Magnus Cort Nielsen (Orica-BikeExchange) won the final stage of the Vuelta a España in a bunch sprint in Madrid while Nairo Quintana (Movistar) finished safely in the main peloton to seal overall victory ahead of Chris Froome (Sky) and Esteban Chaves (Orica-BikeExchange).
In keeping with tradition, the short final leg from Las Rozas to the finishing circuit in the city centre was largely a promenade, with Quintana and the protagonists of the general classification battle sharing flutes of champagne as they soft-pedalled towards the conclusion of this Vuelta.
The pace gradually ratcheted upwards as the race reached the streets of the capital and as shadows lengthened in Madrid, the final stage spluttered into life, with Quentin Jauregui (AG2R La Mondiale), Pete Kennaugh (Sky), Loic Chetout (Cofidis) and Koen Bouwman (LottoNL-Jumbo) providing the early entertainment by escaping with a little under nine laps of the 5.8km finishing circuit remaining.
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The quarter built up a maximum lead of 1:20 over the peloton, but with Etixx-QuickStep, Orica-BikeExchange and Giant-Alpecin all eager to keep things under the control, there would be no escaping the ineluctable bunch finish.
Chetout and Lauregui were the last two survivors from the break, but they were swept up at the beginning of the final lap, as darkness fell over Madrid. Manuele Boaro (Tinkoff) produced a long, long turn on the front in support of his teammate Daniele Bennati, but it was Giant-Alpecin who led into the final kilometre.
Magnus Cort Nielsen was well-placed on the wheel of his teammate Jens Keukeleire and he bided his time when Bennati opened his sprint from distance. Inside the final 200 metres, however, the Dane duly produced a fine finishing effort to claim the stage honours. Bennati held on for second, while Gianni Meersman (Etixx-QuickStep) had to settle for third.
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