Alberto Contador confirmed his second Giro d’Italia title as he crossed the line of the final stage in Milan yesterday.

The Spaniard effectively secured victory as he survived attacks from Astana rivals Fabio Aru and Mikel Landa Meana on Saturday and simply needed to reach the finish line in Milan.

Contador, of Tinkoff-Saxo, won by one minute and 53 seconds from Aru, with the 24-year-old Italian settling for victory in the young rider’s classification.

It is Contador’s second Giro crown after victory in 2008 and his seventh Grand Tour victory. Contador plans to challenge Team Sky’s Chris Froome and defending champion Vincenzo Nibali of Astana in the Tour de France later this summer.

Contador has had to dig deep during a troublesome three weeks in Italy, after dislocating his shoulder in an early crash, and is likely to face stiffer competition in the Tour.

“I overcame so many difficulties but at the end I got the maglia rosa (pink jersey),” Contador said.