Remco Evenepoel safely came through the final stage in Madrid to seal overall victory in the Vuelta a Espana.
The 22-year-old Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider became the first Belgian to win a Grand Tour in 44 years.
Colombia’s Juan Sebastian Molano won a thrilling sprint finish in the 21st and final stage - a ceremonial 97km run into the Spanish capital.
Tao Geoghegan Hart was the best-placed Briton in the general classification (GC), finishing 19th.
Fellow Briton Simon Yates, one of 49 withdrawals during the three-week race, had been running fifth in the GC standings when he was forced to pull out after stage 10 following a positive test for Covid-19.
Evenepoel finished two minutes five seconds ahead of Spain’s Enric Mas, who moved up into second place in the overall standings after Slovenia’s defending champion Primoz Roglic withdrew following a crash at the end of stage 16.
Roglic, 32, was second at the time of his withdrawal, only one minute and 26 seconds behind, and was pushing for a fourth consecutive title. BBC
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