The mountains classification in the Vuelta a España is a secondary classification in the

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 r ...

. For this classification, points are given to the cyclists who cross the mountain peaks first. The classification was established in 1935, when it was won by Italian Edoardo Molinar, and until 2005 the leader in the mountain classification wore a green jersey. In 2006, it became an orange jersey, and in 2010 it became white with blue dots. Spaniard

José Luis Laguía José Luis Laguía Martínez (born 30 September 1959) is a retired Spanish road cyclist and climber. He won a record five mountains classifications at the Vuelta a España during his career. As a faithful Domestique of Pedro Delgado he foll ...

has won this classification a record five times, including three consecutive. Other cyclists who have won this ranking for three consecutive times were

Antonio Karmany Antonio Karmany Mestres (born 21 January 1934) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. Major Results ;1957 :1st, Stage 6, Vuelta a Levante ;1958 :1st, Gran Premio de Primavera ;1959 :1st, Stages 4a & 6, Volta a Catalunya :1st, Sta ...

, Julio Jiménez,

José María Jiménez Jose María Jiménez Sastre (February 6, 1971 in El Barraco, Spain - December 6, 2003 in Madrid) was a professional road bicycle racer. During his career he excelled as a climber, winning numerous mountain stages. His nickname was "El Chava". ...

, all Spaniards. Overall, the Spaniards have dominated this classification by 47 out of 68 times. In 2010,

David Moncoutié David Moncoutié (born 30 April 1975) is a retired French professional road racing cyclist, who rode with the French team , for his entire professional career. He was a climber, and won his first professional race in a mountain stage of Critér ...

considered retirement, but remained a professional cyclist to try to win his third consecutive mountains classification. In 2011, he became the first rider ever to win this award in four consecutive years.

Jersey

As of 2010, the leader of the mountains classification is awarded a white jersey with blue dots. The mountains jersey is third in the rankings of jerseys, behind the jersey for 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 ...

and

points classification in the Vuelta a España The points classification in the Vuelta a España is a secondary classification in the Vuelta a España, in which the cyclists are ranked in a points classification based on the finish of each rider every stage. History For the first time, a poi ...

but before the combination classification; this means that if a cyclists leads both the general classification and the mountains classification, he wears the jersey for the general classification, and the mountains jersey is passed on to the second cyclist in that ranking.

Rules

The organisation of the Vuelta designates which climbs are given points, and in which category they fall. As of 2010, there are 5 categories: most points are scored on the Top

Alberto Fernández Alberto Ángel Fernández (; born 2 April 1959) is an Argentine politician, lawyer and professor, serving as president of Argentina since 2019. Born in Buenos Aires, Fernández attended the University of Buenos Aires, where he earned his law ...

, the highest point of the Vuelta. If two or more cyclists have the same number of points, the cyclist who was first on the 'Top Alberto Fernandez' gets the higher ranking. If that does not solve the problem, the cyclists with the most high climb finishes wins gets the higher ranking. If that does not solve it, the cyclists with the most first category wins, and so on. If after the third category there is still a tie, the order in the general classification is used.

List of winners

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mountains Classification In The Vuelta A Espana Vuelta a España Cycling jerseys Spanish sports trophies and awards