The 1988 Vuelta a España was the 43rd Edition
Vuelta a España, taking place from 25 April to 15 May 1988. It was a bicycle race which consisted of 20 stages over , ridden at an average speed of .
Sean Kelly started the race as the principal favourite after performance in the
1987 Vuelta a España
The 42nd Edition ''Vuelta a España'' (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 Herrer ...
in which he was leading the
General classification with several days remaining in the race when he was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Luis "Lucho" Herrera returned to defend his title while 1985 Vuelta winner
Pedro Delgado had decided to ride the
1988 Giro d'Italia in preparation for the
1988 Tour de France
The 1988 Tour de France was the 75th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 4 to 24 July. It consisted of 22 stages over . The race was won by Pedro Delgado with the top three positions at the end of the race being occupied by specialis ...
. The BH team directed by Javier Mínguez, presented solid opposition with the strong climbers
Álvaro Pino (winner of the
1986 Vuelta a España
The 41st Edition ''Vuelta a España'' (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 22 April to 13 May 1986. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of , and was won by Álvaro Pino of the ...
) and
Anselmo Fuerte. In the end, Kelly won the race and became the first
Irish winner of the
Vuelta a España.
Route
The first stage introduced an innovative format of five heats, each with two riders per team, with the team leaders appearing in the final heat.
Una primera etapa innovadora produjo el desconcierto en el pelotón de la Vuelta
– Robert Álvarez, El País, 26 April 1988
Results
Final General classification
KOM Classification
Points Classification
Team classification
Best First Year Professional
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vuelta a Espana, 1988
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
1988 in road cycling
1988 in Spanish sport