Tour of the Basque Country

Tour of the Basque Country

Race details
Date	Early-April
Region	Spanish 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 World Tour
Type	Stage race
History
First edition	1924
Editions	56 (as of 2016)
First winner	Francis Pélissier (FRA)
Most wins	José Antonio González (ESP)  Alberto Contador (ESP) (4 wins)
Most recent	Alberto Contador (ESP)

The Tour of the Basque Country (Spanish: Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco, Basque: Euskal Herriko Itzulia) is an annual cycling stage race held in the Spanish Basque Country in April. It is one of 24 races that make up the UCI World Ranking calendar.

History

The original Tour of the Basque Country had a troubled history, with 8 editions contested between 1924 and 1935, before the civil war seemingly wiped it out for good. In spite of its short tenure, it is mentioned and described in Ernest Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises.

In 1952, the Eibar Cycling Club (erstwhile backers of Spain's first national stage race, the pre-Vuelta a España Gran Premio República) launched a new 3-day event called Gran Premio de la Bicicleta Eibarresa to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Former French national champion Louis Caput took the inaugural edition.

In 1969, organizers opted to promote the race (by then 5 stages long) as IX Vuelta al País Vasco - XVIII Bicicleta Eibarresa, effectively merging the Bicicleta Eibarresa into a reborn Tour of the Basque Country. However, the palmares of the Bicicleta Eibarresa (featuring Vuelta a España winners Jesús Loroño and Rolf Wolfshohl) is not recognized as part of the Tour of the Basque Country's history. The Eibar Cycling Club would relinquish control of the competition following the 1973 edition, while retaining the rights to the Bicicleta Eibarresa name, which has sporadically been reactivated to help promote other, lower ranked events.

The first winner of the Tour of the Basque Country was Francis Pélissier from France, while the first winner of the 'modern' Tour (1969) was Jacques Anquetil, also of France. The most successful riders in the history of the Tour are Spain's José Antonio González, who won the race four times in 1972, 1975, 1977 and 1978, and Spain's Alberto Contador, who also won the race four times in 2008, 2009, 2014 and 2016.

The most recent edition (2016) was won by Spain's Alberto Contador, his fourth win in the race.

The winner traditionally dons a basque beret on the podium.

Because the Basque Country is a mountainous area, there are few flat stages, and thus the event favors those who are strong climbers. Most ascents in the Tour are not particularly high by professional cycling standards, but are often quite steep.

Winners

		Rider	Team
1924		Pelissier, FrancisFrancis Pélissier (FRA)
1925		Verdyck, AugusteAuguste Verdyck (BEL)
1926		Frantz, NicolasNicolas Frantz (LUX)
1927		Fontan, VictorVictor Fontan (FRA)
1928		De Waele, MauriceMaurice De Waele (BEL)
1929		De Waele, MauriceMaurice De Waele (BEL)
1930		Canardo, MarianoMariano Cañardo (ESP)
1931– 1934	No race
1935		Bartali, GinoGino Bartali (ITA)
1936– 1968	No race
1969		Anquetil, JacquesJacques Anquetil (FRA)
1970		Santamarina, Luis PedroLuis Pedro Santamarina (ESP)
1971		Ocana, LuisLuis Ocaña (ESP)
1972		Gonzalez, Jose AntonioJosé Antonio González (ESP)
1973		Ocana, LuisLuis Ocaña (ESP)
1974		Lasa, Miguel MaríaMiguel María Lasa (ESP)
1975		Gonzalez, Jose AntonioJosé Antonio González (ESP)
1976		Baronchelli, GianbattistaGianbattista Baronchelli (ITA)
1977		Gonzalez, Jose AntonioJosé Antonio González (ESP)
1978		Gonzalez, Jose AntonioJosé Antonio González (ESP)
1979		Battaglin, GiovanniGiovanni Battaglin (ITA)
1980		Fernandez, AlbertoAlberto Fernández (ESP)
1981		Contini, SilvanoSilvano Contini (ITA)
1982		Laguia, Jose LuisJosé Luis Laguía (ESP)
1983		Gorospe, JuliánJulián Gorospe (ESP)
1984		Kelly, SeanSean Kelly (IRL)
1985		Ruiz Cabestany, PelloPello Ruiz Cabestany (ESP)
1986		Kelly, SeanSean Kelly (IRL)
1987		Kelly, SeanSean Kelly (IRL)
1988		Breukink, ErikErik Breukink (NED)
1989		Roche, StephenStephen Roche (IRL)
1990		Gorospe, JuliánJulián Gorospe (ESP)
1991		Chiappucci, ClaudioClaudio Chiappucci (ITA)
1992		Rominger, TonyTony Rominger (SUI)
1993		Rominger, TonyTony Rominger (SUI)
1994		Rominger, TonyTony Rominger (SUI)	Mapei–CLAS
1995		Zulle, AlexAlex Zülle (SUI)	ONCE
1996		Casagrande, FrancescoFrancesco Casagrande (ITA)	Saeco–AS Juvenes San Marino
1997		Zulle, AlexAlex Zülle (SUI)	ONCE
1998		Cuesta, InigoÍñigo Cuesta (ESP)	ONCE
1999		Jalabert, LaurentLaurent Jalabert (FRA)	ONCE–Deutsche Bank
2000		Kloden, AndreasAndreas Klöden (GER)	Team Telekom
2001		Rumsas, RaimondasRaimondas Rumšas (LTU)	Fassa Bortolo
2002		Osa, AitorAitor Osa (ESP)	iBanesto.com
2003		Mayo, IbanIban Mayo (ESP)	Euskaltel–Euskadi
2004		Menchov, DenisDenis Menchov (RUS)	Illes Balears–Banesto
2005		Di Luca, DaniloDanilo Di Luca (ITA)	Liquigas–Bianchi
2006		Gomez Merchante, Jose AngelJosé Ángel Gómez Marchante (ESP)	Saunier Duval–Prodir
2007		Cobo, Juan JoseJuan José Cobo (ESP)	Saunier Duval–Prodir
2008		Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador (ESP)	Astana
2009		Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador (ESP)	Astana
2010		Horner, ChrisChris Horner (USA)	Team RadioShack
2011		Klöden, AndreasAndreas Klöden (GER)	Team RadioShack
2012		Sánchez, SamuelSamuel Sánchez (ESP)	Euskaltel–Euskadi
2013		Quintana, NairoNairo Quintana (COL)	Movistar Team
2014		Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador (ESP)	Tinkoff–Saxo
2015		Rodríguez, JoaquimJoaquim Rodríguez (ESP)	Team Katusha
2016		Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador (ESP)	Tinkoff

External links

• Official website (Spanish)
• Tour of the Basque Country Palmares at Cycling Archives