It's been a war of attrition for Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) in the third week of the 2017 Giro d'Italia. All the pressure was on his shoulders during the final stage on Sunday, and he delivered in spectacular fashion to earn his first Grand Tour victory.

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He was the heavy favorite out of the GC contenders to put in the best time trial performance on Stage 21 from Monza to Milan. There were plenty of questions about how much energy the riders would have left after a three week tour and if it would level the playing field in regard to Dumoulin's superior time trial ability. Once all the riders had made it through the 10km split, it was clear that it was Dumoulin's race to lose.

Dumoulin came through the first 10km in 10:01. The rest of the GC rivals couldn't come close to matching his power. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) was not having a good ride, losing massive amounts of time. Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) fought to keep the margins close. His first split was 10:19, and even though it nearly forfeited his entire lead to Dumoulin, if he could maintain it, then he had a chance. For pink jersey wearer Nairo Quintana (Movistar), the race already appeared lost after Dumoulin pulled back 31 seconds over the first third of the race.

When Quintana came through the second checkpoint, Dumoulin was officially the virtual leader on the road by seven seconds. Dumoulin continued to power through the remainder of the stage, living up to all the hype around his time trial performance. He crossed the line in 33:23, 15 seconds behind the race leader. Nibali lost nearly a minute and Pinot even more.

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Quintana was fighting for every second, making some miscalculations around the a few turns in an effort to gain time. His final time was 34:47. Ultimately he would lose over a minute to Dumoulin. The final margin of victory for Dumoulin was 31 seconds to become the first-ever Dutch champion at the Giro d'Italia.

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Final Top 10 In The Overall Classification

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Tom Dumoulin	Team Sunweb	90:34:54
2	Nairo Quintana	Movistar	0:00:31
3	Vincenzo Nibali	Bahrain Merida	0:00:40
4	Thibaut Pinot	FDJ	0:01:17
5	Ilnur Zakarin	Katusha-Alpecin	0:00:56
6	Domenico Pozzivio	AG2R	0:03:11
7	Bauke Mollema	Trek Segafredo	0:03:41
8	Bob Jungels	Quick-Step Floors	0:08:10
9	Adam Yates	Orica-Scott	0:15:17
10	Davide Formo	Cannondale-Drapac	0:15:17

More 2017 Giro d'Italia Coverage

• Stage 21 Results
• Stage 20 Recap
• Stage 20 Results
• Complete Giro Results
• Tom Dumoulin Was The Real Winner On Stage 20
• Tom Dumoulin And Vincenzo Nibali Getting Heated At The Giro
• Mikel Landa Wins Big For Team Sky
• Tejay Van Garderen Redeems Himself With Giro Stage Win
• Tom Dumoulin Loses Time During Emergency Bathroom Break
• More Giro Articles