Italy's Fabio Aru has been crowned 2015 Vuelta a Espana champion following the event's conclusion in Madrid on Sunday.

Germany's John Degenkolb finished first in the final stage around the Spanish capital with his time of two hours 34 minutes and 13 seconds, but the Astana rider topped the general classification after 21 rounds.

Aru went into the final 99km stage around Madrid with a lead of more than a minute, and he held steady to finish with an overall advantage of 57 seconds over second-placed Joaquim Rodriguez.

The 25-year-old edged his nose in front on the Saturday when he overtook previous leader Tom Dumoulin in the mountains.

The victory marks Aru's first Grand Tour title success.

Written by
Mark Langshaw