Cycling fans must know the words to God Save the Queen by heart by now. For the past five Grand Tours in a row, the British national anthem has blared out over the final podium ceremony. On Sunday evening it played for Simon Yates on Madrid`s Plaza de Cibeles, as the 26-year-old was officially crowned the winner of the 2018 Vuelta a Espaņa. `I`ll keep this one short,` Yates said as he addressed the crowds, who, naturally, didn`t cheer as loudly as they did for Alejandro Valverde and Enric Mas, but nevertheless greeted him warmly. `I`m not very good with speeches, and I don`t know any Spanish.`ADVERTISEMENT Yates was invited up onto the podium three times before the anthem played - first as winner of the combined classification, then as the winner of the overall classification, then as part of the final podium. Each time he raised both arms straight in the air above his head. There was a broad, childlike smile across his face but also a glint in his wide eyes, which seemed to dart from side to side. No tears, but certainly a sense of bewilderment. `I want to thank my team, they`ve had a lot of belief in me from the very beginning. I really need to thank them for believing in me,` he continued.
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