Team Sky rider Chris Froome of Britain (L) rides during the last stage of the La Vuelta Tour of Spain cycling race in Madrid, Spain, September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Susana Vera
(Reuters) - Chris Froome joined the pantheon of cycling greats on Sunday as he secured his first Vuelta a Espana victory, becoming the first rider since Frenchman Bernard Hinault in 1978 to win the Tour de France and Vuelta in the same season.
Frenchman Jacques Anquetil also did the double in 1963 although the Briton is the first man to win both since the Vuelta was shifted from its old start date of late April to late August, when temperatures in Spain are at their most unforgiving.
