Canada's Ryder Hesjedal came into the final stage TT as a favorite to win the the overall. With a sixth place finish that's just what he did.


Remember back three weeks ago when Taylor Phinney won the opening stage TT and donned the pink jersey?  It all went bad for him in the days afterward...he'll be back. He finished 16th in Milan.


Ivan Basso climbed as high as third in the overall standings, but fell back to fifth at the finish. How many more Grand Tours does he have in him?


Michele Scarponi was thought to be a potential overall winner. Not. He finished 22nd in the TT for an impressive 4th overall. For the first time since 1995 there were no Italian riders found on the podium, bu there were three in the top ten including Scarponi's Lampre teammate Damiano Cunego who finished sixth overall.


Despite Roman Kreuziger's one stage win and 15th overall, Team Astana wasn't a big factor in the Giro, but they still turned heads with a good looking kit and bike.


Geraint Thomas was the highest placed of the "men in black" in Milano with a second place finish in Milano.
 

With a week left in the race, the RadioShack Nissan lost team leader Frank Schleck to injury. Jesse Sergent took up some of the slack with a 3rd place finish in the TT.


One day after Belgium's Thomas DeGendt "turned himself inside out" to win the grueling stage that finished on the Stelvio, he came back to finish 5th in the TT and moved up to third overall.  Although Italian riders were shut out, the tifosi could relish the celeste color of Bianchi in the top three.


Mark Cavendish won three stages and held on over the mountain climbs to try and retain the sprinters red jersey for the final day although it had already been lost to Rodriguez. Green in July?


Joaquin Rodriguez rode hard and fought even harder for days on end, but in the end his TT effort left him 16 seconds shy of the top spot on the box.

BUT IN THE END...

From his early days as a mountain biker to the top spot on the Giro podium - congrats Ryder!

Photos: Bettini