Italy's Nibali Wins Tour de France

29-year-old is self-designated 'flag-bearer of anti-doping'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 27, 2014 12:36 PM CDT
Italy's Nibali Wins Tour de France
Italy's Vincenzo Nibali, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and France's Thibaut Pinot, wearing the best young rider's white jersey, wait for the start of the twenty-first and last stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 137.5 kilometers (85.4 miles) with start in Evry and finish in...   (Laurent Cipriani)

Italy's Vincenzo Nibali has won the Tour de France, becoming the first Italian to win cycling's greatest race in 16 years by chiseling a lead over his main rivals a few seconds at a time and dominating them in the mountains. The 29-year-old Sicilian, who called himself "a flag-bearer of anti-doping" during the race, finished in the main pack behind Marcel Kittel, who won today's Stage 21 in a sprint finish. Nibali's victory comes after the pre-race favorites—2013 champion Chris Froome and two-time winner Alberto Contador—crashed out with injuries in the first half of the race. Nibali is only the sixth rider to win all three Grand Tours—France, Italy, and Spain—and is the first Italian to win the Tour de France since Marco Pantani in 1998. (More Vincenzo Nibali stories.)

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