List of Vuelta a España general classification winners

Tony Rominger, who won the Vuelta three times

Fabio Aru, winner of the 2015 Vuelta, wearing the red jersey during the race

The Vuelta a España is an annual road bicycle race. Established in 1935 by the Spanish newspaper Informaciones, the Vuelta is one of cycling's three "Grand Tours", along with the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia.^[1] Initially, the race was held in April/May, but in 1995 it was moved to September.^[2] The race usually covers approximately 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi), although this has varied, passing through Spain and countries with a close proximity in Europe.^[3] The race is broken into day-long segments called stages. Individual finishing times for each stage are totalled to determine the overall winner at the end of the race. The course changes every year, but has traditionally finished in Madrid.^[4]

Individual times to finish each stage are totalled to determine the winner of the general classification at the end of the race. The rider with the lowest aggregate time at the end of each day wears the leader's jersey. Since 2010 this has been a red jersey; previously it was gold.^[5] Other classifications have been calculated: those still in use are the points classification, in 2010 represented by a green jersey; the mountains classification, in 2010 represented by a blue dotted jersey; and the combination classification, in 2010 represented by a white jersey.^[6]

Tony Rominger, Roberto Heras and Alberto Contador have the most Vuelta victories, each cyclist having won the competition three times. Rominger's three consecutive wins is also a record.^[7] Spanish cyclists have won the most Vueltas; 23 cyclists have won 29 Vueltas between them. French cyclists are second with nine victories and Belgian riders are third with seven wins.^[8] The current champion is Fabio Aru of the Astana team, who won the 2015 Vuelta a España.

History

Alberto Contador in the gold jersey, which was replaced by a red jersey for 2010, representing the leader in the general classification.

The Vuelta a España was established in 1935 by the newspaper Informaciones following on from the success of the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia which had also been established by newspapers.^[8] The first race was won by Gustaaf Deloor, who won again the following year.^[9] The Vuelta was suspended for four years from 1937 to 1940 due to the Spanish Civil War. The first race after the civil war in 1941 was won by Julián Berrendero, who also won the following year. The Vuelta was suspended between 1943 and 1944 due to the Second World War. Delio Rodríguez won the first Vuelta after the war, Spanish riders won two more Vueltas in 1946 and 1948. The Vuelta was not held in 1949. Emilio Rodríguez was the victor in 1950, before the Vuelta was suspended from 1951 to 1954 as Spain's isolation during the Franco regime led to dwindling international interest in the race.^[8]

Jean Dotto won the first Vuelta after the four-year suspension in 1955.^[10] Angelo Conterno was the victor the following year, by a margin of 13 seconds over Jesús Loroño.^[11] Loroño was victorious in 1957 with Conterno absent.^[12] Rudi Altig became the first German to win the Vuelta in 1962. Frenchman Jacques Anquetil won in 1963, in doing so he became the first cyclist to win all three Grand Tours.^[13] Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx matched Anquetil's achievement in winning all three Grand Tours when he won the Vuelta in 1973.^[14] The following year José Manuel Fuente won the Vuelta by 11 seconds.^[15]

Bernard Hinault won the Vuelta in 1978, a year in which he also won the Tour de France. He won his second Vuelta in 1983.^[16] The following year Éric Caritoux won the Vuelta by the smallest margin ever, he won by six seconds over Alberto Fernández.^[9] Pedro Delgado won the Vuelta in 1985. Colombian Luis Herrera became the first non-European winner of the Vuelta in 1987.^[8] Sean Kelly was victorious in 1988,^[9] and the following year Delgado won his second Vuelta.^[17]

Swiss riders dominated the 1990s; Tony Rominger won a record three Vueltas in succession from 1992 to 1994.^[8] Laurent Jalabert was victorious in 1995, he also won the points and mountain classification becoming only the third person to win all these classifications in a single Grand Tour.^[9] Alex Zülle won two Vueltas in succession in 1996 and 1999.^[18] German Jan Ullrich was the victor in 1999.^[19] Roberto Heras won his first Vuelta in 2000; he won a further two in 2003 and 2004.^[20] In 2005 he appeared to have won a record fourth Vuelta, however he was later stripped of his title after failing a drug-control test. Second place Denis Menchov became the victor.^[21]

Alexander Vinokourov won the 2006 Vuelta a España with the Astana team.^[22] Menchov won his second tour in 2007.^[23] Alberto Contador won the 2008 Vuelta; the victory meant he became the fifth cyclist to win all three Grand Tours.^[24] Alejandro Valverde was the victor in 2009. The following year Valverde was unable to defend his title after being suspended for two years for his involvement in the Operación Puerto doping case.^[25] Vincenzo Nibali won the 2010 Vuelta.^[26] Juan José Cobo won the 2011 Vuelta a España by thirteen seconds.^[27]

Contador won his second Vuelta in 2012.^[28] American Chris Horner, became the oldest Grand Tour winner at the age of 41, when he won the Vuelta in 2013.^[29] Contador won the race for the third time in 2014, as he beat Chris Froome by 1' 10".^[30] Fabio Aru won in 2015, taking the red jersey from Tom Dumoulin. in the second-to-last stage thanks to an excellent team strategy.

Winners

Key

	Winner won points classification in the same year
*	Winner won King of the Mountains classification in the same year
#	Winner won combination classification in the same year
	Winner won points and King of the Mountains classification in the same year
&	Winner won points and combination classification in same year

• The "Year" column refers to the year the competition was held, and wikilinks to the article about that season.
• The "Distance" column refers to the distance over which the race was held.
• The "Margin" column refers to the margin of time or points by which the winner defeated the runner-up.
• The "Stage wins" column refers to the number of stage wins the winner had during the race.

Vuelta a España general classification winners

Year	Country	Cyclist	Sponsor/team	Distance	Time	Margin	Stage wins
1935	Belgium	Deloor, GustaafGustaaf Deloor	& —	3,245 km (2,016 mi)	120h 00' 07"	+ 13' 28"	3
1936	Belgium	Deloor, GustaafGustaaf Deloor	& —	4,364 km (2,712 mi)	150h 07' 54"	+ 11' 39"	3
1937	& —	Not contested	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
1938	& —	Not contested	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
1939	& —	Not contested	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
1940	& —	Not contested	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
1941	Spain	Berrendero, JuliánJulián Berrendero	& —	4,406 km (2,738 mi)	168h 45' 26"	+ 1' 07"	2
1942	Spain	Berrendero, JuliánJulián Berrendero^*	& —	3,688 km (2,292 mi)	134h 05' 09"	+ 8' 38"	2
1943	& —	Not contested	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
1944	& —	Not contested	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
1945	Spain	Rodríguez, DelioDelio Rodríguez	& —	3,803 km (2,363 mi)	135h 43' 55"	+ 30' 08"	6
1946	Spain	Langarica, DalmacioDalmacio Langarica	& —	3,836 km (2,384 mi)	137h 10' 38"	+ 17' 32"	6
1947	Belgium	Van Dijck, EdwardEdward Van Dijck	& —	3,893 km (2,419 mi)	132h 27' 00"	+ 2' 14"	2
1948	Spain	Ruiz, BernardoBernardo Ruiz	Udsans–Portaminas Alas Color	3,990 km (2,480 mi)	155h 06' 30"	+ 9' 07"	3
1949	& —	Not contested	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
1950	Spain	Rodríguez, EmilioEmilio Rodríguez^*	& —	3,932 km (2,443 mi)	134h 49' 19"	+ 15' 30"	5
1951	& —	Not contested	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
1952	& —	Not contested	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
1953	& —	Not contested	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
1954	& —	Not contested	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
1955	France	Dotto, JeanJean Dotto	France	2,740 km (1,700 mi)	81h 04' 02"	+ 3' 06"	0
1956	Italy	Conterno, AngeloAngelo Conterno	Italy	3,531 km (2,194 mi)	105h 37' 52"	+ 13"	1
1957	Spain	Loroño, JesúsJesús Loroño	Spain	2,967 km (1,844 mi)	84h 44' 06"	+ 8' 11"	1
1958	France	Stablinski, JeanJean Stablinski	France	3,241.8 km (2,014.4 mi)	94h 54' 21"	+ 2' 51"	1
1959	Spain	Suárez, AntonioAntonio Suárez	Licor 43	3,048 km (1,894 mi)	84h 36' 20"	+ 1' 06"	2
1960	Belgium	De Mulder, FransFrans De Mulder	Groene Leeuw	3,567 km (2,216 mi)	103h 05' 57"	+ 15' 21"	4
1961	Spain	Soler, AngelinoAngelino Soler	Faema	2,856.5 km (1,774.9 mi)	77h 36' 17"	+ 51"	1
1962	West Germany	Altig, RudiRudi Altig	Saint Raphael–Helyett	2,813 km (1,748 mi)	78h 35' 27"	+ 7' 14"	3
1963	France	Anquetil, JacquesJacques Anquetil	Saint Raphael	2,442 km (1,517 mi)	64h 46' 20"	+ 3' 06"	1
1964	France	Poulidor, RaymondRaymond Poulidor	Mercier–BP	2,860 km (1,780 mi)	78h 23' 35"	+ 33"	1
1965	West Germany	Wolfshohl, RolfRolf Wolfshohl	Mercier–BP	3,410 km (2,120 mi)	92h 36' 03"	+ 6' 36"	0
1966	Spain	Gabica, FranciscoFrancisco Gabica	Kas	2,949.5 km (1,832.7 mi)	78h 53' 55"	+ 39"	1
1967	Netherlands	Janssen, JanJan Janssen	Pelforth–Sauvage	2,941 km (1,827 mi)	76h 38' 04"	+ 1' 43"	1
1968	Italy	Gimondi, FeliceFelice Gimondi	Salvarani	3,014 km (1,873 mi)	78h 29' 00"	+ 2' 15"	1
1969	France	Pingeon, RogerRoger Pingeon	Peugeot	2,921.4 km (1,815.3 mi)	73h 18' 45"	+ 1' 54"	2
1970	Spain	Ocaña, LuisLuis Ocaña	Bic	3,568 km (2,217 mi)	89h 57' 12"	+ 1' 18"	2
1971	Belgium	Bracke, FerdinandFerdinand Bracke	Peugeot–BP	2,892 km (1,797 mi)	73h 50' 05"	+ 59"	0
1972	Spain	Fuente, José ManuelJosé Manuel Fuente^#	Kas	3,086.6 km (1,917.9 mi)	84h 34' 14"	+ 6' 34"	1
1973	Belgium	Merckx, EddyEddy Merckx^&	Molteni	3,080.9 km (1,914.4 mi)	84h 40' 50"	+ 3' 46"	6
1974	Spain	Fuente, José ManuelJosé Manuel Fuente	Kas	2,991 km (1,859 mi)	84h 48' 18"	+ 11"	2
1975	Spain	Tamames, AgustínAgustín Tamames	Super–Ser	3,104.4 km (1,929.0 mi)	88h 00' 56"	+ 14"	5
1976	Spain	Pesarrodona, JoséJosé Pesarrodona	Kas	3,341 km (2,076 mi)	93h 19' 10"	+ 1' 03"	0
1977	Belgium	Maertens, FreddyFreddy Maertens	Flandira–Latina	2,785.5 km (1,730.8 mi)	78h 54' 36"	+ 2' 51"	13
1978	France	Hinault, BernardBernard Hinault	Renault–Gitane	2,990 km (1,860 mi)	85h 24' 14"	+ 3' 02"	5
1979	Netherlands	Zoetemelk, JoopJoop Zoetemelk	Miko–Mercier	3,165.5 km (1,967.0 mi)	94h 57' 03"	+ 2' 43"	2
1980	Spain	Rupérez, FaustinoFaustino Rupérez	Zor–Vereco	3,226 km (2,005 mi)	88h 23' 21"	+ 2' 15"	2
1981	Italy	Battaglin, GiovanniGiovanni Battaglin	Inoxpran	3,531.3 km (2,194.2 mi)	98h 04' 49"	+ 2' 09"	1
1982	Spain	Lejarreta, MarinoMarino Lejarreta	Teka	3,423 km (2,127 mi)	95h 47' 23"	+ 18"	1
1983	France	Hinault, BernardBernard Hinault	Renault-Elf-Gitane	3,399 km (2,112 mi)	94h 28' 26"	+ 1' 12"	2
1984	France	Caritoux, ÉricÉric Caritoux	Skil–Reydel	3,361.6 km (2,088.8 mi)	90h 08' 03"	+ 6"	1
1985	Spain	Delgado, PedroPedro Delgado	MG–Orbea	3,467.6 km (2,154.7 mi)	95h 58' 00"	+ 36"	1
1986	Spain	Pino, ÁlvaroÁlvaro Pino	Zor–BH	3,675 km (2,284 mi)	98h 16' 04"	+ 1' 06"	1
1987	Colombia	Herrera, LuisLuis Herrera^*	Café de Colombia	3,921.4 km (2,436.6 mi)	105h 34' 25"	+ 1' 04"	1
1988	Ireland	Kelly, SeanSean Kelly	Kas	3,428.4 km (2,130.3 mi)	89h 19' 23"	+ 1' 27"	2
1989	Spain	Delgado, PedroPedro Delgado	Reynolds	3,656.6 km (2,272.1 mi)	93h 01' 17"	+ 35"	2
1990	Italy	Giovannetti, MarcoMarco Giovannetti	Seur	3,711 km (2,306 mi)	94h 36' 00"	+ 1' 28"	0
1991	Spain	Mauri, MelciorMelcior Mauri	ONCE	3,213.2 km (1,996.6 mi)	82h 48' 07"	+ 2' 52"	3
1992	Switzerland	Rominger, TonyTony Rominger	CLAS–Cajastur	3,558.1 km (2,210.9 mi)	96h 14' 50"	+ 1' 04"	1
1993	Switzerland	Rominger, TonyTony Rominger	CLAS–Cajastur	3,585.5 km (2,227.9 mi)	96h 07' 03"	+ 29"	3
1994	Switzerland	Rominger, TonyTony Rominger	Mapei–Clas	3,531.1 km (2,194.1 mi)	92h 07' 48"	+ 7' 28"	6
1995	France	Jalabert, LaurentLaurent Jalabert	ONCE	3,637.6 km (2,260.3 mi)	95h 30' 33"	+ 4' 22"	5
1996	Switzerland	Zülle, AlexAlex Zülle	ONCE	3,947 km (2,453 mi)	97h 31' 46"	+ 6' 23"	1
1997	Switzerland	Zülle, AlexAlex Zülle	ONCE	3,759.2 km (2,335.9 mi)	91h 15' 55"	+ 5' 07"	1
1998	Spain	Olano, AbrahamAbraham Olano	Banesto	3,781 km (2,349 mi)	93h 44' 08"	+ 1' 23"	1
1999	Germany	Ullrich, JanJan Ullrich	Team Deutsche Telekom	3,548.7 km (2,205.1 mi)	89h 52' 03"	+ 4' 15"	2
2000	Spain	Heras, RobertoRoberto Heras	Kelme–Costa Blanca	2,894 km (1,798 mi)	70h 26' 14"	+ 2' 33"	2
2001	Spain	Casero, ÁngelÁngel Casero	Festina	3,012.2 km (1,871.7 mi)	70h 49' 05"	+ 47"	0
2002	Spain	González, AitorAitor González	Kelme–Costa Blanca	3,128.7 km (1,944.1 mi)	75h 13' 52"	+ 2' 14"	3
2003	Spain	Heras, RobertoRoberto Heras	U.S. Postal Service	2,958.3 km (1,838.2 mi)	69h 31' 52"	+ 28"	1
2004	Spain	Heras, RobertoRoberto Heras^#	Liberty Seguros	2,894 km (1,798 mi)	77h 42' 46"	+ 2' 13"	1
2005	Russia	Menchov, DenisDenis Menchov^#^[A]	Rabobank	3,356 km (2,085 mi)	82h 27' 31"	+ 18"	2
2006	Kazakhstan	Vinokourov, AlexanderAlexander Vinokourov^#	Astana	3,202.1 km (1,989.7 mi)	81h 23' 07"	+ 1' 12"	3
2007	Russia	Menchov, DenisDenis Menchov^#	Rabobank	3,291.3 km (2,045.1 mi)	80h 59' 07"	+ 3' 31"	1
2008	Spain	Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador^#	Astana	3,142.5 km (1,952.7 mi)	80h 40' 08"	+ 46"	2
2009	Spain	Valverde, AlejandroAlejandro Valverde^#	Caisse d'Epargne	3,293.6 km (2,046.5 mi)	87h 22' 37"	+ 55"	0
2010	Italy	Nibali, VincenzoVincenzo Nibali^#	Liquigas–Doimo	3,333.8 km (2,071.5 mi)	87h 18' 33"	+ 3' 02"	0
2011	Spain	Cobo, Juan JoséJuan José Cobo^#	Geox–TMC	3,300 km (2,100 mi)	84h 59' 31"	+ 13"	1
2012	Spain	Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador	Saxo Bank–Tinkoff Bank	3,360.2 km (2,087.9 mi)	84h 59' 49"	+1' 16"	1
2013	United States	Horner, ChrisChris Horner^#	RadioShack–Leopard	3,358.9 km (2,087.1 mi)	84h 36' 04"	+ 37"	1
2014	Spain	Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador^#	Tinkoff–Saxo	3,181.5 km (1,976.9 mi)	81h 25' 05"	+1' 10"	2
2015	Italy	Aru, FabioFabio Aru	Astana	3,358.1 km (2,086.6 mi)	85h 36' 13"	+57"	0
2016	Colombia	Quintana, NairoNairo Quintana^#	Movistar Team	3,315.4 km (2,060.1 mi)	83h 31' 28"	+ 1' 23"	1

Multiple winners

Multiple winners of the Vuelta a España general classification

Cyclist	Total	Years
Rominger, TonyTony Rominger (SUI)	3	1992, 1993, 1994
Heras, RobertoRoberto Heras (ESP)	3	2000, 2003, 2004
Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador (ESP)	3	2008, 2012, 2014
Deloor, GustaafGustaaf Deloor (BEL)	2	1935, 1936
Berrendero, JuliánJulián Berrendero (ESP)	2	1941, 1942
Fuente, José ManuelJosé Manuel Fuente (ESP)	2	1972, 1974
Hinault, BernardBernard Hinault (FRA)	2	1978, 1983
Delgado, PedroPedro Delgado (ESP)	2	1985, 1989
Zülle, AlexAlex Zülle (SUI)	2	1996, 1997
Menchov, DenisDenis Menchov (RUS)	2	2005, 2007

By nationality

Vuelta a España general classification winners by nationality

Nationality	No. of winning cyclists	No. of wins
Spain	24	32
France	8	9
Belgium	6	7
Switzerland	2	5
Italy	6	6
Germany	3	3
Colombia	2	2
Netherlands	2	2
Russia	1	2
Ireland	1	1
Kazakhstan	1	1
United States	1	1

Footnotes

A. ^{^} Roberto Heras was the winner at the podium ceremony in Madrid on the last day of the 2005 Vuelta a España, but subsequently was found to have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during stage 20 of the race. The Spanish cycling federation found him guilty of using Erythropoietin during the race and stripped him of his title, awarding the win to Denis Menchov.^[21]

References

General

• "Palmares". Vuelta a España (in Spanish). Unipublic. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
• "Por años". Vuelta a España (in Spanish). Unipublic. Retrieved 13 April 2011.

Bibliography

• Howard, Paul (2011). Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape. Random House. ISBN 1845969618.

Specific

1. "FAQ". Union Cycliste Internationale. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
2. "Did the Vuelta's date change hurt the race?". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 27 February 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
3. Hakke, Bjorn. "Vuelta 2009: Easy start, tough ending". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
4. "2009 Vuelta a España — 64th Edition of the Tour of Spain". Daily Peloton. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
5. Tyler, Richard (16 September 2009). "Vuelta start in Seville for 2010". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
6. Haake, Bjorn (19 September 2009). "Millar takes Vuelta TT, Valverde seals overall". Velo Nation. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
7. "Vuelta a España 2010: overview of the 65th race". The Daily Telegraph. 25 August 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
8. "Vuelta a España O–Z". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
9. "Vuelta a España A–N". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 7 September 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
10. "Año 1955". Vuelta a España (in Spanish). Unipublic. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
11. "Año 1956". Vuelta a España (in Spanish). Unipublic. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
12. "Año 1957". Vuelta a España (in Spanish). Unipublic. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
13. Howard (2011). Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape. p. 13.
14. "Eddy Merckx". Sports Reference. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
15. "Año 1974". Vuelta a España (in Spanish). Unipublic. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
16. "Bernard Hinault" (in French). Memoire du cyclisme. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
17. "Pedro Delgado" (in French). Memoire du cyclisme. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
18. "Alex Zülle" (in French). Memoire du cyclisme. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
19. "Jan Ullrich" (in French). Memoire du cyclisme. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
20. "Heras claims third Vuelta". BBC Sport. 26 September 2004. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
21. "Heras contests two year drug ban". BBC Sport. 9 February 2005. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
22. Fotherington, William (25 July 2007). "How Vinokourov was blooded into the Tour of infamy". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
23. "Menchov targets Tour rather than Vuelta defense". Reuters. 19 February 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
24. Birnie, Lionel (21 September 2008). "Contador quickest to complete Grand Tour set". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
25. "Alejandro Valverde given two-year global doping ban". BBC Sport. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
26. "Mark Cavendish wins historic Tour of Spain sprint title". BBC Sport. 19 September 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
27. Les Clarke (11 September 2011). "Sagan steals final stage from pure sprinters". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
28. "Alberto Contador wins second Vuelta a Espana title". BBC Sport. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
29. "Vuelta a Espana: Chris Horner, 41, is oldest Grand Tour winner". BBC Sport. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
30. "Vuelta a Espana:Alberto Contador beat Chris Froome". BBC Sport. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.