Vincenzo Nibali confirmed as Tour de France winner

Omnisports Pulse

July 27, 2014 3:56 AM

Vincenzo Nibali entered the pantheon of cycling greats as his Tour de France victory was confirmed at the end of Sunday's final stage.

Nibali's triumph was all but assured heading into the processional finale, a 137.5 kilometre ride from Evry to Paris, and he was allowed to savour the moment as he crossed the line at the Champs-Elysees.

Astana rider Nibali's success sees him become only the sixth rider in history - after Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Alberto Contador - to win all three Grand Tour races, following his successes at the Vuelta a Espana in 2010 and the Giro d'Italia in 2013.

The traditional sprint down the Champs-Elysees was won by Giant-Shimano's Marcel Kittel.

Kittel, who won the Tour's opening stage in Harrogate, earned his fourth victory of the race by pipping Katusha's Alexander Kristoff on the line.

But all the plaudits went to Nibali as he finished seven minutes and 37 seconds clear of France's Jean-Christophe Peraud in the general classification.

Nibali's margin of victory was the largest since 1997, which prior to Sunday was also the last time that a Frenchman made the podium.

There was plenty for the home nation to celebrate this time, with 37-year-old Ag2r La-Mondiale rider Peraud joined on the rostrum by FDJ's Thibaut Pinot as France's 17-year wait for a top-three finish came to an end.

Pinot also claimed the young rider jersey and appears likely to challenge for the main prize in years to come.

Despite finishing ninth in the final sprint, Peter Sagan of Cannondale took the green points jersey for the third successive year.

Tinkoff-Saxo's Rafal Majka was named King of the Mountains, Ag2r-La Mondiale won the Team classification and Cannondale's Alessandro De Marchi received the Super-Combative award for the most aggressive rider.

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