Contador clinches 2nd Giro title, Keisse wins final stage
One down, one to go.
Alberto Contador clinched his second Giro d'Italia title yesterday, 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 had a pink bicycle - the colour of the winner’s jersey — for the final stage while his TinkoffSaxo teammates had pink handlebars on their bicycles and all were wearing pink socks.
Aru finished second overall, with Astana teammate Mikel Landa third, 3:05 behind Contador, who took a total of 88 hours, 22 minutes, 7 seconds to cycle the 3,486 kilometres (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.
Iljo Keisse sprinted to victory at the end of the flat 178-kilometre (110.6mile) 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 kilometres (18.6 miles) remaining.
Roger Kluge led the peloton across, nine seconds behind, although several riders trickled through later on after suffering punctures in the seven laps of the finishing circuit around Milan city centre.