“The entire stage was really emotional,” Nibali told reporters post-race. “When I saw all the fans ready to welcome me at the end, it was something that was indescribable. I looked at everyone because it was a moment I didn’t want to forget. These are great moments that I want to share with my family who left home last night in order to meet up with me.”
“There were days where things didn’t go well,” he admits. “It’s easy to judge things from behind a desk. I didn’t want to let people know that I was ill because I didn’t want to help my opponents, but now I will focus on getting my energy back.”
Results (brief)
1. Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 3:48:18
2. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step
3. Sacha Modolo (Ita) Lampre – Merida
4. Alexander Porsev (Rus) Team Katusha
5. Sean De Bie (Bel) Lotto Soudal
6. Ivan Savitskiy (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
7. Rick Zabel (Ger) BMC Racing Team
8. Eduard Michael Grosu (Rom) Nippo – Vini Fantini
9. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Tinkoff Team
10. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
99. Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale
123. Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge 36:31
Final GC
1. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 86:32:49
2. Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-GreenEdge 0:52
3. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar Team 1:17
4. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 1:50
5. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff Team 4:37
6. Bob Jungels (Lux) Etixx – Quick-Step 8:31
7. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:11:47
8. Andrey Amador (Crc) Movistar Team 0:13:21
9. Darwin Atapuma (Col) BMC Racing Team 0:14:09
10. Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Dimension Data 0:16:20
72. Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale 3:20:38
146. Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge 4:43:04