Vuelta a España: A brief history of cycling’s youngest Grand Tour

Established in 1935, the Vuelta a España is the youngest of cycling’s three Grand Tours and, for many, the least prestigious. But what is this race, how does it differ from the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, and why is it - despite its lesser status - still regarded as one of the most exciting races on the calendar? Let's take a look at the race and its history.

As the final Grand Tour of the year, the Vuelta is seen by many as a last-chance saloon for those riders who have failed to hit their seasonal objectives. In reality, the race is much more than that, this is a race with the steepest summit finishes in professional cycling, the anything-can-happen transitional stages, the unlikeliest breakaway victories and the most fiercely fought GC battles seen anywhere on the racing calendar. If you ever thought the Vuelta was inferior to the Giro and the Tour, think again.

The first Vuelta a España

The Vuelta was first created back in 1935 after its organisers witnessed the major successes that the other Grand Tour races in France and Italy were having. Like those races, the Vuelta was ultimately created to help boost sales of a then-failing newspaper, the daily Informaciones. The race’s first edition totalled 3,400km and was held over 14 stages. It started and finished in Spain’s capital, Madrid, and visited the mountains around Bilbao, Zaragoza and Cáceres along the way.

This inaugural edition is best remembered for the dramatic duel between the Belgian, Gustaaf Deloor, and the home-favourite, Mariano Cañardo. Sideways downpours and dire weather favoured the Belgian on stage 3 of the race. He made the most of these conditions and won the stage, taking the leader’s jersey and building up a massive nine-minute lead over Cañardo in the process.

The Spaniard pushed him close by winning the gruelling mountain stage to Zaragoza on stage 5, but then fell out of the GC battle by crashing hard on stage 13, losing another five minutes to Deloor who ultimately went on to win the race a day later. The Belgian defended his title in the second edition - the first to have 21 stages - by taking a commanding stage win on day two before leading the race all the way to the finish in Madrid.

The Vuelta in the 20th century

During the Spanish Civil War, World War II and the delicate economic situation in Spain during the early 50s, the Vuelta experienced a number of hiatuses. In 1955 it made a grand return however and quickly established itself as a permanent race on the pro calendar. In these post-war years, the race largely took place during the spring, just before the other Grand Tours. Now it falls during the late summer, serving as an action-packed climax to the Grand Tour season.

During the 60s the race broadened its horizons and diversified what had once been a predominantly Spanish peloton. With this globalisation of the race the prestige that came with winning it greatly increased, attracting a number of big names that had already reaped a lot of success in the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.

One of these riders was Jacques Anquetil who won the race in 1963. In doing so he became the first ever rider to win overall titles in all three Grand Tours. The Frenchman started an exclusive club in 1963 that only the likes of Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome have been able to join since.

The modern Vuelta era

Up until the 90s, the overall victories were largely shared between a big pool of riders, with no one rider really dominating. That changed with the arrival of Tony Rominger in 1992. He became the first rider in the history of the race to take three overall titles, winning them all consecutively between 1992 and 1994. During the 1993 edition, he also became the first ever rider to win the overall, points and mountains classifications in the same year - an incredible achievement that has only been matched once since, by Laurent Jalabert in 1995.

A decade later the Spaniard, Roberto Heras, joined Rominger on three overall wins, before then taking a fourth, record-breaking title in 2005. These four wins boosted Spain’s tally in the race; they now sit at the top of the winners’ table with an impressive 32 overall victories. Since the 2005 edition, we’ve seen riders like Alberto Contador, Chris Froome and Primož Roglič take multiple titles, with the latter taking three consecutively between 2019 and 2021.

Although Roglič had become the master of La Vuelta in recent times, his hegemony was brought to an end last year by the new Grand Tour hotshot, Remco Evenepoel. Both riders will be at the start of this year’s race and look set to be joined on the startlist by fellow Grand Tour champions Geraint Thomas and Jonas Vingegaard. The latter is coming hot off the heels of his Tour de France victory and will hope to become only the second rider since Bernard Hinault in 1978 to win both the Tour and Vuelta in the same season.

What makes the Vuelta different?

If that startlist wasn’t enough to excite, the racing in the year’s final Grand Tour is almost always dramatic and the battle for the red jersey regularly rages until the last few days of the race. The main reason for this is the race’s route, with its truly unpredictable parcours and its anything-can-happen transitional stages. The overall standings are ever-changing, largely due to the fact that the organisers throw in mountainous stages and steep summit finishes throughout the race, rather than solely in the final week.

It’s also the race that really pioneered the short, sharp stages that are now becoming the norm in other races across the calendar. These shorter stages add to the race’s unpredictability, meaning riders need to be on the ball during every waking moment of the race. This unique route and unpredictable flavour have helped La Vuelta stand apart from the other Grand Tours, making it a real breath of fresh air for both the fans and riders.

This year, the race will start in Barcelona on 26 August with a 14.9km team time trial, as the Catalan city hosts only its second Grand Départ in the race’s illustrious 78-year history. Featuring stages in Spain, Andorra and France, this year’s Vuelta promises as tough a route as ever before the final stage in Madrid, defined by a new high-altitude finish in Cruz de Linares and a return to the famous Alto de l'Angliru.

Whatever happens on the roads to Madrid this year, we’re sure to witness an entertaining edition. Be sure to tune into our daily live coverage on GCN+ between August 26th and September 17th so that you don’t miss a moment of the action! Keep an eye out for our Vuelta race preview and the shorter, stage-by-stage previews over the coming weeks too for a detailed look at the routes and favourites for this year’s race.

If you head to our Vuelta a España landing page, you will find everything you need to know ahead of the race, including our race preview, the route, start list and individual stage previews. Check it out for all that and more.