Jai Hindley won the 2022 Giro d'Italia, but Vincenzo Nibali received the biggest cheers as he rode into the Verona amphitheater to bid an emotional farewell to the race he spent his boyhood in Sicily and won in 2013 and 2016.

The entire Roman amphitheater chanted "Vincienzo, vincienzo, vincienzo, vincienzo, vincienzo" to close the 11th and final Giro d'Italia.

"Grazie, grazie," Nibali said from the stage, his words of gratitude echoing those of the crowd.

"I'm probably more emotional than when I won the Giro.

"It's very emotional to ride in the arena, it's a special way to end a Grand Tour, especially the last Grand Tour. Hearing the crowd cheering my name is magical. I know that everyone is always cheering for me, whether it's along the road or in front of the TV. Thank you guys." [The Trofeo Bonacossa is a special award named after the first owner of La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian newspaper that owns the Giro d'Italia. It is a kind of lifetime achievement award.

Nibali is a proud Sicilian who rarely shows emotion, but this Giro d'Italia was different: despite turning 38 in November and having his spring ruined by COVID-19 and illness, Nibali was still hoping for a stage win, a top 10 finish, or better. He hoped to achieve a good result. And with Miguel Angel Lopez retiring on stage 4 due to a thigh injury, Nibali was thrust into the role of team leader.

He was painfully disappointed to lose two minutes to his overall rivals on his home road on the slopes of Mount Etna, but was moved to confirm his retirement at the end of 2022, a day after the Giro d'Italia visited his home town of Messina.

Finally announcing the end date of his career, Nibali seemed to have a weight off his shoulders and began climbing with the best and eventually moved into fourth place overall, 9:02 behind Jai Handley. He held off Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), who had finished 49th in the Verona time trial, to take fourth place by a mere 12 seconds.

"I'm happy to finish fourth," Nibali said, finally accepting the result of three weeks of hard racing against riders at least 10 years younger than himself.

"To be honest, I was tired in the time trial. To be honest, I was tired in the time trial. I tried my best, I tried to stay focused, but it wasn't a very good run. I am happy with my race. I fought hard, I suffered, I had good days and bad days, but I never gave up."

Nibali will continue racing in Astana-Casakstan for the remainder of 2022. However, he will not be competing in the Tour de France, and probably not even the Vuelta a España, the classic race he won twice, Il Lombardia in October being his final goal to sign off on a high note rather than leave quietly.

"Now it's time to take a breather and think about the rest of the season.

"I have decided to retire and I don't think I will change my mind about that.

"I will miss racing, but I hope people appreciate what I have accomplished."