The 56th edition of the ''Vuelta a España'' (Tour of Spain), a long-distance stage 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 8 September to 30 September 2001. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of , and was won by

Ángel Casero Ángel Luis Casero Moreno (born 27 September 1972 in Albalat dels Tarongers, Province of Valencia) is a retired Spanish road bicycle racer who raced professionally between 1994 and 2005. His first win was at the 1995 Clásica a los Puertos de ...

of the cycling team at a speed of . This edition of the Vuelta was notable for its final-stage time trial, during which Casero overcame a 25-second lead held by

Óscar Sevilla Óscar Miguel Sevilla Rivera (born 29 September 1976), nicknamed ''El Niño'', is a Spanish-Colombian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . He is a climber with a pedigree in stage races, having finis ...

of to win, while American

Levi Leipheimer Levi Leipheimer (born October 24, 1973) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He was twice US national champion, winning the time trial title in 1999 and the road race in 2007, and is an Olympic medalist. Leipheimer was born a ...

of managed to move past both teammate

Roberto Heras Roberto Heras Hernández (born 1 February 1974) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer who won the Vuelta a España a record four times. Between 1997 Vuelta a España, 1997 and 2005 Vuelta a España, 2005 he finished in the top 5 of ...

and

Juan Miguel Mercado Juan Miguel Mercado Martínez (born 8 July 1978 in Armilla, Granada) is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer who turned professional with Vitalicio Seguros in 1998. At the Tour de France, Mercado won Stage 18 at the 2004 Tour and captured a ...

to take third and become the first American ever to achieve a podium finish in the Vuelta. Additionally,

Guido Trenti Guido Trenti (born December 27, 1972 in Milan) is an American-Italian former professional road racing cyclist who has ridden in each of the three Grand Tours. Trenti was born to an American mother and Italian father, allowing him to maintain du ...

became the first American ever to win a stage in the race.

Teams

A total of 21 teams were invited to participate in the 2001 Vuelta a España. Fifteen of the competing squads were UCI Division I teams, while the other six teams were UCI Division II. Mercury–Viatel, who were previously scheduled to ride, didn't start. Each team sent a squad of nine riders, so the Vuelta began with a peloton of 189 cyclists, a total of 139 riders made it to the finish in Madrid. The 21 teams invited to the race were:

Stages

Jersey progress

Final standings

General classification

Points classification

Mountains classification

Sprints classification

Team classification

References

External links

La Vuelta (Official site in Spanish, English, and French)Cyclingnews.com 2001 Vuelta a Espana coverage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vuelta a Espana, 2001 2001 in road cycling 2001 2001 in Spanish sport