As it was in the beginning, so it was at the end of the 25th La Vuelta de Bisbee, as Andrew Miller and Manon Jutras won their respective final stages and collected their overall titles.

Miller (Landis-Trek-VW) and Jutras (Saturn) were the victors in the Mule Pass prologue on Friday evening, the kickoff to the weekend’s racing in southern Arizona. But while Jutras held her lead throughout La Vuelta, winning three of four stages along the way, Miller lost his yellow leader’s jersey to Viktor Rapinski after the Saturn rider won Saturday afternoon’s Warren Time Trial.

Come Sunday, and the 65.4-mile Tombstone Road Race – with more than 5000 feet of climbing, including two Category 3 grinds in the last 15 miles – Miller repaid Rapinski for swiping his shirt.

At the base of the final ascent, Miller dropped the hammer, powering up the hill to win in 2:39:00, 19 seconds ahead of Mike Sayers (Health Net), and a half-minute up on Todd Wells (Hyundai-Mongoose). Rapinski had to settle for fifth, 46 seconds off Miller’s winning pace.

When the final numbers were crunched, Miller claimed the overall in 6:09:36, bumping Rapinsky to second at 0:26. Gord Fraser (Health Net), winner of the Sulphur Springs Road Race, rounded out the top three at 0:42.

In the 58.4-mile women’s race, it was Jutras once again. She made her move at the base of the final grind, followed by Lynn Gaggioli (VeloBella) and T-Mobile teammates Dotsie Cowden and Katrina Grove. A couple of attacks later and it was hasta la vista, muchachas - Jutras soloed the final kilometer to the line to win in 3:01:59, just two seconds ahead of the battling Gaggioli and Cowden, who finished in the same time.

There was no doubt about who would get the final leader's jersey - Jutras had the overall wired in 5:34:24, with the runner-up slot going to Grove at 1:13, followed by Cowden at 1:24.