the Tour.

Add to that David Millar's key supporting role to Wiggins and his lone breakaway on the road to Barcelona, and there has hardly been a day in this Tour on which British riders have not enjoyed the limelight.

Next July, Wiggins will be among the Tour favourites, but he will not be reliant on the length of the time-trials to make his mark. Over the past three weeks, brimming with self-belief, he has proved himself on all terrains, including the fearsome Mont Ventoux on Saturday.

The historical resonance of equalling the Tour's best British performance on the slopes of the mountain that claimed the life of Tommy Simpson in 1967 was not lost on Wiggins. His Garmin-Slipstream team bus has a photograph of Simpson, Britain's last contender for Tour victory, fixed to the side and he rode up the Ventoux with a second image of Simpson taped to his bike frame.

The British incursion has stunned many, but it would be wrong to think of this - particularly in Wiggins's case - as an overnight success. Its roots lie at Manchester Velodrome, where Team GB's collective focus on excellence has enabled Wiggins and Cavendish to flourish, first on the track and now, at the highest level, on the road.

Wiggins, who finished 123rd on the Tour in 2006, has astounded many and Bjarne Riis, the manager of Carlos Sastre, the 2008 champion, described the Londoner as “the surprise of the Tour”. Riis said: “If he can ride on the track as fast as he can, then obviously he has talent. Everybody can see that he's lost a lot of weight and if you lose that amount of weight but maintain the power, then it's pretty obvious that you can ride a lot faster on the climbs.”

Matt White, director of the Garmin-Slipstream team, said: “It is not a fluke and I expect to see this level of performance again. He's the best endurance track cyclist of the last ten years.

“In the past, he effectively used to ride two seasons in one year: one on the road and one on the track. It used to be his main goal to be world champion in March, but now it's about peaking in July.”

Dave Brailsford, the performance director of Team GB and mentor to Wiggins and Cavendish, agreed. “It's been a phenomenal achievement,” he said.

“The roots of this success lie in the performance plan we created, through which both Mark and Bradley have progressed. There are plenty of young talents coming behind them, so I think that this is just the start.”

Next year, when according to sources within the Tour organisation Brailsford's Team Sky seem assured of a place in the peloton, may be even better. Wiggins, Cavendish and others will lead the way in what should have become a genuine revolution.

Refreshingly, in a sport in which skeletons remain tucked firmly in closets, the British riders have the good grace - unlike some others - to address the difficult history that has blighted their sport. On Saturday, as they passed the Simpson memorial on the slopes of the Ventoux, they poignantly acknowledged their predecessor's fate.

As Wiggins, engrossed in the battle for a podium placing, rode to the summit, Cavendish doffed his helmet as a mark of respect, while David Millar slowed and tossed a racing cap towards the roadside memorial, with the dedication: “To Tommy: RIP.”