1979 Vuelta a España
Encyclopedia
The 34th Vuelta a España
(Tour of Spain
), a long-distance bicycle
stage
race and one of the 3 grand tours
, was held from April 24 to May 13, 1979. It consisted of 19 stages covering a total of 3,373 km, and was won by Joop Zoetemelk
of the Miko-Mercier cycling team
. Alfons De Wolf won the points classification and Felipe Yanez won the mountains classification.
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 24 to May 13, 1979. It consisted of 19 stages covering a total of 3,373 km, and was won by Joop Zoetemelk
Joop Zoetemelk
Hendrik Gerardus Jozef "Joop" Zoetemelk is a retired professional racing cyclist from the Netherlands who has emigrated to France. He started the Tour de France 16 times and finished every time, a record. He won the race in 1980 and also came eighth, fifth, fourth and second...
of the Miko-Mercier 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...
. Alfons De Wolf won the points classification and Felipe Yanez won the mountains classification.
Final General Classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Netherlands Joop ZoetemelkJoop Zoetemelk Hendrik Gerardus Jozef "Joop" Zoetemelk is a retired professional racing cyclist from the Netherlands who has emigrated to France. He started the Tour de France 16 times and finished every time, a record. He won the race in 1980 and also came eighth, fifth, fourth and second... |
Miko-Mercier | 94h 57' 03s |
| 2 |  Spain Francisco Galdos |
Kas-Campagnolo 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' 43s |
| 3 |  Belgium Michel PollentierMichel Pollentier Michel Pollentier is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer. He became professional in 1973. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1977 Giro d'Italia.... |
Splendor-Euro Soap | a 3' 21s |
| 4 | Spain Faustino Rupérez Faustino Ruperez Faustino Rupérez Rincón is a retired Spanish professional road racing cyclist who raced between 1979 and 1985... |
Moliner-Vereco | a 5' 51s |
| 5 | Belgium Lucien Van Impe Lucien Van Impe Lucien van Impe was a Belgian cyclist from 1969 to 1987. He excelled mainly as a climber in multiple-day races such as the Tour de France... |
Kas-Campagnolo 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' 30s |
| 6 | Spain Pedro Torres |
Transmallorca-Flavia | a 6' 49s |
| 7 | Spain Felipe Yanez |
Novostil-Helios | a 7' 41s |
| 8 |  France Christian Seznec |
Miko-Mercier | a 8' 03s |
| 9 | Belgium Fons De Wolf |
Boule d'Or-Lano | a 10' 01s |
| 10 | Spain Julian Andiano |
Moliner-Vereco | a 10' 52s |
| 11 | Spain Miguel Maria Lasa |
Moliner-Vereco | |
| 12 | Spain Vincente Lopez |
Teka | |
| 13 | France Raymond Martin |
Miko-Mercier | |
| 14 | Spain Alberto Fernandez |
Moliner-Vereco | |
| 15 | Belgium Herman Beyssens |
Splendor-Euro Soap | |
| 16 | Spain Manuel Esparza Sanz |
Teka | |
| 17 | Spain Vincente Belda |
Transmallorca-Flavia | |
| 18 | Spain José Pesarrodona José Pesarrodona José Pesarrodona Altimi is a former Spanish professional road bicycle racer who raced during the 1970s. Pesarrodona won the 1976 Vuelta a España ahead of Luis Ocaña and Jose Nazabal of Spain... |
Teka | |
| 19 | Spain Angel Arroyo Ángel Arroyo Angel Arroyo Lanchas is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. In the 1983 Tour de France, Arroyo won one stage and finished 2nd place in the general classification.... |
Moliner-Vereco | |
| 20 | Spain Juan Pujol Pages |
Transmallorca-Flavia | |
| 21 | Spain Ismael Lejarreta |
Novostil-Helios | |
| 22 | Spain Carlos Melero |
Moliner-Vereco | |
| 23 | Spain Bernardo Alfonsel |
Kas-Campagnolo 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... |
|
| 24 | Spain Jesus Suarez |
Kas-Campagnolo 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... |
|
| 25 | Spain Gonzalo Aja Barguin |
Novostil-Helios |