Geraint Thomas hailed the biggest win of his career after holding in dramatic style to win Paris-Nice.
Thomas – a two-time Olympic gold medallist on the track – had to be at his defensive best along with his Team Sky teammates to hold off a succession of attacks.
Alberto Contador, Richie Porte and Tim Wellens all dropped Thomas on the last two climbs of the stage race.
And although they did manage to open a 30-second gap, Thomas and his team-mates gradually wound it in on the final descent to claim overall victory by only four seconds.
"It's incredible to have won Paris-Nice and hard to believe, to be honest. Contador is one of the best stage racers ever and Richie won nearly every race he did last year, so to beat those two - I can't really believe it,” said Thomas.
"I came here trying to win and do the best I could, but to actually do it is amazing. It's the biggest win of my career, for sure, and I'm over the moon.”
Wellens won the sprint with Contador and Porte to take the stage win but there was no doubting the star of the show – and Thomas cut a relieved figure.
“When Alberto went on the Cote de Peille I stuck with my team and felt good, strong and in control, but when he went again half way up the Col d'Eze my legs just gave way. It was horrible and I thought 'this is going to be all over',” he added.
"I got dropped from the chase group and thought I was going to struggle to even get on the podium. Thankfully Sergio stayed with me.
"I had a 54 chainring on for the descent in case I had to chase and I certainly needed that at the end. It was full gas, and to finally latch back on in the last few kilometres was really good.”
Thomas is only the third British rider to win the prestigious race. Tommy Simpson was the first in 1967, while Sir Bradley Wiggins won in 2012, the same year he went on to win the Tour de France.