Colombia's Nairo Quintana held off Tour de France champion Chris Froome to win the Vuelta a Espana in Sunday's traditional procession around Madrid. Quintana beat out Froome for the first time in six Grand Tours when both have finished the race by 1min 23sec with another Colombia Esteban Chaves completing the podium. Denmark's Magnus Cort Nielsen won the 21st stage in a sprint finish for the 104.8km ride that started in Las Rozas on the outskirts of the Spanish capital before a 10-lap circuit through the center of Madrid. "This is spectacular, a dream come true," Quintana said. "I woke up this morning feeling like the winner, but I couldn't raise my arms in celebration until I crossed the finish line. This is probably the most important (win) for me, considering the scenario and who I was racing against. Froome is a great rival." Victory is Quintana's second in a Grand Tour after the 2014 Giro d'Italia and was celebrated wildly by thousands of Colombian fans on the streets around the finish line. There was also revenge for Quintana, who has twice finished second to Froome at the Tour de France and was third as the Brit sealed his third Tour title in July. Quintana had suffered from allergies during the Tour, but having skipped the Olympics unlike Froome, who picked up a bronze medal in the time trial, he was the fresher rider for the grueling three-week tour which included 10 summit finishes in searing Spanish summer heat. The Movistar rider built up a near one-minute lead over Froome with victory on stage 10. However, his major move came on stage 15 when an early attack left Froome isolated as Quintana finished second on the stage to extend his lead to a huge 3min 37sec. Froome responded by storming to a time trial win on stage 19 to cut the gap by 2min 16sec. However, Froome could only applaud as Quintana staved off his attempts to breakaway on Saturday's penultimate stage before crossing the line two seconds in front of his rival. — Agencies
