The Vuelta a España (; ) 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 Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
, the race was first organised in
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
.
The race was prevented from being run by the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
and World War II in the early years of its existence; however, the race has been held annually since
1955.
As the Vuelta gained prestige and popularity the race was lengthened and its reach began to extend all around the globe. Since 1979, the event has been staged and managed by
Unipublic, until in 2014, when the
Amaury Sport Organisation acquired control. Since then, they have been working together. The
peloton expanded from a primarily Spanish participation to include riders from all over the world. The Vuelta is a
UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly
UCI WorldTeams, with the exception of the
wild card teams that the organizers can invite.
Along with the
Tour de France and
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
, the Vuelta is one of cycling's prestigious
Grand Tours. First held in
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
and annually since
1955, the Vuelta runs for three weeks in a changing route across Spain. While the route changes each year, the format of the race stays the same, with the appearance of at least two time trials, the passage through the mountain chain of the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
or the
Cantabrian Mountains, and the finish in the Spanish capital
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. The modern editions of the Vuelta a España consist of 21 day-long stages over a 23-day period that includes 2 rest days.
It was originally held in the spring, usually late April, with a few editions held in June in the 1940s. In
1995
1995 was designated as:
* United Nations Year for Tolerance
* World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War
This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
, however, the race moved to September to avoid direct competition with the
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
, held in May. As a result, the Vuelta is now often seen as an important preparation for the
World Championships, which moved to October the same year. However, starting in 2023 this is no longer the case as every fourth year the Worlds will now be held in August. A Vuelta was also organized in August and September 1950. The race now usually starts in late August, but the
2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
race started in October due to a delay caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
All of the stages are timed to the finish; after finishing, the riders' times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race and gets to don the
red jersey. While the general classification garners the most attention, there are, or have been, other contests held within the Vuelta: the
points classification for the sprinters, the
mountains classification for the climbers, the
combination classification for the all-round riders, and the
team classification for the competing teams.
La Vuelta Femenina, a women's edition of the race, was first held in
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
, part of the
UCI Women's World Tour. This follows smaller races staged in conjunction with the Vuelta between
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
and
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
.
History
Origins
The first races in Spain were run at the national level and were promoted by the bicycle manufacturers from
Eibar. Consequently, the tour was Eibar – Madrid – Eibar, and called the Grand Prix of the Republic.
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from:1935 till:1936 text:" Gustaaf Deloor" color:Belgium
from:1936 till:1937 text:"Gustaaf Deloor 2" color:Belgium
from:1937 till:1941 text:"Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
" color:War/Cancel shift:(30, 27)
from:1941 till:1942 text:" Julián Berrendero" color:Spain
from:1942 till:1943 text:"Julián Berrendero 2" color:Spain
from:1943 till:1945 text:"World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
" color:War/Cancel shift:(30, 12)
from:1945 till:1946 text:" Delio Rodríguez" color:Spain
from:1946 till:1947 text:" Dalmacio Langarica" color:Spain
from:1947 till:1948 text:" Edward Van Dijck" color:Belgium
from:1948 till:1949 text:" Bernardo Ruiz" color:Spain mark:(line,linemark2)
from:1949 till:1950 text:"Race not held" color:War/Cancel shift:(30, 3)
from:1950 till:1951 text:" Emilio Rodríguez" color:Spain
from:1951 till:1955 text:"Races not held" color:War/Cancel shift:(30, 27)
from:1955 till:1956 text:" Jean Dotto" color:France
from:1956 till:1957 text:" Angelo Conterno" color:Italy
from:1957 till:1958 text:" Jesús Loroño" color:Spain
from:1958 till:1959 text:" Jean Stablinski" color:France
from:1959 till:1960 text:" Antonio Suárez" color:Spain
from:1960 till:1961 text:" Frans De Mulder" color:Belgium
from:1961 till:1962 text:" Angelino Soler" color:Spain
from:1962 till:1963 text:" Rudi Altig" color:Germany
from:1963 till:1964 text:" Jacques Anquetil" color:France
from:1964 till:1965 text:" Raymond Poulidor" color:France
from:1965 till:1966 text:" Rolf Wolfshohl" color:Germany
from:1966 till:1967 text:" Francisco Gabica" color:Spain
from:1967 till:1968 text:" Jan Janssen" color:Netherlands
from:1968 till:1969 text:" Felice Gimondi" color:Italy
from:1969 till:1970 text:" Roger Pingeon" color:France
from:1970 till:1971 text:" Luis Ocaña" color:Spain
from:1971 till:1972 text:" Ferdinand Bracke" color:Belgium
from:1972 till:1973 text:" José Manuel Fuente" color:Spain
from:1973 till:1974 text:"Eddy Merckx
Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...
" color:Belgium
from:1974 till:1975 text:"José Manuel Fuente 2" color:Spain
from:1975 till:1976 text:" Agustín Tamames" color:Spain
from:1976 till:1977 text:" José Pesarrodona" color:Spain
from:1977 till:1978 text:" Freddy Maertens" color:Belgium
from:1978 till:1979 text:"Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In ...
" color:France
from:1979 till:1980 text:" Joop Zoetemelk" color:Netherlands
from:1980 till:1981 text:" Faustino Rupérez" color:Spain
from:1981 till:1982 text:" Giovanni Battaglin" color:Italy
from:1982 till:1983 text:" Marino Lejarreta" color:Spain
from:1983 till:1984 text:"Bernard Hinault 2" color:France
from:1984 till:1985 text:" Eric Caritoux" color:France
from:1985 till:1986 text:" Pedro Delgado" color:Spain
from:1986 till:1987 text:"Álvaro Pino
Álvaro Pino Couñago (born 17 August 1956) is a former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist from Galicia (Spain), Galicia who raced between 1981 through 1991 and is most famous for winning the General classification, overall tit ...
" color:Spain
from:1987 till:1988 text:" Luis Herrera" color:Colombia
from:1988 till:1989 text:" Sean Kelly" color:Ireland
from:1989 till:1990 text:"Pedro Delgado 2" color:Spain
from:1990 till:1991 text:" Marco Giovannetti" color:Italy
from:1991 till:1992 text:" Melchor Mauri" color:Spain
from:1992 till:1993 text:"Tony Rominger
Tony Rominger (born 27 March 1961) is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist who won the Vuelta a España in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and the Giro d'Italia in 1995.
Career
He began cycling late, allegedly spurred by competition with his br ...
" color:Switzerland
from:1993 till:1994 text:"Tony Rominger 2" color:Switzerland
from:1994 till:1995 text:"Tony Rominger 3" color:Switzerland
from:1995 till:1996 text:" Laurent Jalabert" color:France
from:1996 till:1997 text:" Alex Zülle" color:Switzerland
from:1997 till:1998 text:"Alex Zülle 2" color:Switzerland
from:1998 till:1999 text:" Abraham Olano" color:Spain
from:1999 till:2000 text:"Jan Ullrich
Jan Ullrich (; born 2 December 1973) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. Ullrich won gold and silver medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Sydney. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in fro ...
" color:Germany
from:2000 till:2001 text:" Roberto Heras" color:Spain
from:2001 till:2002 text:" Ángel Casero" color:Spain
from:2002 till:2003 text:" Aitor González" color:Spain
from:2003 till:2004 text:"Roberto Heras 2" color:Spain
from:2004 till:2005 text:"Roberto Heras 3" color:Spain
from:2005 till:2006 text:"Roberto Heras 4" color:Spain
from:2006 till:2007 text:" Alexandre Vinokourov" color:Kazakhstan
from:2007 till:2008 text:"Denis Menchov
Denis Nikolayevich Menshov (often mistakenly romanized as Menchov, ; born 25 January 1978) is a former professional Russian road bicycle racer, who rode as a professional between 2000 and 2013. He was best known as a general classification rider ...
" color:Russia
from:2008 till:2009 text:" Alberto Contador" color:Spain
from:2009 till:2010 text:" Alejandro Valverde" color:Spain
from:2010 till:2011 text:" Vincenzo Nibali" color:Italy
from:2011 till:2012 text:" Chris Froome" color:GBR
from:2012 till:2013 text:"Alberto Contador 2" color:Spain
from:2013 till:2014 text:" Chris Horner" color:US
from:2014 till:2015 text:"Alberto Contador 3" color:Spain
from:2015 till:2016 text:" Fabio Aru" color:Italy
from:2016 till:2017 text:" Nairo Quintana" color:Colombia
from:2017 till:2018 text:"Chris Froome 2" color:GBR
from:2018 till:2019 text:" Simon Yates" color:GBR
from:2019 till:2020 text:" Primož Roglič" color:Slovenia
from:2020 till:2021 text:"Primož Roglič 2" color:Slovenia
from:2021 till:2022 text:"Primož Roglič 3" color:Slovenia
from:2022 till:2023 text:" Remco Evenepoel" color:Belgium
from:2023 till:2024 text:" Sepp Kuss" color:US
from:2024 till:2025 text:"Primož Roglič 4" color:Slovenia
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from:1936 till:1937 text:BEL color:Belgium
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from:1942 till:1943 text:SPA color:Spain
from:1945 till:1946 text:SPA color:Spain
from:1946 till:1947 text:SPA color:Spain
from:1947 till:1948 text:BEL color:Belgium
from:1948 till:1949 text:SPA color:Spain mark:(line,linemark2)
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from:1957 till:1958 text:SPA color:Spain
from:1958 till:1959 text:FRA color:France
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from:1975 till:1976 text:SPA color:Spain
from:1976 till:1977 text:SPA color:Spain
from:1977 till:1978 text:BEL color:Belgium
from:1978 till:1979 text:FRA color:France
from:1979 till:1980 text:NED color:Netherlands
from:1980 till:1981 text:SPA color:Spain
from:1981 till:1982 text:ITA color:Italy
from:1982 till:1983 text:SPA color:Spain
from:1983 till:1984 text:FRA color:France
from:1984 till:1985 text:FRA color:France
from:1985 till:1986 text:SPA color:Spain
from:1986 till:1987 text:SPA color:Spain
from:1987 till:1988 text:COL color:Colombia
from:1988 till:1989 text:IRL color:Ireland
from:1989 till:1990 text:SPA color:Spain
from:1990 till:1991 text:ITA color:Italy
from:1991 till:1992 text:SPA color:Spain
from:1992 till:1993 text:SWI color:Switzerland
from:1993 till:1994 text:SWI color:Switzerland
from:1994 till:1995 text:SWI color:Switzerland
from:1995 till:1996 text:FRA color:France
from:1996 till:1997 text:SWI color:Switzerland
from:1997 till:1998 text:SWI color:Switzerland
from:1998 till:1999 text:SPA color:Spain
from:1999 till:2000 text:GER color:Germany
from:2000 till:2001 text:SPA color:Spain
from:2001 till:2002 text:SPA color:Spain
from:2002 till:2003 text:SPA color:Spain
from:2003 till:2004 text:SPA color:Spain
from:2004 till:2005 text:SPA color:Spain
from:2005 till:2006 text:SPA color:Spain
from:2006 till:2007 text:KAZ color:Kazakhstan
from:2007 till:2008 text:RUS color:Russia
from:2008 till:2009 text:SPA color:Spain
from:2009 till:2010 text:SPA color:Spain
from:2010 till:2011 text:ITA color:Italy
from:2011 till:2012 text:GBR color:GBR
from:2012 till:2013 text:SPA color:Spain
from:2013 till:2014 text:USA color:US
from:2014 till:2015 text:SPA color:Spain
from:2015 till:2016 text:ITA color:Italy
from:2016 till:2017 text:COL color:Colombia
from:2017 till:2018 text:GBR color:GBR
from:2018 till:2019 text:GBR color:GBR
from:2019 till:2020 text:SLO color:Slovenia
from:2020 till:2021 text:SLO color:Slovenia
from:2021 till:2022 text:SLO color:Slovenia
from:2022 till:2023 text:BEL color:Belgium
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1935–1960
In early 1935, former cyclist Clemente López Doriga, in collaboration with Juan Pujol, director of the daily newspaper ''Informaciones'', organized the Vuelta a España,
The inaugural event saw 50 entrants face a 3,411 km (2,119 mi.) course over only 14 stages, averaging over 240 km (149 mi.) per stage. It was inspired by the success of the Tours in France and Italy, and the boost they brought to the circulations of their sponsoring newspapers (''
L'Auto'' and ''
La Gazzetta dello Sport
(; English: "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any type in Italy (in 2018).
History and profile
was fou ...
'' respectively); Pujol of instigated the race to increase ''Informacioness circulation.
The first stage took the riders from Madrid to
Valladolid
Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
. That year saw the first great duel in the history of the Vuelta, between Belgium's
Gustaaf Deloor, who ultimately won, and
Mariano Cañardo, Spanish runner-up.
The second edition of the Vuelta, finally held despite the delicate political situation, was also marked by the Deeloor repeat, who this time held the lead from the first day to the last. The 1936 edition remains the longest winning finish time of the Vuelta in 150:07:54, the race consisted of 22 stages with a total length of 4,407 km. Gustaaf finished first and his older brother
Alfons finished second overall.
After the first two editions, the Spanish race suffered a hiatus because of the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
.
In
1941, the Vuelta resumed competition with an almost entirely Spanish peloton and very little foreign representation. That year the first time trial was held in the Vuelta.
Julián Berrendero was proclaimed the winner, and he recaptured the title the next year. In addition, Berrendero was King of the Mountains for three consecutive years.
With
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and the precarious economic situation, there was another break in the running of the Vuelta a España.
In 1945, the Journal took over organization of the race and competition resumed, although again with few foreign competitors in the peloton. On this occasion,
Delio Rodríguez took the final victory. That year also introduced the points classification, but this was not stable until 1955. Four editions were run until 1950.
Subsequently, there was no Vuelta until 1955, when it was organized by the Basque newspaper ''
El Correo Español-El Pueblo Vasco''.
Since then, the Vuelta a España has been run annually. At this time, the Vuelta is run routinely in August and September, but it was previously run in April and May. Another difference was the number of participants. Previously, there were very few, but the number doubled, with more internationally recognized competitors.
1960–1970
The prestige of the Vuelta increased, with more stars from the international cycling scene. During the late 1950s came the first successes in the overall standings of Italian and French riders. In the 1960s, they would also be joined by German and Dutch riders. In
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 Cove ...
,
Jacques Anquetil won the general classification, establishing himself as the first rider to win all three Grand Tours. Five years later, in
1968,
Felice Gimondi would do the same.
Eddy Merckx
Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...
(
1973
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
),
Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In ...
(
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
,
1983
1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
),
Alberto Contador (
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
),
Vincenzo Nibali (
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
) and
Chris Froome (
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
) later accomplished the same treble.
Antonio Karmany dominated the mountain classification for three consecutive years, then was replaced by Julio Jiménez, who won it for another three years.
In
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
,
Rik Van Looy became the first rider to repeat victory in the points classification.
Jan Janssen in
1968 and
1974 Domingo Perurena would do the same, winning this classification twice.
During mid 60's the organizer of the Vuelta, ''El Correo Español-El Pueblo Vasco'', went through some financial problems that endangered the running of the competition. However, during that time all editions ended normally. In
1968, the Vuelta was hit by a terrorist attack and other events, having to cancel the 15th stage. There were no fatalities.
1970–1980
The '70s began with the triumph of
Luis Ocaña, who was already established in the international squad as one of the greats of cycling.
José Manuel Fuente, with victories in
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
and
1974, became the third rider to win two Tours of Spain. A few years later, Bernard Hinault repeated the feat, which was also achieved by Pedro Delgado during the 1980s.
In
1973
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
,
Eddy Merckx
Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...
won the Vuelta by a landslide, winning six stages and all individual classifications with the exception of the mountains competition: he finished second.
Freddy Maertens in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
echoed a similar domination to that demonstrated by Merckx a few years earlier, by winning thirteen stages and all individual classifications except the mountain.
In the mid-1970s, Andrés Oliva managed to earn the King of the Mountains title in three editions of the Vuelta.
Frenchman
Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In ...
emerged in 1978 as an international cycling star. The same year, Hinault won his first Tour de France. The last stage of that edition also had to be suspended because of riots and barricades that prevented the normal course of it.
When 1979 ''El Correo Español-El Pueblo Vasco'' left as a sponsor of the race, the Vuelta was once again endangered. However, the company Unipublic took charge of the competition. This, coupled with increased advertising and the beginning of the broadcasts via television, further grew revenue and interest in the Vuelta.
1980–1990
In the early 1980s, two names stood out in the secondary classifications: José Luis Laguía, who won the mountain classification five times, and Sean Kelly, who won four times in the points classification.
In
1982 came the first case of disqualification of the winner for doping. Two days after the end of the competition,
Ángel Arroyo and a few other riders were disqualified, and Arroyo lost his victory to
Marino Lejarreta. Arroyo appealed for a B test of his sample, which again tested positive. Arroyo was given a ten-minute penalty, and ultimately ended up placing thirteenth in the general classification.
Next year's edition was the first appearance of the
Lagos de Covadonga as a final stage, an ascent that would become, over the years, the most iconic climb of the Vuelta a España. In
1984 it played the issue in a race that ended with the smallest difference between the first and second place.
Éric Caritoux, a complete unknown until then, managed to win the Vuelta with only six seconds ahead of
Alberto Fernández in second place.
The end of the 80s was marked by the rise of Colombian cycling, which presented a strong challenge particularly in the mountain stages. Names such as
Lucho Herrera (winner in
1987
Events January
* January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency.
* January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
* January 3 – Afghan leader ...
) or
Fabio Parra (2nd in
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
) appeared in the last editions of the decade. One of the rulers at that time was also
Pedro Delgado, with two victories (
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
and
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
), a second place, and two third-place finishes. In the
1988 edition, the start took place in the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
with 3 stages. The race was won by Irishman
Sean Kelly, his only overall victory in a Grand Tour.
1990–2000

The first half of the 1990s was marked by the dominance of Swiss rider
Tony Rominger
Tony Rominger (born 27 March 1961) is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist who won the Vuelta a España in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and the Giro d'Italia in 1995.
Career
He began cycling late, allegedly spurred by competition with his br ...
, the first rider to win three times and win the race consecutively between 1992 and 1994.
The fiftieth edition of the Vuelta, which was held in
1995
1995 was designated as:
* United Nations Year for Tolerance
* World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War
This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
, coincided with the change of dates. The Vuelta a España came to be held in September, and near the end of the season as the last of the three Grand Tours of the year. This was done to attract more high-profile riders, who before had preferred to ride the
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
or the
Tour de France, which both took place very closely to the Vuelta's timeslot. That year
Laurent Jalabert won all classifications, the second time this happened in the Vuelta (Rominger had done so in 1993). The Frenchman was also a four-time winner of the points classification, matching the previous record set by Sean Kelly in the '80s.
In
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
, the tour started for the first time in a foreign country. They began in
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, on the occasion of
Expo '98.
The ascent of the
Alto de L'Angliru
Alto de L'Angliru (; ) is a steep mountain road in Asturias, near La Vega-Riosa, in northern Spain. It is considered one of the most demanding climbs in professional road bicycle racing and is often used in the Vuelta a España stage race.
Origin ...
was part of a stage for the first time in 1999, with the victory of
José María Jiménez, four-time winner of the mountains classification. The reputation of the climb grew rapidly because of its demanding nature.
2000–2010

The first editions of the 2000s were marked by the dominance of
Roberto Heras, who achieved victory on three occasions, and in
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
did it for the fourth time. However, as happened with
Ángel Arroyo in 1982, Heras was disqualified days after the end of the competition after testing positive in a doping test, this time for use of
EPO. This positive development was later ratified by the counter-analysis and Heras was stripped of his title, benefiting the Russian cyclist
Denis Menchov
Denis Nikolayevich Menshov (often mistakenly romanized as Menchov, ; born 25 January 1978) is a former professional Russian road bicycle racer, who rode as a professional between 2000 and 2013. He was best known as a general classification rider ...
until 2012, when the Spanish Courts overturned the positive test and re-awarded the win to Heras. In 2006
Alexander Vinokourov won after a struggle with the then leader of the
UCI Pro Tour,
Alejandro Valverde. In the 2007 edition Denis Menchov again clinched the overall victory by more than three minutes over the Spanish cyclists
Carlos Sastre and
Samuel Sánchez. In June 2008, French company
Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), who organize the
Tour de France, announced it had bought 49% of Unipublic.

In 2008, the winner was the Spaniard Alberto Contador, who also won
that year's Giro d'Italia, and became the first Spaniard to win all three Grand Tours. In 2009, the Vuelta began in Drenthe, Netherlands, continuing through Belgium and Germany. The final winner was Alejandro Valverde, who adopted a conservative stance without winning any stage and sprinting in the final meters to achieve bonuses. His main rivals were Samuel Sánchez (second place),
Cadel Evans (third),
Ivan Basso,
Robert Gesink and
Ezequiel Mosquera. All of them suffered critical falls or punctures such as Evans in Monachil.
2010–2018
Vincenzo Nibali won the
2010 edition without winning a stage, thanks to consistent high placings on summit stage finishes and the race's two time trials. He had inherited the race lead after
Igor Antón
Igor Antón Hernández (born 2 March 1983) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018 for the , and squads.
Career
Born in Galdakao, Basque Country, Antón's first major achievement ...
was forced to abandon after crashing on stage 14. Though Nibali lost the race lead to
Joaquim Rodríguez, he later regained it on the final time trial. This marked his first grand tour victory.
The
2011 Vuelta was the 66th edition of the race and was the first Vuelta in 33 years that visited the
Basque Country. The 33-year absence from the region was due to fear of
political protests. The victory was originally awarded to
Juan José Cobo who had a race-winning margin of just 13 seconds over Briton
Chris Froome. Neither rider had been marked as a pre-race favourite, and both had gone to the Vuelta as
domestiques for their team leaders: Cobo for
Denis Menchov
Denis Nikolayevich Menshov (often mistakenly romanized as Menchov, ; born 25 January 1978) is a former professional Russian road bicycle racer, who rode as a professional between 2000 and 2013. He was best known as a general classification rider ...
, and Froome for
Bradley Wiggins
Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional Road bicycle racing, road and track cycling, track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but ...
; their team leaders originally finished 5th and 3rd respectively. The race was the first time that two Britons had stood on the podium of a Grand Tour, and Froome's second-place finish equalled the highest placing by a British rider in a Grand tour, Pippa York finishing second in the race in 1985 and 1986, until Wiggins won the
Tour de France the following year. In 2019 Cobo's win was annulled for doping violations, and the race awarded to Froome.
In
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, the race was won for the second time by
Alberto Contador of , taking his first overall victory since returning from a doping suspension. Contador, who won the seventeenth stage of the race after a solo attack, won the general classification by 1' 16" over runner-up
Alejandro Valverde of the team. Completing an all-Spanish podium,
Joaquim Rodríguez finished the race third overall, 21 seconds behind Valverde and 1' 37" behind Contador, having led the race for 13 days between the fourth and sixteenth stages. Rodríguez also achieved three stage victories.
The
2013 Vuelta a España saw another shock result when the 41-year-old American
Chris Horner defeated Vincenzo Nibali, Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim Rodríguez to become the first North American to win the Vuelta and the oldest rider to win a grand tour. In addition Horner clinched the race's
combination classification. The race was also notable for
Tony Martin's all-day solo break on stage 6, when he broke away at the start and led for nearly the entire stage before being caught 20 metres from the finish line, placing seventh behind stage winner
Michael Mørkøv.
In March 2014, ASO acquired full control of Unipublic, with both working together with the running of the race.
The
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
race featured a field described as the strongest in a grand tour in recent memory, as a range of accomplished riders entered the race after suffering injuries or health problems earlier in the season. Contador claimed his third Vuelta, Contador went into the race uncertain of his form after crashing out of the
Tour de France on the 10th stage, breaking his tibia. However, Contador found his form in the race earlier than expected, taking the red jersey on the 10th stage
individual time trial and taking two key mountain stage wins on his way to victory. He won the race by 1' 10" over runner-up, Chris Froome. Like Contador, Froome also went into the race uncertain of his form after he crashed three times in two days during the Tour, leading to his withdrawal. However, Froome came to life during the third week, finishing second in three key mountain stages and taking time to move into second place overall. Alejandro Valverde completed the podium, finishing 40 seconds behind Froome and 1 minute and 50 seconds behind Contador.
The
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
edition saw another strong field contest the race, including the top four finishers at the
2015 Tour de France (Froome, Valverde, Nibali and
Nairo Quintana) and two of the podium finishers from the
2015 Giro d'Italia in the form of Nibali's teammates
Fabio Aru and
Mikel Landa. The early leaders of the race were
Esteban Chaves and
Tom Dumoulin, who exchanged the leader's
red jersey several times during the first ten days of racing, with both riders winning
summit finishes in the first week. With the withdrawals of Chris Froome and the disqualification of Vincenzo Nibali, Nibali's team mate
Fabio Aru took over the race lead following the mountainous Stage 11, which took place entirely within Andorra. He kept his lead for five stages as the race entered the mountains of northern Spain, but lost it to Rodríguez on Stage 16. Dumoulin took the lead back on Stage 17 – the race's only
individual time trial – with Aru three seconds behind in second place. Aru
attacked throughout the final stages and, on the penultimate day, finally
dropped Dumoulin, who fell to sixth place overall. Aru therefore took the first Grand Tour victory of his career.
Nairo Quintana won the
2016 edition ahead of Froome, with the Colombian
Esteban Chaves finishing third. Quintana had gained over minutes over Froome on Stage 15 when he and Contador attacked together from into the stage and blew the race apart, isolating Froome from his teammates. Whilst Froome fought back and managed to gain back nearly all he had lost in a dominant victory on the stage 19 individual time trial to Calp, Quintana was able to follow several attacks by Froome on Stage 20, the final mountain stage to Alto de Aitana, to secure overall victory by 1:23 over Froome. By doing so, Quintana became the second Colombian after
Luis Herrera in
1987
Events January
* January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency.
* January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
* January 3 – Afghan leader ...
to win the Vuelta.
The
2017 edition started in
Nîmes
Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...
, France. It was the first time the race has started in France and only the third time it has started outside Spain, after
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
(Portugal) and
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
(Netherlands). The
general classification was won by
2017 Tour de France champion
Chris Froome from , ahead of
Vincenzo Nibali of .
Froome became the third rider to win the Tour-Vuelta double after
Jacques Anquetil (1963) and
Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In ...
(1978), and the first to do so since the Vuelta was moved to its current calendar position.
Froome also won the
points and
combination classifications, becoming the first rider to win three jerseys in a single Vuelta since
Denis Menchov
Denis Nikolayevich Menshov (often mistakenly romanized as Menchov, ; born 25 January 1978) is a former professional Russian road bicycle racer, who rode as a professional between 2000 and 2013. He was best known as a general classification rider ...
in 2007.
In
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, it was another British rider who won the race, in
Simon Yates, riding for the
Mitchelton–Scott. Aged 26 this was Yates' first grand tour win, and meant that for the first time all three grand tours in a year had been won by three different riders from the same country, after Froome won the
2018 Giro d'Italia and
Geraint Thomas won the
2018 Tour de France.
2019–present
The 2019 Vuelta was won by
Primož Roglič, who became the first Slovenian cyclist to win a Grand Tour.
The
2020 Vuelta a España was originally scheduled to be held from 14 August to 6 September 2020. In April 2020, the
2020 Tour de France was rescheduled to run between the 29 August and 20 September, having been postponed in view of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. On 15 April, UCI announced that both the
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
and the Vuelta would take place in autumn after the
2020 UCI Road World Championships. On 5 May, UCI announced that the postponed Giro and the Vuelta would run between 3 and 25 October and between 20 October and 8 November, respectively. For the first time since
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
, the race was not 21 stages long; instead, it was held in a reduced format over 18 stages.
Roglic defended his title in a hard-fought race with
Richard Carapaz which was among the closest Vueltas in history with the winning margin being only +0:24. The 2020 Vuelta had the smallest margin of victory since the
1984 Vuelta a España, which was the smallest margin of victory of any grand tour in cycling history.
In 2021, Roglič returned in the
2021 Vuelta a España and this time dominated the field to take his third consecutive victory in the race. He became only the third rider to win the race in three successive years. He won by 4' 42", the largest margin of victory since
Alex Zülle won by 5' 07" in
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
.
The
2022 Vuelta a España was won by the UCI World Road Race champion, Belgian
Remco Evenepoel after starting in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
,
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
.
The
2023 Vuelta a España was won by
Sepp Kuss, who took the red jersey on stage 6 after winning from a breakaway. Kuss held on to win the general classification by 17 seconds over his teammate
Jonas Vingegaard. Primoz Roglič, also a member of , finished third, making the race the first time a single team swept the podium of a grand tour.
The
2024 Vuelta a España was won by Primož Roglič, who tied Roberto Heras's record for the most general classification wins.
Classifications
The overall leader at present wears a red jersey— the Spanish counterpart to the
yellow jersey of the Tour de France. Other jerseys honor the best climber (
King of the Mountains, awarded a blue-on-white polka dot jersey) and leader of the
points competition (for many years awarded a ''blue with yellow fish jersey'' sponsored by Spain's fishing and marine industry, but more recently given a green jersey).
Since the 1950 Vuelta, the leaders of the other race classifications have been permitted to wear identifying jerseys (previously, there was an official mountain classification, but no identifying jersey). For a long time, a blue jersey identified the leader of the points classification, green the leader of the mountain classification, and white the leader of the combination classification (until it ended in 2018). Recently, these other classifications have used jerseys more like those used at the Tour de France, with the points leader using a green jersey, the King of the Mountains using a polka dot jersey (albeit blue-on-white rather than red-on-white as at the Tour) and the best young rider a white jersey.
Usually, other
cycling jersey
A cycling jersey is a specialised jersey for cycling.
The cycling jersey used to be made of wool since the inception of cycling as a sport in the early 1900s, while contemporary jerseys have evolved into technical sportswear that is lightweig ...
s are awarded, such as for points leaders in the "''Metas Volantes''" (intermediate sprints) and for the combination category (a point system that honors the best rider with the combined total points in the best overall, points and mountains classifications).
General Classification
The leader of the general classification is permitted to wear a jersey of a particular colour signifying the lead (maillot rojo or red jersey), as in the Tour de France (maillot jaune or yellow jersey) and the
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
(maglia rosa or pink jersey).
The colour of the leader's jersey of the Vuelta a España has changed several times since the original tour. The organizers who revived the Vuelta following its multiple suspensions since 1936 usually changed the color of the jersey. The leader's jersey began as orange in 1935, became white in 1941, then back to orange in 1942. It was white with a horizontal red stripe from 1945 to 1950.
In 1955, when ''
El Correo'' resurrected the Vuelta, yellow became the colour of the leader's jersey, the same color as in the Tour de France (known as the "Maillot amarillo").
Except for the 1977 Vuelta, when the jersey was orange, a yellow jersey was worn until 1998, when the color was deepened to a gold hue ("Jersey de Oro").
However, for the 2010 edition, the colour of the leader's jersey was changed to red.
The record for most wins is held by
Roberto Heras of Spain, winner in
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
,
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
,
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
and
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
. Spaniards have dominated, winning 30 of the 66 runnings of the Vuelta. France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Colombia, Ireland, Russia, Kazakhstan, the United States and Great Britain have also had first-place finishers.
Mountains Classification
The mountains classification in the Vuelta a España is a secondary classification in the Vuelta a España. 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 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,
Julio Jiménez,
José María Jiménez, all Spaniards. Overall, the Spaniards have dominated this classification by 47 out of 68 times. In 2010,
David Moncoutié 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.
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 and
points classification in the Vuelta a España 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.
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, 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.
Points Classification
The points classification in the Vuelta a España is a secondary classification, in which the cyclists are ranked in a
points classification, based on the finish of each rider every stage.
For the first time, a points classification was calculated in 1945, sponsored by Pirelli. It was calculated as follows:
*The winner of a stage received 100 points, the second 99, and so on. If cyclists arrived in a group that was given the same time, they all received the same number of points.
*The first five cyclists in a stage received 12 points for every minute that they arrived ahead of the number six of the stage.
*For every point scored for the
mountains classification, two points were given for this points classification.
*On intermediate sprints, points could be won: 8 for the winner, 6 for the second, 4 and 2 for the next.
Although the sponsor said that the classification was a great success,
it did not return
the next edition.
The next time that a points classification was calculated, was in 1955. Then it used the method of adding the stage ranks, in the same way as the
points classification in the Tour de France did then; just like in the Tour de France, the leader of the points classification (with the fewest points) wore a green jersey. In 1963, the points system changed such that from now on points were given to the first cyclists to reach the finish, and the cyclist with the most points was the leader.
Seán Kelly,
Laurent Jalabert and
Alejandro Valverde, with 4 titles each, share the record of victories.
Young rider classification

The young rider classification is awarded based on the young rider with the lowest cumulative time (the same methodology as the
general classification). The jersey is also awarded alongside the
points and
mountains
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...
classifications.
In the 2017 and the 2018 editions, the winner only wore a red number bib as the white jersey was awarded to the winner of the
Combination classification.
Team classification
The team classification has been awarded since the race's inception in 1935.
Defunct classifications
The combination classification was calculated by adding the numeral ranks of each cyclist in the
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
,
points, and
mountains
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...
classifications (a rider must have had a score in all classifications possible to qualify for the combination classification), with the lowest cumulative total signifying the leader of this competition.
From 2006 to 2018, the leader of the classification wore a white jersey; in 2005 it was a golden-green jersey.
The award strongly favoured top riders in the competition. Since its re-introduction in 2002, it was only won by someone other than the race's overall winner four times: in 2002, 2003, 2012, and 2015. On all four of those occasions, the winning cyclist was placed either second or third in the overall classification.
The combination classification was discontinued in 2019. Now, the white jersey is worn by the best young rider.
The Vuelta was the last major race to feature a combination classification.
The race route and stages
Typically, the course includes up to three time trials, and a number of mountain stages. Since 1994, and often before (such as in the inaugural edition), the Vuelta finished in the Spanish capital, Madrid, although
Bilbao
Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...
(in the 1950s) and
San Sebastián
San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...
(in the 1970s) were long both recurring finish cities. Behind Madrid, three cities share second place for the most Vuelta departures:
Gijón, Bilbao, and one time finish city
Jerez de la Frontera. In 1997, the Vuelta started abroad for the first time, in
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, Portugal. The first ever Vuelta to start outside the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
took place in 2009, when the Dutch city of
Assen
Assen () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in ...
hosted the prologue of the
64th Vuelta.
Lagos de Covadonga is one of the most important climb in the modern history of the ''Vuelta''. The road that leads to the lakes starts at Covadonga and is 12.6 kilometres long at an average gradient of 7.3% (height gain: 1056 m
The most demanding section is ''La Huesera'', 7 kilometres from the top of the climb, with an average gradient of 15% during 800 meters. It was featured for the first time in
1983
1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
with the victory of
Marino Lejarreta, who was in a fierce battle with
Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In ...
for overall victory. This was the same Vuelta that saw Hinault,
Greg LeMond
Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France thrice and the UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, Road Race World Championship twice, becoming t ...
and
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, as well as the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He held the title of FICP World No. 1 in 1989. Fignon came ...
all riding on the same team. Stage 7 of the
2023 La Vuelta Femenina ended at Lagos de Covadonga, with Dutch cyclist
Demi Vollering placing first.

In
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, for the first time, the course crossed the
Alto de L'Angliru
Alto de L'Angliru (; ) is a steep mountain road in Asturias, near La Vega-Riosa, in northern Spain. It is considered one of the most demanding climbs in professional road bicycle racing and is often used in the Vuelta a España stage race.
Origin ...
in
Asturias
Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain.
It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...
, which climbs 1,573 meters (5,160 feet) over 12.9 km (8 mi.) with grades as steep as 23.6 percent (at ''Cueña-les-Cabres''), making it one of the steepest climbs in Europe. Credit for the discovery of this climb and its addition to the Vuelta goes to Miguel Prieto.
Start and finish of the Vuelta
;Starts
;Finishes
Starts abroad
Most stages are in mainland Spain, although since the mid-1990s it has become common to visit nearby countries: Portugal, Andorra and France. It has also taken place in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Four editions of the Vuelta so far have started outside Spain.
A start abroad in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
, Netherlands was planned for the
2020 edition, however this was cancelled in light of the
COVID-19 pandemic in Spain and a revised route starting in
Irun was used in 2020. Instead, the 2022 Vuelta a España started in Utrecht.
Stage wins
Stage wins per rider
17 riders have won 10 or more individual stages.
Active riders are in bold.
Stage wins per country
Records
* Most Vuelta a España victories:
Roberto Heras,
Primož Roglič, 4
* Most Vuelta a España consecutive victories:
Tony Rominger
Tony Rominger (born 27 March 1961) is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist who won the Vuelta a España in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and the Giro d'Italia in 1995.
Career
He began cycling late, allegedly spurred by competition with his br ...
,
Roberto Heras,
Primož Roglič, 3
* Most Vuelta a España Stage wins:
Delio Rodríguez, 39
* Most stage wins in one edition:
Freddy Maertens in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
, 13
* Most
individual time trial wins:
Abraham Olano,
Alex Zülle, and
Tony Rominger
Tony Rominger (born 27 March 1961) is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist who won the Vuelta a España in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and the Giro d'Italia in 1995.
Career
He began cycling late, allegedly spurred by competition with his br ...
, 6
* Most number of victories by country: Spain, 32
* Most days as leader:
Alex Zülle, 48
* Most mountains classification victories:
José Luis Laguía, 5
* Most points classification victories:
Sean Kelly,
Laurent Jalabert and
Alejandro Valverde, 4
* Most number of intermediate sprints classification victories: Miguel Ángel Iglesias, 5
* Largest margin of victory:
Delio Rodríguez over
Julián Berrendero in
1945, 30' 8"
* Smallest margin of victory:
Éric Caritoux over
Alberto Fernández in
1984, 6 seconds
* Most participations:
Íñigo Cuesta, 17 (1994–2010).
* Most consecutive participations:
Íñigo Cuesta, 17 (1994–2010).
* Most Vueltas finished:
Federico Echave
Federico Echave Musatadi (born 20 July 1960 in Kortezubi) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the prestigious stage up to Alpe d'Huez in 1987 Tour de France. Echave holds the record for most Vueltas finished, 14, all ...
, 14 (1982–1995), and
Íñigo Cuesta, 14 (1994, 1996–99, 2001–03 and 2005–10)
* Most consecutive Vueltas finished:
Federico Echave
Federico Echave Musatadi (born 20 July 1960 in Kortezubi) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the prestigious stage up to Alpe d'Huez in 1987 Tour de France. Echave holds the record for most Vueltas finished, 14, all ...
, 14 (1982–1995).
* Fewest participants:
1941, 32
* Greatest number of participants:
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
, 207
* Fastest average speed:
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
, 42.534 km/h
* Slowest average speed:
1941, 26.262 km/h
* Longest edition:
1941, 4,442 km
* Shortest edition:
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 Cove ...
, 2,419 km
* Youngest general classification winner:
Angelino Soler in
1961, age
* Oldest general classification winner:
Chris Horner in
2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, age
Related events
Between
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
and
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, a women's race (Challenge by La Vuelta) was held in conjunction with the final day(s) of the Vuelta as part of the
UCI Women's World Tour.
Initially a one day race, it became a stage race from 2018 onwards, with the 2022 edition featuring 5 stages.
The race was criticised for its lack of difficulty, with winner
Annemiek van Vleuten
Annemiek van Vleuten (; born 8 October 1982) is a retired Dutch professional Bicycle racing, road racing cyclist, who most recently rode for UCI Women's Team, UCI Women's WorldTeam .
Van Vleuten is twice a winner of both the UCI Road World Cha ...
stating "if you look at the
022course you can conclude that the Vuelta ''(sic)'' is not yet ready to call itself a grand tour".
From 2023,
La Vuelta Femenina – a 7-day stage race in the UCI Women's World Tour – was held in May.
References
External links
*
Sportlistings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vuelta A Espana
1
Recurring sporting events established in 1935
UCI ProTour races
UCI World Tour races
1935 establishments in Spain
Grand Tour (cycling)
Annual sporting events in Spain
September in sports
Challenge Desgrange-Colombo races
Super Prestige Pernod races