BRESCIA, Italy: Italian Vincenzo Nibali secured his maiden Giro d’Italia title yesterday as Britain’s Mark Cavendish took his fifth stage win on the 21st and final leg into Brescia.
Nibali, of the Astana team, finished the weather-hit 96th edition with a 4min 43sec lead on Colombian Rigoberto Uran of Team Sky with Australian Cadel Evans of BMC finishing third at 5:52.
After negotiating the final stage successfully, an emotional Nibali said: “I’ve achieved one of my lifetime dreams. I can’t believe it. It’s unbelievable.”
It was Nibali’s first victory on the three-week Italian race, in which he finished third in 2010 and runner-up in 2011. Last year, he finished third overall on the Tour de France, won by Britain’s Bradley Wiggins.
Nibali succeeds Canadian Ryder Hesjedal as winner of the race’s ‘maglia rosa’ (pink jersey) after the Garmin rider, followed by an ailing Wiggins, dropped out before the final week due to illness.
The 28-year-old Nibali is the first Sicilian to win the race and is the first Italian winner since Michele Scarponi, who was handed the 2011 title following Spaniard Alberto Contador’s disqualification for doping offences.
Nibali took possession of the pink jersey after the stage eight time trial won by Britain’s Alex Dowsett and despite a strong challenge from Evans he took a massive step towards overall victory with his victory in Thursday’s 18th stage, a 20.6 km uphill time trial.
It took his lead over Evans, the 2011 Tour de France champion, to over four minutes.
After the first of two consecutive days in the Dolomites mountains was cancelled on Friday due to snow and sub-zero temperatures at high altitude, Nibali capped his campaign with a second stage win of this year’s race atop the Tre Cime di Lavaredo climb on Saturday, when Evans dropped to third.
Cavendish, meanwhile, finished a triumphant campaign in style by dominating a hectic sprint for the finish on a tight circuit to take his victory tally on the race to 15. AFP
