1968 Vuelta a España
The 23rd edition of Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 25 April to 12 May 1968. It consisted of 18 stages covering a total of 3,014 km (1,873 mi). Basque nationalist ETA terrorists detonated a bomb along the course on stage 15, causing that day's racing to be annulled.[1][2] The race was won by Felice Gimondi of the Salvarani cycling team. With this win in the 1968 Vuelta a España, the 1967 Giro d'Italia and the 1965 Tour de France, Gimondi became the second cyclist after Jacques Anquetil to win all three grand tours in his career.[3] Defending champion Jan Janssen won the points competition and 1966 champion Francisco Gabica won the mountains classification.[4]
Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dates | 25 April – 12 May | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stages | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance | 3,014 km (1,873 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Winning time | 78h 29' 00" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Teams and riders
Route
Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1a | 25 April | Zaragoza – Zaragoza | 130 km (81 mi) | Jan Janssen (NED) | ||
1b | 25 April | Zaragoza – Zaragoza | 4 km (2 mi) | Individual time trial | Jan Janssen (NED) | |
2 | 26 April | Zaragoza – Lleida | 195 km (121 mi) | Michael Wright (GBR) | ||
3a | 27 April | Lleida – Barcelona | 165 km (103 mi) | Tommaso de Pra (ITA) | ||
3b | 27 April | Barcelona – Barcelona | 38 km (24 mi) | Rudi Altig (FRG) | ||
4 | 28 April | Barcelona – Salou | 108 km (67 mi) | Michael Wright (GBR) | ||
5 | 29 April | Salou – Vinaròs | 106 km (66 mi) | Rudi Altig (FRG) | ||
6 | 30 April | Vinaròs – Valencia | 148 km (92 mi) | Pietro Guerra (ITA) | ||
7 | 1 May | Valencia – Benidorm | 144 km (89 mi) | Wilfried Peffgen (FRG) | ||
8 | 2 May | Benidorm – Almansa | 167 km (104 mi) | Manuel Martín Piñera (ESP) | ||
9 | 3 May | Almansa – Alcázar de San Juan | 230 km (143 mi) | José María Errandonea (ESP) | ||
10 | 4 May | Alcázar de San Juan – Madrid | 173 km (107 mi) | Domingo Perurena (ESP) | ||
11 | 5 May | Madrid – Palencia | 242 km (150 mi) | Ramón Sáez (ESP) | ||
12 | 6 May | Villalón de Campos – Gijón | 236 km (147 mi) | José Pérez Francés (ESP) | ||
13 | 7 May | Gijón – Santander | 203 km (126 mi) | Victor Van Schil (BEL) | ||
14 | 8 May | Santander – Vitoria | 244 km (152 mi) | Eduardo Castelló (ESP) | ||
15 | 9 May | Vitoria – Pamplona | Annulled | |||
16 | 10 May | Pamplona – San Sebastián | 204 km (127 mi) | Luis Santamarina (ESP) | ||
17 | 11 May | San Sebastián – Tolosa | 67 km (42 mi) | Individual time trial | Felice Gimondi (ITA) | |
18 | 12 May | Tolosa – Bilbao | 206 km (128 mi) | Manuel Martín Piñera (ESP) | ||
Total | 3,014 km (1,873 mi) |
Results
Final General Classification
Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Felice Gimondi | Salvarani | 78h 29' 00" |
2 | José Pérez Francés | Kas–Kaskol | + 2' 15" |
3 | Eusebio Vélez | Fagor | + 5' 08" |
4 | José María Errandonea | Fagor | + 5' 19" |
5 | Vittorio Adorni | Faema | + 5' 26" |
6 | Jan Janssen | Pelforth | + 5' 43" |
7 | Antonio Gómez del Moral | Kas–Kaskol | + 5' 55" |
8 | Carlos Echeverría | Kas–Kaskol | + 6' 00" |
9 | Lucien Aimar | Bic | + 6' 40" |
10 | Jos Spruyt | Faema | + 7' 50" |
11 | Luis Otaño Arcelus | Fagor | |
12 | Jean-Pierre Ducasse | Pelforth | |
13 | Francisco Gabica | Fagor | |
14 | Michael Wright | Bic | |
15 | Ventura Díaz Arrey | Ferrys | |
16 | José Manuel Lopez | Fagor | |
17 | José Antonio Momeñe | Fagor | |
18 | Rudi Altig | Salvarani | |
19 | Andrés Gandarias | Kas–Kaskol | |
20 | Cees Haast | Bic | |
21 | Fernando Manzaneque | Karpy | |
22 | Wilfried Peffgen | Salvarani | |
23 | Victor Van Schil | Faema | |
24 | Domingo Perurena | Fagor | |
25 | Sebastián Elorza Uria | Kas–Kaskol |
References
- "In praise of the Vuelta a España". Cyclist. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
- Jones, Graham (2003-09-01). "La Vuelta: A Colorful & Caliente History". PezCycling News. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
- "General Information 1968". La Vuelta.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
- "XXIII Vuelta Ciclista a España – Clasificaciones Oficiales" (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo. 13 May 1968. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 November 2020.
- "1968 » 23rd Vuelta a España". Procyclingstats. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- "23ème Vuelta a España 1968". Memoire du cyclisme (in French). Archived from the original on 25 October 2004.