Reserved and resilient Yates casts off Giro demons to win elusive title

Simon Yates crowned his cycling career with Sunday's victory in the Giro d'Italia, the Briton putting behind him a series of disappointments to claim the biggest win of his life.

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The final procession stage, won by his teammate Olav Kooij.

Reserved Yates ended years of frustration when he rolled across the line in front of the Circus Maximus Rome wearing the pink jersey for the overall Giro leader, taken with an astonishing performance in Saturday's penultimate stage.

The Briton effectively secured his second Grand Tour triumph on Saturday when he took the leader's pink jersey from revelation Isaac del Toro with an epic effort in the Italian Alps.

The 32-year-old, who rides for Visma-Lease a bike, is the first man to win the Giro without taking a single stage since Alberto Contador 10 years ago.

Yates came out on top in a Giro missing last year's winner Tadej Pogacar and teammate Jonas Vingegaard and which was blown wide open by the retirements of pre-race favourites Primoz Roglic and Juan Ayuso.

The win also validates his pre-season decision to move to cycling giants Visma after 10 years with the same Australian team, now called Jayco-AlUla.