Former Mountain Biker From Canada Wins Giro Ryder Hesjedal became the first Canadian to win the Giro d'Italia, or any of cycling's three major tours, on Sunday. After three weeks of racing, Hesjedal, a 31-year-old former mountain biker, won the first of the season's major stage races by 16 seconds in a twisty time trial through the streets of Milan. Daniele Badolato/Associated Press Ryder Hesjedal of Canada held aloft his trophy after winning the Giro d'Italia in Milan on Sunday. It was a victory that no one, not even his United States-based Garmin-Barracuda had anticipated at the beginning. "It's unbelievable," Hesjedal told reporters shortly after crossing the finish line, smiling. I just dug deeper and deeper every day and I just got rewarded for that effort. Although Hesjedal (pronounced hesh-JAH-dall) had led the overall standings for several days, he began Sunday in second place, 31 seconds behind Joaquim Rodriguez after two grueling stages in the Alps. The Belgian Thomas De Gendt, who won Saturday's stage on a mountaintop finish line at 9,000 feet in elevation, also loomed as a potential overall winner. Unlike De Gendt, neither Hesjedal nor Rodriguez is a time trial specialist. But Hesjedal managed to ride a fast enough time to overcome Rodriguez's lead and to hold off the De Gendt's challenge. The time trial was won by Marco Pinotti, an Italian who specializes in racing against the clock. Hesjedal was sixth for the day, 1 minute 9 seconds back. De Gendt moved into third place over all after finishing just ahead of Hesjedal for the day. While the Giro does not receive the same attention as the Tour de France, particularly in North America, its frequently mountainous circuit makes many cyclists regard it as being more demanding than the Tour or the Vuelta a España. In 1988, the American Andy Hampsten, a climbing specialist, became the first and only other North American to win the Giro in a year that was marked by a snowstorm on a mountain pass. On Saturday evening, Jonathan Vaughters, the owner of Hesjedal's team and a former rider, acknowledged that a Giro victory was not within the team's range of expectations. "We were confident of the top five and hopeful of a position on the podium," he said before flying from New York to Milan. The win is beyond our wildest dreams. Hesjedal, who is from Victoria, British Columbia, was originally a mountain biker who won seven world championship medals in that discipline. He switched full-time to road riding, however, after a cloud of dust at the 2004 Olympics in Athens caused him to crash into a large rock. Although he has not attained the recognition of even relatively minor N.H.L. stars in Canada, Canadians first took notice of Hesjedal during the 2010 Tour de France, when he was allowed to hunt for wins after a crash sidelined his team leader, Christian Vande Velde. He ultimately finished seventh. At 6 feet 2 inches and 154 pounds, Hesjedal is much bigger than most of pro cycling's climbing specialists. But unlike most riders, carrying that extra bulk has not been an impediment in the mountains. In addition to his strong performances at the Giro this year, he won the most difficult mountain stage of the 2009 Vuelta. By his own admission, Hesjedal is not the worst's leading sprinter, climber or time rider. But Vaughters said that Hesjedal excels when it comes to self discipline and determination. "His biggest strength is his ability to do a gut check and dig deep when there's no hope," Vaughters said. He's also a little bit stubborn, which can be frustrating at times. An earlier version of this article misspelled the last name of the Canadian cyclist. It is Hesjedal, not Hesjadal.