Tour of Spain (Vuelta a España)
The Tour of Spain (Vuelta Ciclista a España) is a cycling race which takes place, since 1935 almost annually, in Spain. It is one of the three Grand Tours. Since 2008 the Vuelta is included in the historical calendar and since 2011 it belongs to the UCI World Tour.
The Tour of Spain is, together with the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, one of the three grand cycling tours. This not only because of their great prestige, but also because of their length (three weeks). Previously, the Vuelta took place in April-May, now at the end of the summer (starting second half of August). Oddly enough, since the Vuelta takes place at the end of the Summer, the international prestige of this stage race has increased. One explanation may be that cyclists, who had a bad Tour de France experience, want to make up their season in Spain. The Tour of Spain is also considered as a preparation for the World Cup.
Unlike the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, in the Tour of Spain there are no traditional jersey colors for the leaders in the ranking. Every few years, the leader's jerseys change colors, often because of new sponsors. The jersey for the leader in the overall ranking was during decades amarillo (yellow gold), but from 2010 it changed into red. That's because the yellow jersey in the Vuelta was often confused with the yellow jersey in the Tour de France.
Winners since 2000:
2015 Fabio Aru (It)
2014 Alberto Contador (ES)
2013 Christopher Horner (USA)
2012 Alberto Contador (Es)
2011 Juan Jose Cobo (Es)
2010 Vincenzo Nibali (It)
2009 Alejandro Valverde (Es)
2008 Alberto Contador (Es)
2007 Denis Mensjov (Rus)
2006 Aleksandr Vinokourov (Kaz)
2005 Roberto Heras (Es)
2004 Roberto Heras (Es)
2003 Roberto Heras (Es)
2002 Aitor Gonzalez (Es)
2001 Angel Luis Casero (Es)
2000 Roberto Heras (Es)
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Location: Madrid, Spanje (Explore routes near Madrid, Spanje.)