Red jersey - Miniature cycling figures

Roberto Heras

In the Tour of Spain the leader of the general classification wears the red jersey. There have been periods where the jersey had a different colour: golden, orange and also white. Since 2010 the jersey is red. The first rider to wear the red jersey was Mark Cavendish. He then won the team time trial and also the first stage.

The Vuelta, or the Tour of Spain is one of the three big tours next to the Tour de France and the Tour of Italy. Inspired by the success of the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, this race was first organised in 1935. The first rider to win the Vuelta in 1935 was Belgian Gustaaf Deloor. Initially it was mainly Spanish riders who participated, but after that more and more other Europeans came to the start. But today it's taking riders from all over the world. The course is diverse: mountain stages, time trials and flat stages. Nevertheless, the Vuelta is seen as a stage race for the climbers. The majority of the stages take place in the mountains and that results in a lot of spectacle. The passage through the Pyrenees and the finish in the Spanish capital Madrid are noted in the agenda of the supporters.
Since 1995 rounds of Spain are held in August and September. In the years before that it was April and May. The organizers adjusted it because many riders ignored the Vuelta because of the too busy spring.

The rider who won most times the Vuelta is the Spaniard Roberto Heras with 4 victories. Tony Rominger and Alberto Contador won 3 times. 7 riders won the Tour of Spain 2 times: Gustaaf Deloor, Julián Berrendero, José Manuel Fuente, Bernard Hinault, Pedro Delgado, Alex Zülle and Chris Froome.

Delio Rodriguez won the most stage victories. He won no less than 39 stages. Below an overview of the riders who won at least 10 stages:
39 Delio Rodríguez
20 Alessandro Petacchi
18 Laurent Jalabert and Rik Van Looy
16 Sean Kelly
14 Gerben Karstens
13 Freddy Maertens
12 Marcel Wüst and Tony Rominger
11 Domingo Perurena, Julián Berrendero, Augustin Tamames and Alejandro Valverde
10 John Degenkolb, Roberto Heras and Eddy Planckaert

The most memorable final victory in the Vuelta was in 1977. Belgian Freddy Maertens was that year's leader from the first stage, and won 13 of the 19 stages. Of course, he won the Vuelta in 1977.

List winners Tour of Spain:
1935 Gustaaf Deloor
1936 Gustaaf Deloor
1941 Julián Berrendero
1942 Julián Berrendero
1945 Delio Rodríguez
1946 Dalmacio Langarica
1947 Edward Van Dijck
1948 Bernardo Ruiz
1950 Emilio Rodríguez
1955 Jean Dotto
1956 Angelo Conterno
1957 Jesús Loroño
1958 Jean Stablinski
1959 Antonio Suárez
1960 Frans De Mulder
1961 Angelino Soler
1962 Rudi Altig
1963 Jacques Anquetil
1964 Raymond Poulidor
1965 Rolf Wolfshohl
1966 Francisco Gabica
1967 Jan Janssen
1968 Felice Gimondi
1969 Roger Pingeon
1970 Luis Ocaña
1971 Ferdinand Bracke
1972 José Manuel Fuente
1973 Eddy Merckx
1974 José Manuel Fuente
1975 Agustín Tamames
1976 José Pesarrodona
1977 Freddy Maertens
1978 Bernard Hinault
1979 Joop Zoetemelk
1980 Faustino Rupérez
1981 Giovanni Battaglin
1982 Marino Lejarreta
1983 Bernard Hinault
1984 Eric Caritoux
1985 Pedro Delgado
1986 Álvaro Pino
1987 Luis Herrera
1988 Seán Kelly
1989 Pedro Delgado
1990 Marco Giovannetti
1991 Melchor Mauri
1992 Tony Rominger
1993 Tony Rominger
1994 Tony Rominger
1995 Laurent Jalabert
1996 Alex Zülle
1997 Alex Zülle
1998 Abraham Olano
1999 Jan Ullrich
2000 Roberto Heras
2001 Ángel Casero
2002 Aitor González Jiménez
2003 Roberto Heras
2004 Roberto Heras
2005 Roberto Heras
2006 Aleksandr Vinokoerov
2007 Denis Mensjov
2008 Alberto Contador
2009 Alejandro Valverde
2010 Vincenzo Nibali
2011 Chris Froome
2012 Alberto Contador
2013 Chris Horner
2014 Alberto Contador
2015 Fabio Aru
2016 Nairo Quintana
2017 Chris Froome
2018 Simon Yates

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