Chris Froome wins 2018 Giro d'Italia, becomes first British cyclist to win all three Grand Tours

Froome claims his fourth straight Grand Tour title

By Kevin Skiver

May 27, 2018 at 2:15 pm ET • 2 min read

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Thanks to a phenomenal final week, Chris Froome made history as he became the seventh cyclist and first British cyclist to win all three Grand Tour events. Froome, who competed in his first Giro d'Italia since 2010, defeated 2017 General Classification winner Tom Dumoulin by 46 seconds. Froome's push started in Stage 14, which marked his first stage win of the Giro, before leader Simon Yates fell off the map in Stage 19.

Sam Bennett took Stage 21 on Sunday, but he still finished behind Elia Viviani in total stage points. It was Bennett's second stage win, but Viviani turned in a dominant points performance nonetheless.

This is Froome's third Grand Tour in the course of a year. Froome took the Tour de France and Vuelta de Espana last season, and he announced his intention to go for cycling's triple crown last November. Despite a relatively slow start that included two crashes -- one of which occurred before the race even began in time trials -- not to mention an injury, Froome showed why he's the most durable racer in the world at the moment. He simply outlasted the likes of his countryman Yates. Froome and Team Sky are in the midst of an absolutely dominant stretch right now, and all roads to Grand Tour wins are going to go through him for the time being.

"I'm without words," Froome said after the race, via ABC News. "It's a dream to be here in the pink jersey. For a cyclist there is nothing greater."

Froome's company gets even more exclusive. Not only is he the seventh cyclist to win all three Grand Tour events, he's only the third to hold all three titles at once. He's the first since the Vuelta de Espana was moved to August and September.

Froome will now turn his attention to the Tour, which comes in July. Froome will be racing for his fifth Tour title, which would match a record held by four different men. It would be Froome's fourth consecutive win on the Tour, and his fourth straight Grand Tour win.