Hello and welcome to live coverage of the final stage of La Vuelta - a 100.9km processional ride from Alcorcon to Madrid, which will conclude with some laps around the Spanish capital city, a likely third stage win for Elia Viviani, and Britain's third man atop a Grand Tour podium in the same year.

While you're waiting for some action, why not watch the latest of our Average Man series? After being defeated by the Zoncolan, can Tom Bennett overcome Lagos de Covadonga...?

The pace is still very slow as the peloton trundles along a motorway slip-road through barren, parched countryside en route to the Spanish capital. At this rate, we could be here until midnight.

We spoke to Simon Yates ahead of today's stage and asked him how he felt to be riding into Madrid in the red jersey: "Really incredible. I'll try and enjoy this moment as much as possible. Yeah, not much to say. I started after the Giro - a lot of hard work, persistence and belief. We really had to believe that we could pull it off. And choosing our moments well throughout the three weeks. It's a very long time and it's all come together, it's unbelievable."

If you missed yesterday's stage, this was how Yates won the Vuelta and Mas took the stage...

One rider is bidding the sport farewell today: Igor Anton of Dimension Data retires aged 35 after a long career that included 21 Grand Tours, four Vuelta stage wins, one Giro stage win, and two Vuelta top tens. He came close to winning the 2010 Vuelta but crashed out while wearing the red jersey in stage 14.

As for the white combined jersey classification - Miguel Angel Lopez dons the white jersey today but it's actually Yates who leads that classification too after his consistent displays, which include one stage win and a handful of podium finishes in the high mountains.

In the king of the mountains classification, Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) became the first Belgian to secure the Vuelta's polka dot jersey after amassing 95pts to Bauke Mollema's 83pts. The Spaniard Luis Angel Mate led for most of the race before conceding the jersey on Thursday's stage to Balcon de Bizkaia.

You wouldn't believe it but they're off! The riders pass under the banner to get the official start under way - but they're still soft-pedalling their way along through the suburbs of Madrid.

In the green points classification, Alejandro Valverde will win his fourth title unless Simon Yates wins both the intermediate sprint and the stage today, something that will not happen. The Spaniard currently has 131 points to Yates' 104 points, with Lopez on 103 points and Peter Sagan, the world champion, on 99 points and likely to rise to second place after the final sprint.

Some photos from the start at Alcorcon here, as the riders continue their processional jaunt through the neutral zone.

There may be a swing of a few seconds here and there, but as it is Simon Yates will win this Vuelta by 1'46" over Enric Mas, with Miguel Angel Lopez in third at 2'04". Yesterday both Steven Kruijswijk and Valverde dropped out of the podium positions and are now fourth and fifth at 2'54" and 4'28".

The 158-strong peloton are currently rolling through the neutral zone ahead of the official start - not that there will be much difference between the two, until the racing gets going on the streets of Madrid. Spaniards Alejandro Valverde and Enric Mas chew the fat on the front - the past and future of Spanish cycling (although the man in green, Valverde, will still hope to have his say in Innsbruck in a couple of weeks).

The Mitchelton-Scott team of Simon Yates, the Vuelta winner elect, have gone in for a special limited edition red number today for the victory parade around Madrid.

Yesterday, Simon Yates has all but secured that unprecedented British cycling grand slam after finishing an impressive third place in Stage 20, won by the young Spaniard Enric Mas ahead of Colombia’s Miguel Angel Lopez in Andorra. The 26-year-old from Bury made his move on the penultimate of six climbs in the brutal 97km stage in the Pyrenees, riding with all the authority of a Grand Tour winner elect to finish 23 seconds down in third place behind Mas and Lopez.