Madrid - Italian Vincenzo Nibali, of Liquigas, claimed overall victory in the Tour of Spain on Sunday after a 21st and final stage won by American sprinter Tyler Farrar.
Nibali, a 25-year-old all-rounder from Sicily, becomes the first Italian since Marco Giovannetti in 1990 to win the three-week race.
He succeeds Spaniard Alejandro Valverde as race champion.
The Italian finished with a 41-sec lead on Ezequiel Mosquera after managing to counter a series of attacks by the Spaniard, notably on the mountainous penultimate stage on Saturday.
Mosquera took the stage victory on Saturday and eventually finished in second place overall, with Slovakian Peter Velits finishing third having hoisted himself up the standings with victory in the final time trial.
Stage Results
1. Tyler Farrar (U.S. / Garmin) 2hrs 2mins 24secs"
2. Mark
Cavendish (Britain / HTC - Columbia) ST
3. Allan Davis
(Australia / Astana)
4. Wouter Weylandt (Belgium / Quick-Step)
5. Matthew Goss (Australia / HTC - Columbia)
6. Grega Bole
(Slovenia / Lampre)
7. Manuel Cardoso (Portugal / Footon)
8.
Samuel Dumoulin (France / Cofidis)
9. Juan Jose Haedo (Argentina /
Saxo Bank)
10. Danilo Hondo (Germany / Lampre)
Overall Standings
1. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy /
Liquigas) 87hrs 18mins 33secs"
2. Ezequiel Mosquera (Spain /
Xacobeo) +41"
3. Peter Velits (Slovakia / HTC - Columbia)
+3:02"
4. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spain / Katusha) +4:20"
5. Fraenk Schleck (Luxembourg / Saxo Bank) +4:43"
6.
Xavier Tondo (Spain / Cervelo) +4:52"
7. Nicolas
Roche (Ireland / AG2R) +5:03"
8. Carlos Sastre
(Spain / Cervelo) +6:08"
9. Tom Danielson (U.S. /
Garmin) +6:16"
10. Luis Leon Sanchez (Spain / Caisse
d'Epargne) +7:42"