The 23rd 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 25 to May 12, 1968. It consisted of 18 stages covering a total of 3,014 km, and was won by 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...

 of the Salvarani 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...

. With this win in the 1968 Vuelta a España, the 1967 Giro d'Italia

1967 Giro d'Italia

The 1967 Giro d'Italia of cycling, 50th edition of the Corsa Rosa, was held from 20 May to 11 June 1967. It consisted of 22 stages and was won by Felice Gimondi.- Final classment:- Maglia rosa holders:- Other jerseys:...

 and the 1965 Tour de France

1965 Tour de France

The 1965 Tour de France was memorable for a number of reasons. In his first year as a professional, Felice Gimondi, a substitute replacement on the Salvarani team, captures the overall title ahead of Raymond Poulidor, last year's second place finisher...

, Gimondi became the second 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...

 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. Defending champion Jan Janssen

Jan Janssen

Johannes Adrianus Janssen, known as Jan Janssen is a Dutch former professional cyclist . He was world champion and winner of the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. He was the first Dutch rider to win the Tour de France.Janssen was born at Nootdorp, a small town near Rotterdam and Delft...

 won the points competition and 1966 champion Francisco Gabica

Francisco Gabica

Francisco Gabicacogeascoa Ibarra was a professional road bicycle racer between 1961 and 1972. Of his 21 professional victories, Gabica is most famous for winning the 1966 Vuelta a España besting runnerup Eusebio Velez of Spain and third-place finisher Carlos Echeverria of Spain...

 won the mountains classification.

Final General Classification

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Italy 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...	Salvarani	78h 29' 00s
2	Spain José Perez Frances	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 2' 15s
3	Spain Eusebio Velez	Fagor	a 5' 08s
4	Spain José Maria Errandonea	Fagor	a 5' 19s
5	Italy Vittorio Adorni Vittorio Adorni Vittorio Adorni is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist .-Beginnings:Vittorio Adorni was a talented amateur and showed early talent at riding alone...	Faema	a 5' 26s
6	Netherlands Jan Janssen Jan Janssen Johannes Adrianus Janssen, known as Jan Janssen is a Dutch former professional cyclist . He was world champion and winner of the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. He was the first Dutch rider to win the Tour de France.Janssen was born at Nootdorp, a small town near Rotterdam and Delft...	Pelforth	a 5' 43s
7	Spain Antonio Gomez Del Moral	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' 55s
8	Spain Carlos Echevarria	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 6' 00s
9	France Lucien Aimar Lucien Aimar Lucien Aimar is a French cyclist, who won the Tour de France in 1966 and the national road championship in 1968. He is now a race organizer. He was born in Hyères, France.-Amateur career:...	Bic	a 6' 40s
10	Belgium Jos Spruyt	Faema	a 7' 50s
11	Spain Luis Otano Arcelus	Fagor
12	France Jean-Pierre Ducasse	Pelforth
13	Spain Francisco Gabica Francisco Gabica Francisco Gabicacogeascoa Ibarra was a professional road bicycle racer between 1961 and 1972. Of his 21 professional victories, Gabica is most famous for winning the 1966 Vuelta a España besting runnerup Eusebio Velez of Spain and third-place finisher Carlos Echeverria of Spain...	Fagor
14	United Kingdom Michael Wright Michael Wright (cyclist) Michael Wright - "Michel" - is an English former professional road bicycle racer from 1962 to 1976. He won stages in the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España stage races and represented Great Britain at several world championships....	Bic
15	Spain Ventura Diaz Arrey	Ferrys
16	Spain José Manuel Lopez	Fagor
17	Spain José Antonio Momene	Fagor
18	Germany Rudi Altig Rudi Altig Rudi Altig is a former professional track and road racing cyclist who won the 1962 Vuelta a España and the world championship in 1966. He is now a television commentator.-Amateur career:...	Salvarani
19	Spain Andres Gandarias	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	Netherlands Cees Haast	Bic
21	Spain Fernardo Manzaneque	Karpy
22	Germany Wilfried Peffgen	Salvarani
23	Belgium Victor Van Schil	Faema
24	Spain Domingo Perurena	Fagor
25	Spain Sebastian Elorza Uria	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...

External links

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