Nibali gets emotional on winning 2014 Tour de France

Italian bicycle ace racer Vincenzo Nibali emerged victorious in the 2014 Tour de France and fought back tears as he stood on the winner's podium, describing the moment as better than he ever expected.

Nibali completed his victory at the 2014 Tour by finishing safely in the pack on Sunday's 21st and final stage from Evry to Paris, won by German Marcel Kittel.

Nibali said that it is the most important and the best moment, he never imagined it could feel this good because when one finds himself on this podium on the Champs Elysees, it's unique, Sport24 reported.

The Italian said that now that he is here it's even better than he imagined. Nibali added that he fought for this every day; he started building from a long way out with a winter preparation with the team because they had decided this was their objective.

Nibali added that he wants to thank his Astana team for his victory, as when one achieves an objective, it is a team effort. He said that it is a success that he wants to dedicate to all the staff in the team and to his family, his wife Rachelle and his daughter Emma.

Nibali further added that he has never felt more emotional in his career.

By winning the final stage, German sprint king Kittel matched Nibali's achievement of winning four stages on this Tour.

The Giant-Shimano sprinter thus equalled his feat from last year when he also won four stages, including both the first and last, and wore the yellow jersey for a day on stage two.

In the final sprint Kittel initially looked to have been caught and passed by Alexander Kristoff before finding a second wind to power through and win. Norwegian Kristoff, who won two previous stages, finished second with Lithuania's Ramunas Navardauskas, who also claimed a stage, coming third, the report added.