The 57th edition of the ''Vuelta a España'' (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle

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 7 September to 29 September 2002. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of , and was won by

Aitor González Aitor González Jiménez (born 27 February 1975) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 1998 and 2005, and was the winner of the 2002 Vuelta a España. Career Born in Zumárraga, Gipuzkoa, Gonzá ...

of the

Kelme-Costa Blanca Kelme was a professional cycling team based in Spain. History In 1979, Kelme sponsored the mountains classification in the Vuelta a España. The owners of Kelme were not satisfied with the publicity that this produced, so they decided to sponsor ...

cycling team.

Joseba Beloki Joseba Beloki Dorronsoro (born 12 August 1973) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. Tour successes Beloki turned professional in 1998 with , joined in 2000, and then in 2001. A strong climber in the high mountains and a top p ...

, the second-place finisher of the 2002 Tour de France was part of the winning ONCE-Eroski team that won the opening team time trial of the race. Beloki held the lead until the fifth stage when he lost it to a teammate but on the sixth stage which was won by

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 ...

. Beloki lost considerable time to other general classification contenders

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 ...

and Heras. Sevilla took the leader's jersey which he had worn for much of the previous edition of the Vuelta. After the first individual time trial, his teammate

was within one second of the jersey. On stage 15, González increased the pace of the group and put Sevilla in difficulty. Heras profited from this and attacked to take the stage win and the lead. Heras kept the lead until the final day when there was an individual time trial. Heras started the day with a lead of one minute and eight seconds over González but he lost this in the first 25 km of the time trial. González took the lead and won the Vuelta, Heras came second and Beloki recovered to eventually finish third overall. The Vuelta was also marked by three stage wins of Italian sprinter

Mario Cipollini Mario Cipollini (; born 22 March 1967), often abbreviated to "Cipo", is a retired Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance (his first pro win came in 1988, his last in 2005; 170 p ...

who retired from the race after his third stage win to prepare for the World Championships. During stage 15 riders climbed the Alto de l'Angliru in rain. Team cars stalled on the steepest part, some unable to restart because their tires slipped on messages painted by fans.Procycling, UK, November 2003 Riders were caught behind them and others had to ride with flat tires because mechanics could not reach them.

David Millar David Millar (born 4 January 1977) is a Scottish retired professional road racing cyclist. He rode for Cofidis from 1997 to 2004 and Garmin-Sharp from 2008 to 2014. He has won four stages of the Tour de France, five of the Vuelta a España an ...

crashed three times and protested by handing in his race number a metre from the line. The judges ruled he had not finished the stage and he left the race.Epica y polémica
/ref> He regretted his temper - he had been ninth - and apologised to his team.

Route

Jersey Progress

General classification (final)

References

External links

La Vuelta (Official site in Spanish, English, and French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vuelta a Espana, 2002 2002 2002 in road cycling 2002 in Spanish sport