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Madrid - Spaniard Juan Jose Cobo, of the Geox team, claimed the first Grand Tour win of his career when he won the Tour of Spain on Sunday.
Cobo held a 13-sec overnight lead on Britain's Chris Froome and defended it during Sunday's 21st and final stage, a relatively flat 95.6 km ride from Circuito del Jarama to Madrid won by Slovakian Peter Sagan.
Kenyan-born Froome had become Cobo's main challenger in the last days of the three-week race after Sky team-mate Bradley Wiggins had dropped steadily out of contention in the final week.
However, despite his slim deficit to Cobo, Froome was unable to overturn it in the closing stages before going on to claim his best ever finish in a Grand Tour.
He finished second overall at 13secs with Britain's triple Olympic champion Wiggins in third overall at 1min 39sec.
It was by far the biggest win of 30-year-old Cobo's career, which has been spent as a loyal 'domestique' in the mountains for bigger-name team-mates.
Up until Sunday's win the Spaniard's best result at the 'Vuelta' was a 10th place finish in 2009, when he won the race's 19th stage.
He took over the race leader's red jersey from Wiggins on stage 15 when an epic climb to the Angliru mountain pass - one of the most notoriously difficult in cycling - left the Englishman weaving all over the road in the final kms.
Liquigas sprinter Sagan meanwhile dominated a quality field to finish the race in style, holding off Italian pair Daniele Bennati of Leopard and Lampre veteran Alessandro Petacchi.
It was Liquigas rider Sagan's third stage win of the race, and helps make amends for team-mate Vicenzo Nibali failing to defend his crown from last year.
Nibali began the race in solid fashion but struggled to keep pace with the likes of Wiggins, Froome and Cobo in the most difficult stages of the final week and finally finished seventh at over four minutes behind.
Frenchman David Moncoutie meanwhile gave his Cofidis team a huge boost by winning the race's King of the Mountains jersey - white with blue polka dots - for the fourth year in a row.
Dutchman Bauke Mollema of Rabobank will head home with the green jersey for the sprinters' points competition, and an impressive fourth place finish.
Results Sunday from the 21st and final stage of the 66th Spanish Vuelta, a 95.6km ride from the Circuito del Jarama race track to Madrid:
1. Peter Sagan (SVK/LIQ) 2h20min 59sec
2. Daniele Bennati (ITA/LEO) at 0:00.
3. Alessandro Petacchi (ITA/LAM) 0:00.
4. John Degenkolb (GER/HTC) 0:00.
5. Nikolas Maes (BEL/QST) 0:00.
6. Pim Ligthart (NED/VAC) 0:00.
7. Chris Sutton (AUS/SKY) 0:00.
8. Koen de Kort (NED/SKS) 0:00.
9. Bauke Mollema (NED/RAB) 0:00.
10. Vicente Reynes (ESP/OLO) 0:00.
11. Daniel Moreno (ESP/KAT) 0:00.
12. Bradley Wiggins (GBR/SKY) 0:00.
13. Enrico Gasparotto (ITA/AST) 0:00.
14. Luca Paolini (ITA/KAT) 0:00.
15. Juan Jos Haedo (ARG/SAX) 0:00.
16. David De la Fuente (ESP/GEO) 0:00.
17. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA/LIQ) 0:00.
18. Serguey Lagutin (UZB/VAC) 0:00.
19. Chris Froome (GBR/SKY) 0:00.
20. Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (ESP/GEO) 0:00.
Overall Standings: (After 21 of 21 stages)
1. Juan Jose Cobo, Spain, Geox, 84 hours, 59 minutes, 31 seconds.
2. Christopher Froome, Britain, Sky, 13 seconds behind.
3. Bradley Wiggins, Britain, Sky, 1:39.
4. Bauke Mollema, Netherlands, Rabobank, 2:03.
5. Denis Menchov, Russia, Geox, 3:48.
6. Maxime Monfort, Belgium, Leopard Trek, 4:13.
7. Vicenzo Nibali, Italy, Liquigas-Cannondale, 4:31.
8. Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Belgium, Omega Pharma Lotto, 4:45.
9. Daniel Moreno, Spain, Katusha, 5:20.
10. Mikel Nieve, Spain, Euskaltel-Euskadi, 5:33.
