Vuelta al País Vasco

Race details
Date	Early-April
Region	Basque Country
English name	Tour of the Basque Country
Local name(s)	Vuelta al País Vasco (Spanish) Euskal Herriko itzulia (Basque)
Discipline	Road
Competition	UCI ProTour
Type	Stage-race
History
First edition	1924
Editions	49 (as of 2009)
First winner	Francis Pélissier (FRA)
Most wins	José Antonio Gonzalez (ESP) (4 wins)
Most recent	Alberto Contador (ESP)

The Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco (Basque: Euskal Herriko txirrindulari itzulia, English: Tour of the Basque Country) is an annual cycling stage race held in the Basque Country in April.

The first race was held in 1924, but between 1935 and 1969 the race was not held. However between 1939 and 1969 similar races were organised. The race is mentioned and described in Ernest Hemingway's novel 'The Sun Also Rises'. It is one of 24 races that make up the UCI World Ranking calendar.

The first winner was Francis Pélissier from France. The first winner of the 'modern' Vuelta al País Vasco (1969) was Jacques Anquetil. The most successful rider in the Vuelta al País Vasco was José Antonio Gonzalez Linares, who won the race four times in 1972, 1975, 1977 and 1978. The most recent edition (2009) was won by Alberto Contador from Spain.

Because the Basque Country is a mountainous area there are hardly any flat stages, and the event's winners therefore tend to be good climbers. Most climbs in the Vuelta al País Vasco are not high, but often they are quite steep.

[edit] Winners

Rider Team 1924 Francis Pélissier (FRA) 1925 Auguste Verdyck (BEL) 1926 Nicolas Frantz (LUX) 1927 Victor Fontan (FRA) 1928 Maurice De Waele (BEL) 1929 Maurice De Waele (BEL) 1930 Mariano Cañardo (ESP) 1931- 1934 No race 1935 Gino Bartali (ITA) 1936- 1968 No race 1969 Jacques Anquetil (FRA) 1970 Luis Pedro Santamarina (ESP) 1971 Luis Ocaña (ESP) 1972 José Antonio Gonzalez Linares (ESP) 1973 Luis Ocaña (ESP) 1974 Miguel-Maria Lasa (ESP) 1975 José Antonio Gonzalez Linares (ESP) 1976 Gianbattista Baronchelli (ITA) 1977 José Antonio Gonzalez Linares (ESP) 1978 José Antonio Gonzalez Linares (ESP) 1979 Giovanni Battaglin (ITA) 1980 Alberto Fernández (ESP) 1981 Silvano Contini (ITA) 1982 José-Luis Laguia (ESP)

Rider Team 1983 Julian Gorospe (ESP) 1984 Seán Kelly (IRL) 1985 Pello Ruiz-Cabestany (ESP) 1986 Seán Kelly (IRL) 1987 Seán Kelly (IRL) 1988 Erik Breukink (NED) 1989 Stephen Roche (IRL) 1990 Julian Gorospe (ESP) 1991 Claudio Chiappucci (ITA) 1992 Tony Rominger (SUI) 1993 Tony Rominger (SUI) 1994 Tony Rominger (SUI) 1995 Alex Zülle (SUI) 1996 Francesco Casagrande (ITA) 1997 Alex Zülle (SUI) 1998 Íñigo Cuesta (ESP) 1999 Laurent Jalabert (FRA) 2000 Andreas Klöden (GER) 2001 Raimondas Rumšas (LTU) 2002 Aitor Osa (ESP) 2003 Iban Mayo (ESP) 2004 Denis Menchov (RUS) 2005 Danilo Di Luca (ITA) Liquigas–Bianchi 2006 José Ángel Gómez Marchante (ESP) Saunier Duval – Prodir 2007 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Saunier Duval – Prodir 2008 Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana 2009 Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana

[edit] External links

• (Spanish) Official website