The 46th Edition ''Vuelta a España'' (Tour of Spain), a long-distance

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

race and one of the three

grand tours In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España. Collectively they are termed the ''Grand Tours'', and all three races are similar in ...

, was held from 29 April to 19 May 1991. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of , and was won by

Melcior Mauri Melcior Mauri Prat (born 8 April 1966 in Vic) is a Spanish retired cyclist who won the 1991 Vuelta a España, as well as numerous smaller stage races, mainly due to his abilities as a time triallist. He won the silver medal at the time trial Wor ...

of the

ONCE Once means a one-time occurrence. Once may refer to: Music * ''Once'' (Pearl Jam song), a 1991 song from the album ''Ten'' * ''Once'' (Roy Harper album), a 1990 album by Roy Harper * ''Once'' (The Tyde album), a 2001 debut album by The Tyd ...

cycling team.

Race preview and favorites

Miguel Induráin Miguel Induráin Larraya (; born 16 July 1964) is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. Induráin won five Tours de France from 1991 to 1995, the fourth, and last, to win five times, and the only five-time winner to achieve those victories co ...

Laudelino Cubino Laudelino Cubino González (born 31 May 1963) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. He was born in Béjar, Spain. Career achievements Major results ;1986 : Clásica a los Puertos de Guadarrama ;1987 :Vuelta a España: ::Winn ...

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 ...

were the Spanish favourites for the race. Defending champion

Marco Giovannetti Marco Giovannetti (born 4 April 1962) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer and Olympic gold medalist who won the Vuelta a España in 1990. He has also won stages at the Tour de Suisse and the Giro d'Italia. Giovannetti was bor ...

was also a favourite together with Steven Rooks,

Raúl Alcalá Raúl Alcalá Gallegos (born 3 March 1964) is a former professional road racing cyclist, who competed between 1985 and 1999 and again in 2008 and 2010. As an amateur, Alcalá competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, fin ...

and the

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

ns Fabio Parra and Luis ‘Lucho’ Herrera. In the end Melcior Mauri was the revelation of the race and beat the future winner of the Tour de France Miguel Induráin in all the time trials. Indurain was forced to ride an aggressive race in the mountain stages but Mauri was able to defend his lead.

Route and stages

Race overview

The opening stage consisted, on this occasion, of a three-man team time trial. The winning trio consisted of ONCE's Melcior Mauri, Anselmo Fuerte and Herminio Díaz-Zabala. Coupled with ONCE's win in the following day's Team Time Trial, meant the leader's jersey alternated between these three riders for the first week of the race. The team time trial would turn out to have a large impact as Induráin lost almost two minutes to Mauri on this stage. Stage 8, a individual time trial, was the first decisive stage of the Vuelta. Riders such as Laudelino Cubino and Anselmo Fuerte lost most of their chances that day. Mauri increased his lead by winning the stage, a little less than a minute ahead of Induráin. The Pyrenean stages were awaited with anticipation, to see if ONCE's Catalunyan rider would be capable of withstanding the high mountains. However, the queen stage ending at Pla de Beret had to be suspended due to adverse weather. Russian rider Ivan Ivanov won the 12th stage to the mountaintop ski resort at Cerler, but Mauri held on, losing less than a minute to Induráin. Stage 14 was a mountain time trial finishing at the ski station in Valdezcaray, where Parra and Herrera set the leading times. Mauri once again put in a good performance, gaining more time on Induráin and leading the general classification ahead of his teammate Lejarreta, Echave and Induráin. The third and final week of the race featured two high mountain stages in the Cordillera Cantábrica mountain range: the historic ascensions to the Alto del Naranco and the Covadonga Lakes. Herrera and Cubino took the stages, but Mauri managed to hang on. Mauri lost some time, but not enough to lose his overall lead. At this point he was the leader and there was still one time trial to go. Mauri didn't disappoint, winning the Valladolid time trial ahead of Induráin by over a minute to seal his Vuelta win. He would never again perform at such a high standard. Induráin finished second overall, and Lejarreta third.

Results

Final General Classification

Notes

References

External links

La Vuelta (Official site in Spanish, English, and French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vuelta a Espana, 1991 1991 in road cycling

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

1991 in Spanish sport