Dan Martin has ridden a fantastic race over the past three weeks, bouncing back really well after the bitter disappointment of his Giro crash and the very long lay-off it caused (Photo: Sirotti)
A corner of the earth where pilgrims have been drawn for centuries; Dan Martin will forever remember Santiago de Compostela as the place where his Grand Tour demons were finally put to rest.
After three weeks of tough, often savage, racing the Irish man was 122nd in the final time trial today, Sunday. But it did not matter in the end, so large were the gaps on the general classification and so short was the final test, at just 9.7km.
The 28-year-old Garmin-Sharp man may have had stage wins in the Vuelta and Tour de France to his name before this race began; but a number of bad crashes took him out of the Giro this year and Vuelta last year, while illness ruined his chances of a top 10 in the Tour last year.
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The French battle was one he could not contest this season because his broken collar bone from the Giro was not healed.
They were all occasions when his name was on everyone's lips as a top 10 finisher and an outside bet for a podium. But today that wait for a top 10 on the general classification at a three week tour finally ended.
And having barely raced between early May when he crashed out of the Giro on the opening stage and the beginning of this race three weeks ago, Martin should be relatively fresh for an all-out assault on the major end of season fixtures, which include the World Championships and Tour of Lombardy.
All of the top general classification riders finished well down the field today, as the heavens opened for those who were off latest. The stage was won by Adriano Malori (Movistar) from Jesse Sergent (Trek Factory Racing) and Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing Team).
The overall victory went to Alberto Contador, the Tinkoff-Saxo man who took the race lead into today's final stage. He saw off the challenge of Team Sky's Chris Froome and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).
Ireland's Philip Deignan rode a great race and at times was a giant for Froome in the mountains. He looks like he may have a long and rewarding career ahead of him at Team Sky if he can maintain his form.
The race was the Grand Tour of the year, thanks mainly to Contador and Froome crashing out of the Tour de France but looking to rescue their seasons at the Vuelta.
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The only fly in the ointment, although a very big one, was the presence of two riders - Valverde and Contador - on the podium who have previously served doping bans.
Alberto Contador on his way to 101st on the day, but 1st overall after three weeks of racing (Photo: Sirotti)
The final podium, left to right; Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Chris Froome of Team Sky (Photo: Sirotti)
Stage 21: Santiago de Compostela 9.7km TT
1 Adriano Malori (Ita) Movistar Team 0:11:12
2 Jesse Sergent (NZl) Trek Factory Racing 0:00:08
3 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:09
4 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky 0:00:17
5 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Team Europcar
6 Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Team Katusha 0:00:18
7 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Cannondale
8 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
9 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
10 Damien Gaudin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
11 Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Trek Factory Racing 0:00:19
12 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:00:21
13 Sam Bewley (NZl) Orica Greenedge 0:00:22
14 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Giant-Shimano 0:00:24
15 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:27
115 Philip Deignan (Irl) Team Sky
122 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin Sharp 0:01:54
General Classification
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 81:25:05
2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 0:01:10
3 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:50
4 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Team Katusha 0:03:25
5 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:04:48
6 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing Team 0:09:30
7 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin Sharp 0:10:38
8 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Shimano 0:11:50
9 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale 0:12:50
10 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:13:02
11 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Team Katusha 0:16:44
12 Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Team Sky 0:19:54
13 Romain Sicard (Fra) Team Europcar 0:24:20
14 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team 0:25:04
15 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Team Katusha 0:25:27
39 Philip Deignan (Irl) Team Sky 1:48:53
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