Cavendish storms to Rome win as Roglic savours overall victory

Mark Cavendish brought the curtain down on his final Giro d'Italia with a spectacular stage win in Rome, as Primoz Roglic sealed his first overall victory in the race

- Jeremy Whittle

Cavendish, who announced last week that he will retire at the end of this season, easily outsprinted his rivals to take his 17th stage win in the Giro.

"I'm super-happy," Cavendish, of the Astana Qazaqstan team, said.

"It was a long, hard slog to get here to the end of the Giro. We've come close a couple of times before. My boys did incredible, and my friends did incredible. I just had some great friends today, long-time friends. I'm pretty emotional." The stage is now set for Cavendish to attempt to become the all-time record holder for Tour de France stage wins in July.

Among the old friends lending a hand on the Roman cobbles was Geraint Thomas. But the Welshman is unlikely to ever again visit the remote corner of north-eastern Italy, where on Saturday afternoon, Roglic wrenched the maglia rosa of Giro leadership from the weary shoulders of the Ineos Grenadiers leader.

Roglic's devastating performance, in the mountain time trial to Monte Lussari, was the equal of Tadej Pogacar's in the penultimate stage of the 2020 Tour de France on La Planche des Belles Filles, when he overhauled his compatriot to claim his first yellow jersey.