Giro D'Italia 2013 Standings: Stage 21 Results, Leaderboard and Highlights

Vincenzo Nibali officially won the 2013 Giro d’Italia championship on Sunday, coasting through to an easy victory during a light-hearted, relaxing Stage 21. 

The Twitter account for Giro d'Italia shared the news:

However, it wasn’t all fun and games for the rest of the field, with the red jersey still on the line. It was close in the end, but Mark Cavendish made a late surge to claim victory at the end of the 122-mile trek, per Giro d'Italia:

While Cavendish’s sprint wasn’t as triumphant as the Astana rider’s ascent up the Tre Cime di Lavaredo on Saturday, it secured him the red as the leader of the points classification of this event.

Let’s take a look at how the rest of the cyclists finished on Sunday, check out the overall standings and the course they took to get there during Stage 21.

Stage 21 Results

(via Guardian.co.uk)

Finish	Cyclist	Country	Time
1	Mark Cavendish	Italy	5:30:09
2	Sacha Modolo	Britain
3	Elia Viviani	Italy
4	Giacomo Nizzolo	Colombia
5	Luka Mezgec	Slovenia
6	Roberto Ferrari	Italy
7	Kenny Dehaes	Belgium
8	Manuel Belletti	Italy
9	Giovanni Visconti	Italy
10	Luca Paolini	Italy

Final 2013 Giro d’Italia Standings

(via Gazzetta.it)

Finish	Cyclist	Country	Time
1	Vincenzo Nibali	ITA	84:53:28
2	Rigoberto Uran	COL	+4:43
3	Cadel Evans	AUS	+5:52
4	Michele Scarponi	ITA	+6:48
5	Carlos A. Betancur Gomez	COL	+7:28
6	Przemyslaw Niemiec	POL	+7:43
7	Rafal Majka	POL	+8:09
8	Benat Intxausti Elorriaga	ESP	+10:26
9	Mauro Santambrogio	ITA	+10:32
10	Domenico Pozzovivo	ITA	+10:59

Stage 21 Overview

After a taxing journey up mountains covered in snow and through some of the worst conditions imaginable, riders were able to enjoy a nice stroll from Riese Pio X to the fanfare at the finish line in Brescia, a previously-mentioned 122-mile journey.

There were hardly any hills or turns to navigate, with Bosco di Sona representing one of the steeper portions of the trip.

Overall, there were no issues and it was about what many expected going in. Nibali took his time and enjoyed a leisurely stroll to victory, while the few left in contention for the red jersey battled it out down to the end.

 

Nibali’s Journey

Nibali has proven himself as one of the premier competitors in the world, joining an elite crowd that includes Bradley Wiggins and other top-tier cyclists.

He belongs in the conversation each and every Grand Tour as a possible winner, although he probably won’t be participating at the Tour de France in July, according to the Associated Press via CTV News.

Per the AP, the Shark of the Strait could aim for the Vuelta in August and September and then the Worlds in Florence come September.

For now, he deserves to take a much needed rest and bask in the glory of earning honors as the 2013 Giro d’Italia champion.