Nibali wins 2016 Giro d'Italia

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Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) wrapped up his second Giro d'Italia victory on a final stage that culminated in controversy as Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) was retrospectively relegated for an improper sprint, leaving Nikias Arndt (Giant-Alpecin) with the stage win.

Nizzolo, who has finished second no fewer than nine times at the Giro – and third a further four times – thought he had finally secured a maiden stage win, and duly celebrated wildly as he crossed the line in Turin. However, half an hour later, after a lengthy review of the footage, race commissaires ruled that he had deviated from his line in veering left and forcing out compatriot Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida).

Nizzolo showed the fastest finishing speed after a disorganised finale in a sodden Turin, but the win went to Arndt, who had emerged as the best of the rest to Nizzolo's right. Matteo Trentin (Etixx-QuickStep) was bumped up to second, and Modolo third.

"It's a good feeling to get the stage win," said Arndt of his first Grand Tour victory. "It was a hard race today and I think the team worked really hard for me. It was difficult to stay the whole day in position. In the end, it was a nice race with a good finish. I got a nice extra victory.

"It was a difficult decision," said the German of Nizzolo's disqualification. "It was a hard sprint with two hectic corners beforehand. Everyone was very nervous and pushing each other. In the end, it was a decision of the jury about whether it was safe or not. For me it was a hard race."

Nizzolo did win the points classification for a second straight year but that was scant consolation and he wore a face of stone as he went onto the podium to collect his red jersey.

"Karma is against me; I don't know what I have done wrong to have this," he said after a golden opportunity had passed him by on stage 17, and the sense of frustration will have only now intensified.

"In our hearts we know who was the fastest in stage 21 of the 2016 Giro," read a pointed reaction on Twitter from the Trek-Segafredo team.

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GC times neutralised

It was never a real possibility that Vincenzo Nibali would lose his race lead on the largely processional final stage, but the Italian could relax more than usual as the GC race was neutralised due to the wet conditions in Turin.

By the time the peloton rolled in for the first of eight local laps, the heavens had opened and the road surfaces were wet, causing race officials to take GC times on the first crossing of the line.

That meant Nibali didn't even need to finish in the bunch to secure his fourth Grand Tour victory; he just needed to complete the stage and he did so after joining arms with a couple of his teammates on the home straight.

He had done the same with every member of his team in the celebratory early phases of the 163km stage from Cuneo to Turin. He was even riding a outlandish glossy pink bike as he revelled in the occasion at the end of what had been a highly pressurised Giro for the home favourite.

"It's been an extremely difficult Giro but there is great joy now," said the Italian, who looked down and out after 18 stages but roared back with a remarkable comeback for the ages.

"The hardest day was the time trial [stage 15], it didn't go as I wanted, the feelings weren't great, I wasn't going well, I had a few stomach problems, then had a bit of a down moment, But in the last week I started to feel better and now I'm at the top of the GC. To be here today with all my family is amazing – it's hard to express everything that I'm feeling."

A chaotic finale

The wet weather, which accompanied the riders all the way from Cuneo, did leave its mark on the race, with three riders forced to abandon as a result of crashes.

Lars Bak (Lotto Soudal) came down in a small spill early on and suffered a suspected fractured shoulder blade. Once onto the finishing circuit there was a nasty collision involving several riders. Movistar's Jasha Sutterlin, riding his debut Grand Tour, and Dimension Data's Johann van Zyl, riding his first Giro, were the worst affected and both of their races ended in ambulances rather than in celebration.

The slippery conditions might have been favourable to a breakaway hopeful and Maarten Tjallingii, who had gone on the attack on the opening road stage in his Native Holland three weeks ago, skipped clear with his LottoNL-Jumbo teammate Jos Van Emden.

A chase group briefly formed behind but they never really cooperated, while the Dutch duo worked well together and held their lead onto the last lap. It was Van Emden who held on for the longest but he was caught with 6km to go and as soon as that had happened, Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani-CSF) attacked. The Italian, however, was immediately on the deck as he veered to the side of the road and seemingly made contact with a spectator.

The final kilometres were messy as Sean de Bie (Lotto Soudal) rode off the front and held a gap into the final 300 metres. The fast men were winding up behind, though, for what turned out to be a controversial sprint, and not one that Nizzolo will forget any time soon.

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