The 1988 Vuelta a España was the 43rd Edition

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...

, taking place from 25 April to 15 May 1988. It was a bicycle race which consisted of 20 stages over , ridden at an average speed of . Sean Kelly started the race as the principal favourite after performance in the

1987 Vuelta a España The 42nd Edition ''Vuelta a España'' (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the 3 grand tours, was held from 23 April to 15 May 1987. It consisted of 22 stages covering a total of 3,921 km, and was won by Luis Herre ...

in which he was leading the

General classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...

with several days remaining in the race when he was forced to withdraw due to injury. Luis "Lucho" Herrera returned to defend his title while 1985 Vuelta winner

Pedro Delgado Pedro Delgado Robledo (; born 15 April 1960), also known as Perico (), is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 1988 Tour de France, as well as the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989. Delgado is 171 centimetres tall (5&nb ...

had decided to ride the 1988 Giro d'Italia in preparation for the 1988 Tour de France. The BH team directed by Javier Mínguez, presented solid opposition with the strong climbers

Álvaro Pino Álvaro Pino Couñago (born 17 August 1956) is a former professional road racing cyclist from Galicia who raced between 1981 through 1991 and is most famous for winning the overall title at the 1986 Vuelta a España over favorites Robert Millar ...

(winner of the 1986 Vuelta a España) and

Anselmo Fuerte Anselmo Fuerte Abelenda (born 27 January 1962 in Madrid) is a former Spanish racing cyclist. He finished third in the 1988 and 1990 Vuelta a España. Major results ;1984 : 1st Overall Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid ;1986 : 3rd Overall Vuelta a ...

. In the end, Kelly won the race and became the first

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

winner of the

Route

The first stage introduced an innovative format of five heats, each with two riders per team, with the team leaders appearing in the final heat.Una primera etapa innovadora produjo el desconcierto en el pelotón de la Vuelta
– Robert Álvarez, El País, 26 April 1988

Results

Final General classification

KOM Classification

Points Classification

Team classification

Best First Year Professional

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vuelta a Espana, 1988

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

1988 in road cycling 1988 in Spanish sport