Giro d'Italia 2016: Winner, Prize Money, Final Standings After Stage 21 Results

Astana's Vincenzo Nibali was never troubled during Sunday's final stage of the 2016 Giro d'Italia, as the race was neutralised before the peloton reached Turin and the Italian cruised to the finish line.

The stage win went to Nikias Arndt of Giant-Alpecin after Giacomo Nizzolo of Trek-Segafredo was relegated for an illegal move. 

Nizzolo beat the field in a bunch sprint on the wet, cobbled streets of Turin while the favourites took their time on Sunday. The Italian veered across the road, however, sending an opponent into the barriers, and race officials decided to award the win to Arndt instead.

Orica-GreenEDGE's Esteban Chaves finished the Giro in second place, while Movistar's Alejandro Valverde moved up to third during Saturday's daunting stage and held onto his spot during Stage 21.

Here's a look at the initial stage results, per Sky Sports Cycling:

The Giro later confirmed Nizzolo had been relegated, via Twitter:

The final Giro results:

Per VeloNews' Daniel Ostanek, Nibali will take home €115,688 as the race winner, with Chaves netting €58,412 and Valverde earning €28,801 for his troubles.

Recap

The final stage of any grand tour is usually designed to give the jersey winners the chance to smile for the cameras, drink champagne and cruise to the finish line while the sprinters battle it out one last time.

This year's ride to Turin was no different. After two days of heavy climbing, the peloton was presented with a course that lightly descended, providing breakaway riders with few opportunities to build a lead.

But riders who were hoping for a leisurely ride to Turin were in for a surprise, as the weather gods reserved a final, nasty surprise. Katusha shared this video of the pouring rain that greeted the peloton:

Per Cycling Weekly, organisers decided to neutralise the race, with final timesheets taken on the first passage of the finish line in Turin. The final local laps were reserved for the sprinters, while the likes of Nibali would only have to focus on finishing.

Per Astana's Twitter account, the team had a special glossy bike made for the Shark of Messina to celebrate the occasion:

A small crash saw Lars Bak of Lotto Soudal abandon the race with less than 100 kilometers to race before Turin, before Jos van Emden and Maarten Tjallingii of LottoNL-Jumbo finally launched the first attacks of the day.

The two leaders built a gap of 35 seconds before they entered Turin for eight local laps, and Manuele Boaro (Tinkoff) and Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx-Quick-Step) also attacked once the peloton reached Turin.

The rain worsened as the riders started the local laps, and another crash made two major victims: Chaves, ranked second, and Rigoberto Uran of Cannondale, ranked seventh in the general classification. Fortunately for the Colombians, the race had already been neutralised, so all they had to do was finish to keep their spots.

At the front, Van Emden dropped his team-mate but was caught in the final lap, and the inevitable bunch sprint formed. Nizzolo thought he had finally taken the stage win he was so desperate for, kicking off his sprint from well outside and holding on.

However, he veered across the road and blocked the path of Lampre-Merida's Sacha Modolo, and Modolo was visibly agitated. Per Cycling News, Nizzolo didn't think he did anything wrong:

It’s finally come, I’m very happy with this win. I had to fight hard. It was hard to control, as a sprinter it was hard on the legs but in the end it was all up here [pointing to his head].

I don’t think it was an incorrect manoeuvre. Whoever is in front decides his line in the sprint.

Race officials disagreed, however, and handed Arndt the win.

The 2016 Tour de France is the next big appointment in the grand tour calendar, and with Team Sky's Chris Froome and Tinkoff-Saxo's Alberto Contador going head-to-head, this year's race could be one for the ages.

Nibali won't be joining the two favourites in France, but Movistar's Nairo Quintana and Astana's Fabio Aru likely will, which will make for a strong field.

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