Chris Froome felt the "brutal" nature of this year's Giro d'Italia meant he was less vulnerable to attacks from his rivals, while he heralded his Team Sky colleagues for their help in his surge to glory.
After struggles earlier in the race, Friday's sensational solo break from 80 kilometres out allowed Froome to open up a 40-second advantage over defending champion Tom Dumoulin.
Although the Team Sunweb man attempted a couple of attacks over the final 10km of Saturday's final competitive stage, the leader was able to respond on each occasion and eventually finished six seconds clear of the Dutchman.
With Sunday's ride around Rome little more than a ceremonial stage, Froome is set to become the seventh man to win all three Grand Tours and just the third to claim the treble in successive attempts.
"I felt very in control. I felt everyone had such a hard day yesterday that nobody really had the legs to go anywhere," Froome said of the potential dangers posed by Dumoulin's attacks.
"This Giro has been brutal, when someone tends to have a bad day here it's not just 30 seconds or a minute, it's 10-15 minutes. You could see today [Thibaut] Pinot was in trouble and Astana turned the screw, so for us it was just to keep an eye on Tom. I sprinted to the finish just to keep in front of everything."
Froome later spoke to Eurosport's reporter Juan Antonio Flecha, himself a former stage winner on the Tour de France.
"It's an amazing feeling, you've got so much experience, could you see this outcome coming?" Froome asked Flecha.
"I have to say I think that [Sky's team ethos] was a really big part of doing what I was able to do yesterday, everyone believing in me and buying into the plan I had.
"When things don't work out for a GC rider, teams fall apart and start doing their own things but the guys did everything to get behind me.
"It feels amazing to be able to repay them after two and a half, three weeks of supporting me, to have the ride yesterday and finish it off today.
"This is what it's all about, making people dream, if you want to achieve something great you have to believe in it first. I had this huge goal to try and reach and I think once you really believe in it you're 90 per cent of the way there."
