Chris Horner delighted at Vuelta triumph

RadioShack’s US rider Chris Horner poses on the podium with the trophy after winning the “Vuelta” Tour of Spain in Madrid on September 15, 2013. Chris Horner became the oldest ever winner of a cycling grand tour as the 41-year-old rubber stamped his victory in the Tour of Spain in Madrid today. (Getty Images)

Madrid, Sep 16 (IANS): Veteran cyclist Chris Horner was crowned the oldest winner of the Vuelta de Espana cycle race here.

Horner, who rides for the Radioshack team, is just over a month away from his 42nd birthday, became the oldest rider to ever win a grand tour here Sunday, reports Xinhua.

Horner finished ahead of Italian Vicenzo Nibali and Spain’s Alejandro Valverde after three weeks of tough competition finished in the streets of the Spanish capital.

Sunday’s last stage is a traditional celebration for the champion, given that it is almost impossible for the overall standings to change on the short, 109 km final stage, which finished with eight circuits of the city center and the streets were again filled with supporters to cheer the riders home.

The final stage inevitably ends in a bunch sprint and this year it was no different as the Paseo de la Castellana saw the powerhouses battle for the final stage win of the race and it was Australian, Michael Matthews of the Orica Green Edge team, who was first over the line for his second stage win.

However, there was no mistaking the hero of the day as Horner went down in the history books to show that cycling doesn’t have to be a young man’s sport.

“Before the race started I thought I could maybe finish in the top three, but after winning two stages, I saw that I could win,” he said.

Horner’s title had been in the balance all through the three weeks of the race and it was not until Friday that he retook the leader’s jersey from Nibali and then defended his slender three seconds lead on the slopes of the Angliru climb on Saturday.

“That was the most difficult stage I have ever ridden in my life,” confessed the American, who was delighted with his first ever major tour at the closing stages of his career.

“It is very special for me to enter into a list of so many special people. It’s a really great moment,” he said.

Meanwhile the Euskaltel-Euskadi team, which will move away from the Basque region at the end of the season after having its license bought by racing driver Fernando Alonso, went out on a high as they won the overall team prize for the race.