Giro d'Italia: Stage 20 finish line quotes
Froome seals the overall win as Nieve takes the stage victory
Chris Froome (Team Sky) - overall leader
"There were obviously attacks I had to follow in the final there, but I felt very much in control. No one really had the extra legs to go anywhere. This Giro has been brutal, absolutely brutal. I mean the someone tends to have abad day here, it's not just matter of 30 seconds or one minute. It's 10-15 minutes, so It's just a brutal race, and you can see today Thibaut Pinot was in trouble so Astana turned the screws and took advantage of the situation. The race for us was just to follow and to obviously keep an eye on Tom. [I sprinted] just t stay in front, and obviously there were mountain points also at the finish. I have the mountain jersey at the moment. It was just to keep in front of everything."
Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) - runner-up to Chris Froome
"I tried everything I could, and Froome was better. No regrets, no , nothing. I'm super proud of the team, of myself. This is what it is, second. I was just tired today and I wasn't sure if I would have the legs to try, but I would always regret it if I didn't so I just tried everything I had, and that's it.
"I give my thanks to all me teammates. They've been fantastic. I'm very happy to return the favour to Sam over these final kilometres. I'm super happy with my performance, and I'm super happy with the team's performance as well. We didn't really make too many mistakes out there. It was really, really good."
Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton-Scott) - stage 20 winner
"A perfect day, the day I dreamed about. I’m really happy, also for the team after yesterday. It couldn’t be a better day for me, and now we have to enjoy the Giro we’ve done. With four stage wins, it’s been a really good Giro for us. For me, it’s important. I won for the first time in 2011 and after seven years to win again is very important for me, to be up there still. I’m very happy."
Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) - third overall
“It was a huge huge day. We went with the whole team and we went all out. The team was amazing today, they did such a good job all day, they sacrificed themselves, setting such a strong tempo. I really have to thank the whole team, especially Luis Leon Sanchez, who is like a brother to me.
“I’m really happy. I’ve never been on the podium of a Grand Tour and now I’m here. Thanks to the team, for the work they do day in, day out, for the sacrifices they make. If I’m on the podium it’s thanks to them. They’ve been by by side the whole Giro like brothers.”
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Sergio Henao (Team Sky) - teammate to Chris Froome
"Like in any sport we were really focused. We are looking forward to the ride into Rome now. We've managed to really stay in a really good position. We weren't really looking on Thibaut Pinot today. The golf our day was just to defend the pink jersey. He was trying to stay with Astana, but we're pretty exhausted because yesterday was a really tiring stage, and today's the same as well. We knew that Miguel Angel Lopez was looking for the podium, so we managed to just do our own thing."
Richard Carapaz (Movistar) - fourth overall
"I'm really happy. This is the best thing I could have done fro my country. I can raise my arms up high. I'm really happy with my performance. I fought right up until the end, and I'm really going to enjoy the last day tomorrow. I had the privilege to do as well as I can, and I hope to continue this story of mine as long as I can. It's been a really hard race, and we really have tried hard to make a difference between ourselves and Miguel Angel Lopez, but in the end we weren't able to. I've really enjoyed the race. That's all I can say. I'm not entirely sure about what my future will be, but I have ambitions to deftly come back here and maybe in the net few years think of leading the Vuelta as well."