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The Vuelta a España (English: Tour of Spain) is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar.
[edit] History First held in 1935 and annually since 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 newspapers (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 (usually late April), with a few editions held in june in the 1940s, but in 1995 the race moved to September to avoid the direct competition with the Giro d'Italia, held in May. As a result, the Vuelta is now often seen as an important preparation course for the World Championships which moved to October in the same year. A Vuelta had been organized in august/september in 1950. The course typically includes between one to three time trials, and a fair amount of mountain stages. Since 1994, and often before (such as the inaugural edition), the finish of the Vuelta is traditionally the Spanish capital, Madrid, although Bilbao (in the 1950s) and San Sebastián (in the 1970s) were both recurring finish cities for a long period. Behind Madrid, three cities share second place for 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, Portugal. The first ever Vuelta-start outside of the Iberian Peninsula will take place in 2009, when Assen hosts the prologue of the 64st Vuelta. In 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 "Maillot amarillo" (Yellow Maillot) or "Jersey de Oro" (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 competition) [awarded a blue with yellow fish jersey that is sponsored by Spain's fishing and marine industry]. Usually there are other 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, 1993 and 1994; and Roberto Heras of Spain, winner in 2000, 2003 and 2004. Heras also won the 2005 event, but was disqualified for a doping offense. Spaniards have dominated, winning 28 of the 63 runnings of the Vuelta. France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Colombia, Ireland (Sean Kelly in 1988), Russia and most recently Kazakhstan have also had first place finishers. [edit] Winners of the Vuelta a España[edit] Vuelta victories by nation
[edit] Vuelta a España stage wins
[edit] Records
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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