The 42nd Edition ''

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 ...

'' (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the 3 grand tours, was held from 23 April to 15 May 1987. It consisted of 22 stages covering a total of 3,921 km, and was won by Luis Herrera of the Café de Colombia

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

. It was the first win of a Grand Tour by a Colombian and also the first of a South American. With the 1986 Vuelta Champion, Álvaro Pino was absent due to health problems, the principal favourites for the overall classification were

Laurent Fignon Laurent Patrick Fignon (; 12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010) was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 and the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He is former FICP World No. 1 in 1989. He nearly captured th ...

, Pedro Delgado and Sean Kelly. Jean Luc Vandenbroucke won the prologue and wore the first leader's jersey. Kelly who was in form after winning

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlook ...

for the sixth time won the first stage and took the jersey. The sixth stage saw the beginning of the fight for the overall classification. Luis Herrera in the company of

Ángel Arroyo Angel Arroyo Lanchas (born 2 August 1956 in El Barraco) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. In the 1983 Tour de France, Arroyo won one stage and finished 2nd place in the general classification. In stage 17 of the 1982 Vuelta ...

and Vicente Belda attacked several times on the final ascent of the stage. However Kelly was still able to ride into the leader's jersey again. On the following stage to Cerler which was won by the Spaniard Laudelino Cubino, Herrera put time into Kelly and Dietzen finished ahead of Kelly and took the leader's jersey. Herrera took the jersey after the 11th stage that finished on the Lagos de Covadonga. However Kelly retook the leader's jersey in the stage 18 time trial and with four stages to go it looked as if he was going to win his first grand tour. However Kelly was forced to withdraw from the race the following day due to a saddle boil. Fignon won the following stage and moved up to third place overall ahead of Delgado. Herrera took back the jersey which he kept to the end to win the race. It was the first win of a Grand Tour by a Colombian and also the first of a South American.

Teams and riders

Route

Classification leadership

Final classification standings

General classification

Points classification

Mountains classification

Young rider classification

Team classification

Sprint classification

Flying goal classification

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vuelta a Espana, 1987 1987 in road cycling

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

1987 in Spanish sport 1987 Super Prestige Pernod International