Giro d'Italia: Nairo Quintana secures first Grand Tour victory

Colombian Movistar rider Nairo Quintana won the first Grand Tour of his career with victory in the Giro d'Italia.

The 24-year-old finished two minutes 58 seconds ahead of compatriot Rigoberto Uran, 27, after the final stage from Gemona del Friuli to Trieste.

Italian Fabio Aru, 23, was third overall, 4:04 behind Quintana.

Slovenian Luka Mezgec, riding for the Giant-Shimano team, won the 172km final stage, edging out Italian Giacomo Nizzolo in a sprint finish.

FDJ.fr's Nacer Bouhanni secured the red jersey for the best sprinter after finishing the stage in fourth.

Julian Arredondo, riding for Trek, was crowned King of the Mountains, while Quintana also won the white jersey for topping the young rider classification.

It was a largely processional final stage until the last 50km, when the sprinters picked up the pace during eight circuits of Trieste.

Quintana, the first Colombian to win the race, rode a special pink bicycle, matching the colour he wore as race leader.

He finished safely in the middle of the pack, pumping his fist as he crossed the line before hugging his team-mates after climbing off his bike.

"It's really emotional," said Quintana. "I didn't think there would be so many Colombians here today. It was incredible seeing how much support and how many banners there were.

"I've learnt to overcome adversity and to manage a team over three weeks, to be a leader."

Victory in Tuesday's gruelling 16th stage over the Gavia and Stelvio climbs was decisive, as he turned a deficit of 2:40 on Omega Pharma-Quick-Step's Uran into a lead of 1:41.

But confusion over whether the descent from the summit of the Stelvio had been neutralised because of safety fears caused chaos and anger among other teams.

Quintana extended his advantage by winning a mountain time trial three days later.

He was second to Britain's Chris Froome in the 2013 Tour de France but is not planning to enter the race this year.

General classification

1. Nairo Quintana (Col/Movistar) 88:14:32"

2. Rigoberto Uran (Col/Omega Pharma - Quick-Step) +2:58"

3. Fabio Aru (Ita/Astana) +4:04"

4. Pierre Rolland (Fra/Europcar) +5:46"

5. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita/AG2R) +6:32"

6. Rafal Majka (Pol/Tinkoff - Saxo) +7:04"

7. Wilco Kelderman (Ned/Belkin) +11:00"

8. Cadel Evans (Aus/BMC Racing) +11:51"

9. Ryder Hesjedal (Can/Garmin) +13:35"

10. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro/Trek) +15:49"

Stage 21 result

1 Luka Mezgec (Slo/Team Giant-Shimano) 4:23:58

2 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita/Trek) same time

3 Tyler Farrar (USA/Garmin)

4 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra/FDJ.fr)

5 Roberto Ferrari (Ita/Lampre-Merida)

6 Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col/Colombia)

7 Luca Paolini (Ita/Team Katusha)

8 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel/Lotto Belisol)

9 Borut Bozic (Slo/Astana)

10 Iljo Keisse (Bel/Omega Pharma - Quick-Step)

Mountain classification

1. Julian Arredondo (Col/Trek) 173

2. Dario Cataldo (Ita/Team Sky) 132

3. Nairo Quintana (Col/Movistar) 88

4. Tim Wellens (Bel/Lotto) 79

5. Robinson Chalapud (Col/Colombia) 73

Points classification

1. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra/FDJ.fr) 291

2. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita/Trek) 265

3. Roberto Ferrari (Ita/Lampre) 186

4. Elia Viviani (Ita/Cannondale) 174

5. Ben Swift (GB/Team Sky) 135