Being burned at the stake is a pretty extreme form of winning. (And of course the preveding victories were victories against a seemimngly stronger foe. In fact they were literally regarded as miraculous by the French, and as witchcraft by the English.)

I'm not disputing that winning can make you popular, even when you are on the stronger side. But it doesn't seem to translate into hero status so far a songs or legends go. Jack the Giant Killer is the hero, not Giant the Jack Killer.