(Reuters) - Britain's Adam Yates was unable to hold off Slovenia's Primoz Roglic as victory on the Tirreno-Adriatico slipped from his grasp by a single second on Tuesday.
The Mitchelton-Scott rider began the 10km time trial - the seventh and final stage of the race - with a 25-second buffer over Roglic, a TT specialist.
But Roglic, who in 2017 became the first Slovenian to win a Tour de France stage, claimed victory in the overall standings by just one second.
"It was unbelievably close. I was lucky in the end," Roglic said. I really pushed until the finish line. I was confident but I can only control myself."
It was a disappointing end for Yates, who had been the overall leader since Mitchelton-Scott won the team time trial.
"It was a hard TT. I've done this TT many times and I always lose a chunk of time and it was close but it wasn't enough," Yates, the last man to ride the course, said.
"That's how it goes, that's bike racing."
Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) finished third overall, 30 seconds behind Roglic.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Hugh Lawson)