The 18th ''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. B ...

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 1 May to 15 May 1963. It consisted of 15 stages covering a total of , and was won by

Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the ...

of the St. Raphael-Gitane

cycling team A cycling team is a group of cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important in road bicycle racing Road ...

. Not only did Anquetil complete his Grand Tour treble, this also marked the first time in history a rider won two Grand Tours in the same calendar year for his team sponsor (since most Grand Tours from the 1930s until the early 1960s were contested in national teams). Bas Maliepaard won the points classification and Julio Jiménez won the mountains classification.

Teams and riders

Route

Results

References

External links

La Vuelta (Official site in Spanish, English, and French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vuelta A Espana, 1963 1963 in road cycling

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

1963 in Spanish sport 1963 Super Prestige Pernod