The Vuelta a España is an annual road bicycle race currently held over 23 days in August and September. Up until the 1995 edition the race was held during April and May. Established in 1935, the Vuelta is one of the most well-known and prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours"; the others are the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia. The race usually passes through Spain and neighboring countries. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages. Individual finishing times for each stage are totaled to determine the overall winner at the end of the race.
Host cities edit
See also edit
References edit
Footnotes edit
- ^ 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. However, in 2012 Roberto Heras was reinstated as the 2005 Vuelta a España champion when Spain's supreme court ruled in favor of Heras, citing procedural violations relating to the storage and handling of the urine samples.[1]
- ^ Juan José Cobo was the winner of the 2011 Vuelta a Juan José Cobo, but had been found guilty of an anti-doping violation, according to findings from his biological passport. As a result, the UCI penalised him with a three-year period of ineligibility. Cobo was officially stripped of the title on 18 June 2019.[2] On 17 July 2019, as the time for Cobo to appeal the decision expired with no application, the UCI announced it recognised Chris Froome as the 2011 champion, making him retroactively the first Briton to win a Grand Tour[3]
- ^ The start of the Vuelta 2020 was planned in Utrecht (the Netherlands), but due the COVID-19 pandemic it was moved to Irun[4]
Citations edit
- ^ "Roberto Heras regains 2005 Vuelta a Espana win". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ "Juan José Cobo has been stripped of his 2011 Vuelta a España title after being found guilty of doping". cyclingnews.com. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ "Chris Froome named winner of 2011 Vuelta a Espana". Cycling News. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ Fotheringham, Alasdair (29 April 2020). "Vuelta a España 2020 start in Netherlands cancelled". Cycling News. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ^ "2021 Vuelta a España to start inside Burgos Cathedral". Cycling News. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
- ^ "2022 Vuelta a España to start in the Netherlands". Cycling News. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
- ^ "Barcelona to host Vuelta a Espana start for first time since 1962 with Montjuic climb on second stage in 2023". Eurosport. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.