Cycling - History of La Vuelta a España
History - Important Facts - Teams - Stages - Winners
It was first held in 1935 and it has taken place annually since 1955, the Vuelta runs for three weeks in a changing route across Spain. The inaugural event in 1935 saw 50 cyclists face a 3411 km course over only 14 stages. The race was inspired by the success of the Tours in France and Italy. The Vuelta a España race is one of the three Grand Tours of Europe and after the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the third most important road cycling stage race in the world.
It was formerly held in the spring, but since 1990 the race has been run in September. The course includes 2 individual time trials. The finish of the Vuelta is traditionally in the Spanish capital of Madrid.
In 1999, for the first time, the course crossed the Alto de El Angliru in Asturias, which climbs 1573 meters over 12.9 km with grades as steep as 23.6 percent making it one of the steepest in Europe. The 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 honor the best climber or the King of the Mountains and the best sprinter or points-competition. Usually, there are other jerseys awarded, such as for points leaders in the 'Metas Volantes' (intermediate sprints) and for combination rankings.
Tony Rominger of Switzerland holds the record for most wins in 1992, 1993 and 1994 jointly with Roberto Heras of Spain, winner in 2000, 2003 and 2004. Heras also won the 2005 event, but was disqualified for a doping offense.
Three Germans have taken first place: Rudi Altig (1962), Rolf Wolfshohl (1965) and Jan Ullrich (1999). The Spaniards, however, have dominated winning 26 of the 57 runnings of the Vuelta. On the other hand, France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Colombia, Ireland, and most recently Russia have also had first place finishers.