The 28th Vuelta a España

Vuelta a España

The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...

(Tour of Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

), a long-distance bicycle

Bicycle racing

Bicycle racing is a competition sport in which various types of bicycles are used. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, bike trials, and cycle speedway. Bicycle racing is recognised as an Olympic sport...

 stage

Stage (bicycle race)

In sports, a stage, or leg, or heat, is a unit of a race which has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day event. Usually, such a race consists of "ordinary" stages, but sometimes stages are held as an individual time trial or a...

 race and one of the 3 grand tours

Grand Tour (cycling)

In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:* Tour de France – Tour of France , held in July* Giro d'Italia – Tour of Italy , held in May...

, was held from April 26 to May 13, 1973. It consisted of 17 stages covering a total of 3,061 km, and was won by Eddy Merckx

Eddy Merckx

Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx , better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional cyclist. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all...

 of the Molteni

Molteni

Molteni was an Italian professional road bicycle racing team from 1958 until the end of 1976. It won 663 races, many of them earned by its most famous rider, Eddy Merckx. Other riders included Gianni Motta and Marino Basso, who contributed 48 and 34 wins respectively...

 cycling team

Cycling team

A cycling team is a group of cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle races whether recreational or professional - and the supporting personnel...

. As Merckx had already won several editions of the Tour de France

Tour de France

The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...

 and the Giro d'Italia

Giro d'Italia

The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...

 with his win in the Vuelta, he became the third cyclist after Jacques Anquetil

Jacques Anquetil

Jacques Anquetil was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964...

 and Felice Gimondi

Felice Gimondi

Felice Gimondi is an Italian former professional racing cyclist.With his 1968 victory at the Vuelta a España, only three years after becoming a professional cyclist, Gimondi, nicknamed "The Phoenix", was the second cyclist to win all three Grand Tours of road cycling: Tour de France , Giro...

 to win all three grand tours

Grand Tour (cycling)

In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:* Tour de France – Tour of France , held in July* Giro d'Italia – Tour of Italy , held in May...

 in his career. Merckx went on to win the 1973 Giro d'Italia

1973 Giro d'Italia

The 1973 Giro d'Italia was held from 18 May to 9 June 1973, starting from Verviers in Belgium. It was won by Eddy Merckx.This 56th edition covered 3,801 km at an average speed of 35.553 km/h, for a total of 20 stages.- General classification :...

 and became the first cyclist to win the Vuelta-Giro double. Merckx also won the points classification and José Luis Abilleira won the mountains classification. With Merckx finishing first, Ocaña second and Thévenet third the podium of the 1973 Vuelta contained one previous winner and two future winners of the Tour de France

Tour de France

The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...

 making it one of the best podiums in the history of the race, according to the official race website.Gerben Karstens won 4 stages in this Vuelta

Final General Classification

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Belgium Eddy Merckx Eddy Merckx Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx , better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional cyclist. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all...	Molteni Molteni Molteni was an Italian professional road bicycle racing team from 1958 until the end of 1976. It won 663 races, many of them earned by its most famous rider, Eddy Merckx. Other riders included Gianni Motta and Marino Basso, who contributed 48 and 34 wins respectively...	84h 40' 50s
2	Spain Luis Ocaña Luis Ocaña Jesús Luis Ocaña Pernía was a Spanish road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1973 and the Vuelta a España in 1970.- Early professional career :...	Bic	a 3' 46s
3	France Bernard Thevenet Bernard Thévenet Bernard Thévenet, born 10 January 1948, in Saint-Julien-de-Civry, Saône-et-Loire, is a retired French bicycle racer. He is a two-time winner of the Tour de France and known for ending the reign of five-time Tour champion Eddy Merckx...	Peugeot-BP-Michelin Peugeot (cycling team) Peugeot team was a French professional cycling team that promoted and rode Peugeot racing bikes.It is listed as the most successful cycling team of all time, on www.cyclingranking.com, with a large margin on the second placed team, Alcyon.-History:...	a 4' 16s
4	Spain José Pesarrodona José Pesarrodona José Pesarrodona Altimi is a former Spanish professional road bicycle racer who raced during the 1970s. Pesarrodona won the 1976 Vuelta a España ahead of Luis Ocaña and Jose Nazabal of Spain...	Kas-Kaskol Kas (cycling team) Kas was a professional cycling team of the 1960s and 1970s, one of the strongest Spanish teams. It was sponsored by a soft drinks manufacturer, Kas. The team was from Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. It wore team a yellow jersey with Kas written in blue...	a 5' 54s
5	Spain Pedro Torres	La Casera-Pena Bahamontes	a 7' 29s
6	Portugal Joaquim Agostinho Joaquim Agostinho Joaquim Fernandes Agostinho, OIH was a Portuguese professional bicycle racer. He was champion of Portugal in six successive years. He rode the Tour de France 13 times and finished all but once, winning on Alpe d'Huez in 1979, and finishing 3rd twice...	Bic	a 8' 15s
7	Spain Agustin Tamames	La Casera-Pena Bahamontes	a 9' 15s
8	Spain Luis Balague	La Casera-Pena Bahamontes	a 12' 26s
9	Belgium Roger Swerts Roger Swerts Roger Swerts is a Belgian former road bicycle racer.-Palmarès:196419651968196919711972Roger Swerts is a Belgian former road bicycle racer.-Palmarès:1964...	Molteni Molteni Molteni was an Italian professional road bicycle racing team from 1958 until the end of 1976. It won 663 races, many of them earned by its most famous rider, Eddy Merckx. Other riders included Gianni Motta and Marino Basso, who contributed 48 and 34 wins respectively...	a 13' 27s
10	Spain Jesus Manzaneque Sanchez	La Casera-Pena Bahamontes	a 15' 01s
11	Belgium Herman van Springel Herman Van Springel Herman van Springel is a Belgian former road racing cyclist, from Grobbendonk, in the Flemish Campine or Kempen region.He was an accomplished time-trial rider, almost winning the Tour de France in 1968, when he was beaten in the last stage by Dutchman, Jan Janssen in a time-trial...	Rokado
12	France José Catieau José Catieau José Catieau is a former professional French road bicycle racer. He was professional from 1969 to 1976. For the 1973 season, Catieau was a teammate of the great Spanish cyclist Luis Ocaña on the Bic team. At the start of the 1973 Tour de France, Catieau won stage 1b into St.Niklaas in Belgium...	Bic
13	Belgium Victor Van Schil	Molteni Molteni Molteni was an Italian professional road bicycle racing team from 1958 until the end of 1976. It won 663 races, many of them earned by its most famous rider, Eddy Merckx. Other riders included Gianni Motta and Marino Basso, who contributed 48 and 34 wins respectively...
14	France Bernard Labourdette	Bic
15	Spain José Luis Abilleira	La Casera-Pena Bahamontes
16	Spain Juan Zurano Jerez	La Casera-Pena Bahamontes
17	Spain Vicente Lopez	Kas-Kaskol Kas (cycling team) Kas was a professional cycling team of the 1960s and 1970s, one of the strongest Spanish teams. It was sponsored by a soft drinks manufacturer, Kas. The team was from Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. It wore team a yellow jersey with Kas written in blue...
18	Spain Jose Luis Uribezubia	Kas-Kaskol Kas (cycling team) Kas was a professional cycling team of the 1960s and 1970s, one of the strongest Spanish teams. It was sponsored by a soft drinks manufacturer, Kas. The team was from Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. It wore team a yellow jersey with Kas written in blue...
19	Spain Antonio Martos Aguilar	Kas-Kaskol Kas (cycling team) Kas was a professional cycling team of the 1960s and 1970s, one of the strongest Spanish teams. It was sponsored by a soft drinks manufacturer, Kas. The team was from Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. It wore team a yellow jersey with Kas written in blue...
20	Spain Ventura Diaz Arrey	Monteverde
21	Portugal Venceslau Fernandes	Benifica
22	Portugal Fernando Ferreira	Coelima
23	Spain German Martin	Monteverde
24	Spain Jose Manuel Blanco	Monteverde
25	Belgium Ward Janssens	Molteni Molteni Molteni was an Italian professional road bicycle racing team from 1958 until the end of 1976. It won 663 races, many of them earned by its most famous rider, Eddy Merckx. Other riders included Gianni Motta and Marino Basso, who contributed 48 and 34 wins respectively...

External links

• La Vuelta (Official site in Spanish, English, and French)