Mark Cavendish sprinted to victory in his final Giro d’Italia stage as Primoz Roglic secured the overall title.
Britain’s Cavendish, who will retire at the end of the season, timed his kick superbly to pass his rivals and claim his 17th Giro stage win in Rome.
Slovenia’s Roglic finished safely in the peloton to confirm his first Giro title, with Geraint Thomas second.
Thomas helped lead out Cavendish in the final stages, with the pair sharing an emotional embrace after the finish.
Cavendish said Thomas’ decision to help him despite riding for a different team was “off the cuff”.
“He’s so special, 25 years, he’s been one of my best friends you know,” he added.
“More than a bike rider he’s a good person, a good friend, a good team-mate, the most loyal guy you could get. That was pretty special.”
Cavendish’s first Grand Tour stage win was at the 2008 Giro.
“I couldn’t have ended my racing career in Italy in any better way than winning in Rome,” said Cavendish.
“It’s pretty beautiful to have something that will stay in my memory forever, in my heart forever. It’s perfect.”
Astana rider Cavendish maintained his record of winning at least one stage in each of the seven editions of the Giro he has raced.
His first victory of the season takes his overall professional win tally to 162 and he now has 54 stage wins in cycling’s three Grand Tours.
Cavendish will turn his attention to this year’s Tour de France, where he will attempt to take the all-time stage win record outright.
The Manxman is currently level with the legendary Eddy Merckx on 34 Tour stage wins.
While his team were unable to give him a cohesive leadout here, Cavendish showed all his nous, aided by Ineos Grenadiers’ Thomas, to position himself perfectly on the home straight.
He coasted past Fernando Gaviria and Alex Kirsch and was firmly on course for the win even before a crash behind him.
Kirsch held on for second, with Filippo Fiorelli third.
At 38, Cavendish is the oldest rider to ever win a Giro stage.
