From left: Christophe Moureau, David Canada, Santiago Botero on the Vuelta de Catalonia winner's podium

Spanish cyclist David Canada has claimed the biggest victory of his 11-year career by winning the Tour of Catalonia in Spain after Italian rider Daniele Bennati won the seventh and final stage.

Bennati won Sunday's 121-kilometer stage, from Lloret de Mar to Barcelona in a group sprint, edging across the finish line in 2:36:37. He was closely followed by Aaron Kemps of Australia and German rider Erik Zabel, who were credited with the same time.

Canada seized the overall lead on Saturday and gave credit to his team for helping him win. He completed the race in 25:06:26 to beat Santiago Botero of Colombia by two seconds. French rider Christophe Moreau was third overall, eight seconds back.

Injuries and illness have dogged Canada in the last two seasons. In the 2005 Tour of the Basque Country, he fractured his wrist in two places, and then had to abandon the Tour of Spain when his heart rate shot up to 220 beats per minute.