The final piece of the Grand Tour jigsaw puzzle fit nicely for Slovenia's Primoš Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) on Sunday evening.

Roglic's victory in the Vuelta a España, where he finished 75th in a stage won by Fabio Jacobsen (Dečuninck-Quick Step) in a group sprint, was his third at the Giro d'Italia this spring, the UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico, followed by victories at the Tour de Romandie.

Roglic also won the points battle in the Vuelta, with 136 points to Pogachar's 155 earned by compatriot Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates). Pogachar's third-place podium behind Roglic and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) made the Vuelta a España even more special for the Slovenian cycling community.

Roglic, who took the overall lead with his only stage win in the time trial in Pau on stage 10, took the final podium in Madrid on Sunday evening to claim the final leader's jersey of the Vuelta a España.

The flags of Slovenia and Colombia waved among the large crowd gathered in Madrid's central Plaza de Cibeles.

Roglic smiled several times, gave thumbs up to his fans, and responded by wearing the Slovenian flag during the points awards.

His final victor's speech on the podium, where he wore the leader's jersey and had a folded jersey stuffed under his points award jersey, was in keeping with the minimalist brevity of his press conference.

With this landmark accomplishment, he became the first Slovenian to win a Grand Tour. That same year, Richard Calapaz won Ecuador's first Grand Tour at the Giro d'Italia, and Egan Bernal became the first Colombian to win the Tour de France.