The Vuelta a España is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the race was first organised in 1935. The race was prevented from being run by the Spanish Civil War and World War II in the early years of its existence; however, the race has been held annually since 1955. As the Vuelta gained prestige and popularity the race was lengthened and its reach began to extend all around the globe. Since 1979, the event has been staged and managed by Unipublic, until in 2014, when the Amaury Sport Organisation acquired control. Since then, they have been working together. The peloton expanded from a primarily Spanish participation to include riders from all over the world. The Vuelta is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams, with the exception of the wild card teams that the organizers can invite.
Alejandro Valverde Belmonte is a Spanish cyclist, who competed as a professional in road bicycle racing from 2002 to 2022, and now competes in gravel cycling for the Movistar Team Gravel Squad.
Alberto Contador Velasco is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice, the Giro d'Italia twice, and the Vuelta a España three times. He is one of only seven riders to have won all three Grand Tours of cycling, and one of only two riders to have won all three more than once. He has also won the Vélo d'Or a record 4 times.
The 2013 Tour de France was the 100th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on the island of Corsica on 29 June and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 21 July. The Tour consisted of twenty-one stages and covered a total distance of 3,403.5 km (2,115 mi). The overall general classification was won by Chris Froome of Team Sky. Second and third respectively were Nairo Quintana and the Team Katusha rider Joaquim Rodríguez.
The 2012 Vuelta a España started on 18 August 2012 and was the 67th edition of the race. The race began in Pamplona with a team time trial and ended on 9 September, as traditional, in Madrid. The 2012 edition saw the return of the Bola del Mundo mountain top finish. It was the venue of an exciting battle between winner Vincenzo Nibali and runner-up Ezequiel Mosquera in the 2010 edition. It was the first time since 1994 that the race visited the region of Navarre. The previous time that Pamplona was visited by a Grand Tour in 1996, when the city hosted the finish of a memorable stage of the 1996 Tour de France. On that occasion, the race paid homage to Miguel Indurain by passing through his home village of Villava en route.
The 2012 Tour of the Basque Country was the 52nd running of the Tour of the Basque Country cycling stage race. It started on 2 April in Güeñes and ended on 7 April in Oñati, and consisted of six stages, including a race-concluding individual time trial. It was the ninth race of the 2012 UCI World Tour season.
The 2014 Tour de France was the 101st edition of the race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 3,660.5-kilometre (2,274.5 mi) race included 21 stages, starting in Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, on 5 July and finishing on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 27 July. The race also visited Belgium for part of a stage. Vincenzo Nibali of the Astana team won the overall general classification by more than seven minutes, the biggest winning margin since 1997. By winning, he had acquired victories in all Grand Tours. Jean-Christophe Péraud placed second, with Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr) third.
The 2013 Tour of the Basque Country was the 53rd running of the Tour of the Basque Country cycling stage race. It started on 1 April in Elgoibar and ended on 6 April in Beasain, and consisted of six stages, including a race-concluding individual time trial. It was the ninth race of the 2013 UCI World Tour season.
The 2013 Tour de Romandie was the 67th running of the Tour de Romandie cycling stage race. The race consisted of six stages, beginning with a prologue stage in Le Châble on 23 April and concluded with another individual time trial, in Geneva, on 28 April. It was the fourteenth race of the 2013 UCI World Tour season.
The 2015 Tour de France was the 102nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 3,360.3 km (2,088 mi)-long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 4 July in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and concluding on 26 July with the Champs-Élysées stage in Paris. A total of 198 riders from 22 teams entered the race. The overall general classification was won by Chris Froome of Team Sky, with the second and third places taken by Movistar Team riders Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde, respectively.
The 2014 Volta ao Algarve was the 40th edition of the Volta ao Algarve cycling stage race. It was rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, and was held from 19 to 23 February 2014, in Portugal.
The 2014 Tirreno–Adriatico was the 49th edition of the Tirreno–Adriatico cycling stage race, often known as the Race of the Two Seas. It started on 12 March in Donoratico and ended on 18 March in San Benedetto del Tronto, and consisted of seven stages, including a team time trial to begin the race and an individual time trial to conclude it. It was the third race of the 2014 UCI World Tour season.
The 2014 Volta a Catalunya was the 94th running of the Volta a Catalunya cycling stage race. It started on 24 March in Calella and ended on 30 March in Barcelona, and consisted of seven stages. It was the fifth race of the 2014 UCI World Tour season.
The 2014 Vuelta a España took place between 23 August and 14 September 2014 and was the 69th edition of the race. It featured eight mountain stages, five hill stages, five flat stages, and three time trials, two of which appeared at the beginning and end of the race. Jerez de la Frontera, on the Spanish south coast, hosted the opening stage. The Vuelta then went counterclockwise, through the south-east and east of the country before crossing the north and finishing in Santiago de Compostela. This was the first time in 21 years that the race has finished outside Madrid.
The 2015 Giro d'Italia was a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race that took place in May 2015. It was the 98th running of the Giro d'Italia and took place principally in Italy, although some stages visited France and Switzerland. The 3,481.8-kilometre (2,163.5 mi) race included 21 stages, beginning in San Lorenzo al Mare on 9 May and concluding in Milan on 31 May. It was the fifteenth race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. The Giro was won by Alberto Contador (Tinkoff–Saxo), with Fabio Aru (Astana) second and Aru's teammate Mikel Landa third.
The 2015 Paris–Nice was the 73rd edition of the Paris–Nice stage race. It took place from 8 to 15 March and was the second race of the 2015 UCI World Tour following the Tour Down Under. The race was a return to the traditional format of Paris−Nice after an unorthodox course in 2014. It started in Yvelines, west of Paris, with a prologue time trial; the course then moved south through France with several stages suitable for sprinters. The decisive part of the race began on stage four with a summit finish at the Col de la Croix de Chaubouret; stage six also had a mountainous route. The race ended after seven days with the climb of the Col d'Èze outside Nice.
The 2015 Tour of the Basque Country was the 55th edition of the Tour of the Basque Country stage race. It took place from 6 to 11 April and was the ninth race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. The race was won by Joaquim Rodríguez.
The 2016 Tour of the Basque Country was a road cycling stage race that took place in the Basque Country between 4 and 9 April 2016. It was the 56th edition of the Tour of the Basque Country and the ninth event of the 2016 UCI World Tour.
The 2017 Tour of the Basque Country was a road cycling stage race that took place between 3 and 8 April. It was the 57th edition of the Tour of the Basque Country and was the fourteenth event of the 2017 UCI World Tour.
The 2017 Vuelta a Andalucía was a road cycling stage race that took place in Andalusia between 15 and 19 February 2017. The race was rated as a 2.HC event as part of the 2017 UCI Europe Tour, and was the 63rd edition of the Vuelta a Andalucía.
