Vuelta a España
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2008-07-13T15:31:36Z
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/* Winners of the Vuelta a España */
{{Infobox Cycling race
| name = Vuelta a España
| current_event =
| image = [[Image:Tony Rominger.jpg|250px]]<small><br>[[Tony Rominger]] in the Golden Jersey</small>
| date = September (since 1995)
| region = Spain
| english = Tour of Spain
| localnames = Vuelta Ciclista a España {{es icon}}
| nickname = The ''Vuelta''
| discipline = Road
| competition = UCI ProTour
| type = Grand Tour
| organiser = Unipublic
| director = Víctor Cordero
| first = 1935
| number = 62 (as of 2007)
| last =
| firstwinner = {{flagicon|BEL}} Gustaaf Deloor
| mostwins = {{flagicon|SUI}} Tony Rominger<br>{{flagicon|ESP}} Roberto Heras<br>(3 wins)
| mostrecent = {{flagicon|RUS}} Denis Menchov
}}
The '''Vuelta a España''' ([[English language|English]]: ''Tour of Spain'') is a three-week [[road bicycle racing]] [[stage race]] that is one of the three "[[Grand Tour (cycling)|Grand Tours]]" of Europe and part of the [[UCI ProTour]] circuit.
==History==
First held in [[1935 Vuelta a España|1935]] and annually since [[1955 Vuelta a España|1955]], the Vuelta runs for three weeks in a changing route across [[Spain]]. The inaugural event (1935) saw 50 entrants face a 3,411 km (2,119 mi.) course over only 14 stages, averaging over 240km (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 [[newspaper]]s (''[[L'Équipe|L'Auto]]'' and ''[[La Gazzetta dello Sport]]'' respectively); Juan Pujol of the daily ''[[Informaciones]]'' instigated the race to increase his circulation.
It was formerly held in the spring, but since [[1995 Vuelta a España|1995]] the race has been run in September. The course includes two individual time trials. The finish of the Vuelta is traditionally the Spanish capital, [[Madrid]].
In [[1999 Vuelta a España|1999]], for the first time, the course crossed the [[Alto de El Angliru]] in [[Asturias]], 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 in Europe. Credit for the discovery of this climb and its addition to the Vuelta goes to Miguel Prieto.
The overall leader wears the 'Jersey de Oro' (a Golden Jersey)—the Spanish counterpart to the [[yellow jersey]] of the Tour de France. Other jerseys honour the best climber ([[King of the Mountains]]) and the best sprinter ([[points classification|points competition]]) [awarded a ''blue with yellow fish jersey'' that is sponsored by Spain's fishing and marine industry]. Usually there are other [[cycling jersey|cycling jerseys]] awarded, such as for points leaders in the "''Metas Volantes''" (intermediate sprints) and for the combination category (a point system that honours the best rider in combined totals for best overall, points and mountains classification).
The record for most wins is held jointly by [[Switzerland]]'s [[Tony Rominger]], who won three consecutive Vueltas in [[1992 Vuelta a España|1992]], [[1993 Vuelta a España|1993]] and [[1994 Vuelta a España|1994]]; and [[Roberto Heras]] of Spain, winner in [[2000 Vuelta a España|2000]], [[2003 Vuelta a España|2003]] and [[2004 Vuelta a España|2004]]. Heras also won the [[2005 Vuelta a España|2005]] event, but was disqualified for a [[doping (sport)|doping]] offense. Spaniards have dominated, winning 26 of the 57 runnings of the Vuelta. France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Colombia, Ireland (Sean Kelly in 1988), Russia and most recently Kazakhstan have also had first place finishers.
===2004 event===
{{main|2004 Vuelta a España}}
The [[2004 Vuelta a España]] was won by Roberto Heras. Halfway through the 2004 Vuelta, it appeared it would become an easy win for Heras, but in the last week his fellow countryman [[Santiago Pérez (cyclist)|Santiago Pérez]] won two heavy mountain stages, thus becoming an important rival. Eventually Heras won with only 30 seconds advantage on Pérez. [[Francisco Mancebo]], also from Spain took third. The first non-Spaniard was [[Stefano Garzelli]] from [[Italy]] in 11th. The points jersey was won by [[Erik Zabel]] from [[Germany]], the mountain jersey was won by [[Félix Cárdenas]] from [[Colombia]] and the combination jersey was won by Roberto Heras. [[Comunidad Valenciana (cycling team)|Kelme]] was the winner of the team ranking. [[Alessandro Petacchi]], an Italian sprinter won four stages, but he didn't finish the Vuelta. Pérez Fernández won three stages.
===2005 event===
{{main|2005 Vuelta a España}}
The 2005 Vuelta was won originally by Roberto Heras becoming the first four-time winner. Two months after the end of the race, Vuelta officials announced Roberto tested positive for the banned "blood-boosting" drug [[erythropoietin|EPO]]. The positive tests were from urine samples taken before the start of Stage 20. He was then disqualified from the Vuelta and the victory was awarded to [[Denis Menchov]] from [[Russia]]. Menchov originally won the lead after the time trial, and did not let Heras escape until the last of the great mountain stages. At that stage, Heras had multiple strong team members leading in a breakaway, and used these to build a large lead once he managed to escape Menchov. Menchov was significantly handicapped by having a much weaker team, which was not able to help minimize the time loss to Heras.
==Winners of the Vuelta a España==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Vuelta
! Year
! Winner
! Nationality
! Team
|-
|[[2007 Vuelta a España|62]]||2007||[[Denis Menchov]] (2)||{{RUS}} || [[Rabobank (cycling)|Rabobank]]
|-
|[[2006 Vuelta a España|61]]||2006||[[Alexandre Vinokourov]]||{{KAZ}} || [[ONCE cycling team|Astana]]<!--NOT the current Astana team-->
|-
|[[2005 Vuelta a España|60]]||2005||Denis Menchov||{{RUS}} || [[Rabobank (cycling)|Rabobank]]
|-
|[[2004 Vuelta a España|59]]||2004||[[Roberto Heras]] (3)||{{ESP}} || [[ONCE cycling team|Liberty Seguros]]
|-
|[[2003 Vuelta a España|58]]||2003||Roberto Heras (2)||{{ESP}} || [[Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team|U.S. Postal]]
|-
|[[2002 Vuelta a España|57]]||2002||[[Aitor González]]||{{ESP}} || [[Comunidad Valenciana (cycling team)|Kelme]]
|-
|[[2001 Vuelta a España|56]]||2001||[[Ángel Casero]]||{{ESP}} || [[Festina cycling team|Festina]]
|-
|[[2000 Vuelta a España|55]]||2000||Roberto Heras||{{ESP}} || [[Comunidad Valenciana (cycling team)|Kelme]]
|-
|[[1999 Vuelta a España|54]]||1999||[[Jan Ullrich]]||{{GER}} || [[Team High Road|Team Telekom]]
|-
|[[1998 Vuelta a España|53]]||1998||[[Abraham Olano]]||{{ESP}} || [[Caisse d'Epargne|Team Banesto]]
|-
|[[1997 Vuelta a España|52]]||1997||[[Alex Zülle]] (2)||{{SUI}} || [[ONCE cycling team|Team ONCE]]
|-
|[[1996 Vuelta a España|51]]||1996||Alex Zülle||{{SUI}} || [[ONCE cycling team|Team ONCE]]
|-
|[[1995 Vuelta a España|50]]||1995||[[Laurent Jalabert]]||{{FRA}} || [[ONCE cycling team|Team ONCE]]
|-
|[[1994 Vuelta a España|49]]||1994||[[Tony Rominger]] (3)||{{SUI}} || [[Mapei (cycling team)|Mapei-Clas]]
|-
|[[1993 Vuelta a España|48]]||1993||Tony Rominger (2)||{{SUI}} || Clas-Cajastur
|-
|[[1992 Vuelta a España|47]]||1992||Tony Rominger||{{SUI}} || Clas-Cajastur
|-
|[[1991 Vuelta a España|46]]||1991||[[Melchor Mauri]]||{{ESP}} || [[ONCE cycling team|Team ONCE]]
|-
|[[1990 Vuelta a España|45]]||1990||[[Marco Giovannetti]]||{{ITA}} || Seur
|-
|[[1989 Vuelta a España|44]]||1989||[[Pedro Delgado]] (2)||{{ESP}} || [[Caisse d'Epargne#Reynolds team|Reynolds-Banesto]]
|-
|[[1988 Vuelta a España|43]]||1988||[[Seán Kelly (cyclist)|Seán Kelly]]||{{IRL}} || [[Kas (cycling team)|Kas-Mavic]]
|-
|[[1987 Vuelta a España|42]]||1987||[[Luis Herrera]]||{{COL}} || [[Café de Colombia]]
|-
|[[1986 Vuelta a España|41]]||1986||[[Álvaro Pino]]||{{ESP}} || Zor - BH
|-
|[[1985 Vuelta a España|40]]||1985||Pedro Delgado||{{ESP}} || [[Orbea (cycling team)|Orbea-Gin MG]]
|-
|[[1984 Vuelta a España|39]]||1984||[[Éric Caritoux]]||{{FRA}} || [[Skil-Sem (cycling team)|Skil-Reydel-SEM-Mavic]]
|-
|[[1983 Vuelta a España|38]]||1983||[[Bernard Hinault]] (2)||{{FRA}} || [[Renault-Elf-Gitane]]
|-
|[[1982 Vuelta a España|37]]||1982||[[Marino Lejarreta]]||{{ESP}} || [[Teka (cycling team)|Teka]]
|-
|[[1981 Vuelta a España|36]]||1981||[[Giovanni Battaglin]]||{{ITA}} ||Inoxpran
|-
|[[1980 Vuelta a España|35]]||1980||[[Faustino Ruperez]]||{{ESP}} || Zor-Vereco
|-
|[[1979 Vuelta a España|34]]||1979||[[Joop Zoetemelk]]||{{NED}} || [[Miko-Mercier-Vivagel]]
|-
|[[1978 Vuelta a España|33]]||1978||Bernard Hinault||{{FRA}} || [[Renault-Elf-Gitane|Renault-Gitane-Campagnolo]]
|-
|[[1977 Vuelta a España|32]]||1977||[[Freddy Maertens]]||{{BEL}} || [[Flandria (cycling team)|Flandria-Velda-Latina]]
|-
|[[1976 Vuelta a España|31]]||1976||[[José Pesarrodona]]||{{ESP}} || [[Kas (cycling team)|Kas]]
|-
|[[1975 Vuelta a España|30]]||1975||[[Augustin Tamames]]||{{ESP}} || Super Ser
|-
|[[1974 Vuelta a España|29]]||1974||[[José Manuel Fuente]] (2)||{{ESP}} || [[Kas (cycling team)|Kas-Kaskol]]
|-
|[[1973 Vuelta a España|28]]||1973||[[Eddy Merckx]]||{{BEL}} || [[Molteni]]
|-
|[[1972 Vuelta a España|27]]||1972||José Manuel Fuente||{{ESP}} || [[Kas (cycling team)|Kas-Kaskol]]
|-
|[[1971 Vuelta a España|26]]||1971||[[Ferdinand Bracke]]||{{BEL}} || [[Peugeot (cycling team)|Peugeot-BP-Michelin]]
|-
|[[1970 Vuelta a España|25]]||1970||[[Luis Ocaña]]||{{ESP}} || [[Bic (cycling team)|Bic]]
|-
|24||1969||[[Roger Pingeon]]||{{FRA}} || [[Peugeot (cycling team)|Peugeot-BP-Michelin]]
|-
|23||1968||[[Felice Gimondi]]||{{ITA}} || [[Salvarani]]
|-
|22||1967||[[Jan Janssen (cyclist)|Jan Janssen]]||{{NED}} || [[Pelforth-Sauvage-Lejeune]]
|-
|21||1966||[[Francisco Gabica]]||{{ESP}} || [[Kas (cycling team)|Kas-Kaskol]]
|-
|20||1965||[[Rolf Wolfshohl]]||{{GER}} || [[Mercier-BP-Hutchinson]]
|-
|19||1964||[[Raymond Poulidor]]||{{FRA}} || [[Mercier-BP-Hutchinson]]
|-
|18||1963||[[Jacques Anquetil]]||{{FRA}} || [[St.Raphael (cycling team)|St.Raphael-Gitane]]
|-
|17||1962||[[Rudi Altig]]||{{GER}} || [[St.Raphael (cycling team)|St.Raphael-Helyett]]
|-
|16||1961||[[Angelino Soler]]||{{ESP}} || [[Faema (cycling team)|Faema]]
|-
|15||1960||[[Franz De Mulder]]||{{BEL}} || Groene Leeuw
|-
|14||1959||[[Antonio Suarez]]||{{ESP}} || Licor 43
|-
|13||1958||[[Jean Stablinski]]||{{FRA}} || Essor-Leroux
|-
|12||1957||[[Jesus Loroño]]||{{ESP}} || Gamma
|-
|11||1956||[[Angelo Conterno]]||{{ITA}} || [[Bianchi cycling team|Bianchi-Pirelli]]
|-
|10||1955||[[Jean Dotto]]||{{FRA}} || Vampire-d'Alessandro
|-
|colspan=5 align=center|1951-1954 No competition held
|-
|9||1950||[[Emilio Rodriguez]]||{{ESP}} || Sangalhos
|-
|colspan=5 align=center|1949 No competition held
|-
|8||1948||[[Bernardo Ruiz]]||{{ESP}} || [[Peugeot (cycling team)|Peugeot-Dunlop]]
|-
|7||1947||[[Edouard Van Dyck]]||{{BEL}} || [[Alycon (cycling team)|Alycon-Dunlop]]
|-
|6||1946||[[Dalmacio Langarica]]||{{ESP}} || Galindo-Cicles Tabay
|-
|5||1945||[[Delio Rodriguez]]||{{ESP}} ||
|-
|colspan=5 align=center|1943 and 1944 No competition held ([[World War II]])
|-
|4||1942||[[Julian Berrendero]] (2)||{{ESP}} || Informaciones
|-
|3||1941||Julian Berrendero||{{ESP}} ||
|-
|colspan=5 align=center|1937-1940 No competition held ([[Spanish Civil War]])
|-
|2||1936||[[Gustaaf Deloor]] (2)||{{BEL}} ||
|-
|1||1935||Gustaaf Deloor||{{BEL}} ||
|-
|}
==Vuelta victories by nation==
{| class="wikitable"
!Rank
!Country
!Wins
!Most wins
!Most recent winner
|-
|1 || {{ESP}} || 27 || [[Roberto Heras]] (3) || [[Roberto Heras]] (2004)
|-
|2 || {{FRA}} || 9 || [[Bernard Hinault]] (2) || [[Laurent Jalabert]] (1995)
|-
|3 || {{BEL}} || 7 || [[Gustaaf Deloor]] (2) || [[Freddy Maertens]] (1977)
|-
|4 || {{SUI}} || 5 || [[Tony Rominger]] (3) || [[Alex Zülle]] (1997)
|-
|5 || {{ITA}} || 4 || [[Angelo Conterno]], [[Felice Gimondi]], [[Giovanni Battaglin]], [[Marco Giovannetti]] (1) || [[Marco Giovannetti]] (1990)
|-
|6 || {{GER}} || 3 || [[Rudi Altig]], [[Rolf Wolfshohl]], [[Jan Ullrich]] (1) || [[Jan Ullrich]] (1999)
|-
|rowspan=2| 7 || {{NED}} || 2 || [[Jan Janssen]], [[Joop Zoetemelk]] (1) || [[Joop Zoetemelk]] (1979)
|-
| {{RUS}} || 2 || [[Denis Menchov]] (2) || [[Denis Menchov]] (2007)
|-
|rowspan=3| 8 || {{COL}} || 1 || [[Luis Herrera]] (1) || [[Luis Herrera]] (1987)
|-
| {{IRL}} || 1 || [[Seán Kelly (cyclist)|Seán Kelly]] (1) || [[Seán Kelly (cyclist)|Seán Kelly]] (1988)
|-
| {{KAZ}} || 1 || [[Alexandre Vinokourov]] (1) || [[Alexandre Vinokourov]] (2006)
|}
==Vuelta a España stage wins==
{| class="wikitable"
!Rank
!Name
!Country
!Wins
|-
|1 || [[Delio Rodriguez]] || {{ESP}} || 39
|-
|2 || [[Alessandro Petacchi]] || {{ITA}} || 19
|-
|3 || [[Laurent Jalabert]] || {{FRA}} || 18
|-
|3 || [[Rik Van Looy]] || {{BEL}} || 18
|-
|5 || [[Seán Kelly (cyclist)|Seán Kelly]] || {{IRL}} || 15
|-
|6 || [[Gerben Karstens]] || {{NED}} || 13
|-
|6 || [[Freddy Maertens]] || {{BEL}} || 13
|-
|8 || [[Tony Rominger]] || {{SUI}} || 12
|-
|9 || [[Domingo Perurena]] || {{ESP}} || 11
|-
|9 || [[Julian Berrendero]] || {{ESP}} || 11
|-
|9 || [[Augustin Tamames]] || {{ESP}} || 11
|-
|12 || [[Roberto Heras]] || {{ESP}} || 10
|-
|13 || [[Eddy Planckaert]] || {{BEL}} || 10
|}
[http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/races/results/results_vuelta_a_espana.txt]
==External links==
*[http://www.lavuelta.com/ La Vuelta (Official site in Spanish, English, and French)]
*[http://www.cyclingpost.com/protour/races/vuelta.shtml La Vuelta at Cyclingpost]
*[http://www.steephill.tv/2007/vuelta-a-espana/ 2007 Vuelta a España Dashboard]: links to profiles, maps, results, photos and video
{{cb start}}
{{Vuelta a Espana}}
{{cb end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vuelta a Espana}}
[[Category:Vuelta a España| ]]
[[Category:UCI ProTour]]
[[Category:1935 establishments]]
[[Category:Cycle races in Spain]]
[[bg:Обиколка на Испания]]
[[ca:Volta ciclista a Espanya]]
[[cs:Vuelta a España]]
[[da:Vuelta a España]]
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[[es:Vuelta Ciclista a España]]
[[eu:Espainiako Vuelta]]
[[fr:Tour d'Espagne]]
[[gl:Vuelta Ciclista a España]]
[[ko:벨타 아 에스파냐]]
[[io:Vuelta a España]]
[[it:Vuelta a España]]
[[he:וואלטה אספניה]]
[[la:Circuitus Hispaniae]]
[[lb:Vuelta a España]]
[[hu:Vuelta Ciclista a España]]
[[nl:Ronde van Spanje]]
[[ja:ブエルタ・ア・エスパーニャ]]
[[no:Vuelta a España]]
[[pms:Gir dla Spagna]]
[[pl:Vuelta a España]]
[[pt:Vuelta a España]]
[[ru:Вуэльта]]
[[simple:Vuelta Ciclista a España]]
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[[fi:Espanjan ympäriajo]]
[[sv:Vuelta a España]]
[[th:วูเอลตาอาเอสปันญา]]
[[uk:Тур Іспанії]]