Alberto Contador clinched his second Giro d'Italia title Sunday, remaining on course to become the first cyclist since 1998 to win the Italian classic and the Tour de France in the same year.
The Spaniard had all but secured the win after Saturday's 20th stage when he saw his lead cut in half but nevertheless headed into the final day — a mainly processional stage — with more than a two-minute advantage on closest rival Fabio Aru. Contador ended up winning by 1 minute, 53 seconds.
Contador has had to dig deep during a troublesome three weeks in Italy, after dislocating his shoulder in an early crash, and is likely to face stiffer competition in the Tour.
"I overcame so many difficulties, but at the end I got the maglia rosa (pink jersey)," Contador said. "I don't know how long it will take to recover but I think I'll get back to work on Saturday. It was an emotional Giro. I already said it would be my last but you never know."
Contador had a pink bicycle — the color of the winner's jersey — for the final stage while his Tinkoff-Saxo teammates had pink handlebars on their bicycles and all were wearing pink socks.
Team owner Oleg Tinkov had also dyed his hair pink to celebrate the occasion.
Aru finished second overall, with Astana teammate Mikel Landa third, 3:05 behind Contador, who took a total of 88 hours, 22 minutes, 25 seconds to cycle the 3,486 kilometers (2,166 miles) of the three-week race.
A two-time Tour champion, Contador won the Giro in 2008 and was also triumphant in Milan in 2011 but was stripped of that title for testing positive in the 2010 Tour.
The 32-year-old had already confirmed this would be his last Giro.
Iljo Keisse sprinted to victory at the end of the flat 178-kilometer (110.6-mile) leg from Turin to Milan, edging out Luke Durbridge, who gave his break companion a congratulatory hug as they crossed the line.
The two had escaped with about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) remaining, and had held off the main peloton — including the sprint favorites — thanks in part to a spate of punctures in the final two of the seven laps of the finishing circuit around Milan city center.
Roger Kluge led the peloton across, nine seconds behind. — AP
