| 2012 UCI World Tour, race 22 of 28 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | 18 August – 9 September | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,360.2 km (2,088 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 84h 59' 49" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The2012 Vuelta a España started on 18 August 2012 and was the 67th edition of the race. The race began inPamplona with a team time trial and ended on 9 September, as traditional, inMadrid. The 2012 edition saw the return of theBola del Mundo mountain top finish. It was the venue of an exciting battle between winnerVincenzo Nibali and runner-upEzequiel Mosquera in the2010 edition.[1][2] It was the first time since1994 that the race visited the region ofNavarre. The previous time that Pamplona was visited by a Grand Tour in 1996, when the city hosted the finish of a memorable stage of the1996 Tour de France. On that occasion, the race paid homage toMiguel Indurain by passing through his home village of Villava en route.
The race was won for the second time byAlberto Contador ofSaxo Bank–Tinkoff Bank, taking his first overall victory since returning from a doping suspension.[3] Contador, who won the seventeenth stage of the race after a solo attack, won the general classification by 1' 16" over runner-upAlejandro Valverde of theMovistar Team team. Two-time stage winner Valverde also won two sub-classifications on the final day; by taking a sixth-place finish on the stage into Madrid, he overhauled the points tally ofJoaquim Rodríguez (Team Katusha) in that classification, and their resultant switch of positions, allowed Valverde to take the combination classification – where the lowest cumulative score across the general, points and mountains classifications wins – as well.[4]
Completing an all-Spanish podium,[5] Rodríguez finished the race third overall, 21 seconds behind Valverde and 1' 37" behind Contador, having led the race for 13 days between the fourth and sixteenth stages. Rodríguez also achieved three stage victories, a tally second only toArgos–Shimano sprinterJohn Degenkolb who won five stages, the most by a German at the Vuelta.[6]Orica–GreenEDGE'sSimon Clarke became the second Australian to win the mountains classification in a Grand Tour, while the Movistar Team comfortably won the teams classification.[7]
The 18UCI ProTour teams were automatically entitled to start the race and were joined by four teams that received a wildcard in April 2012.[8]
The 18 ProTour teams:
Teams receiving a wildcard:
For more details, seeList of teams and cyclists in the 2012 Vuelta a España.
The winner of the 2008 edition of the race,Alberto Contador, made his first Grand Tour appearance since his ban after testing positive for a banned substance at the 2010 Tour de France, and was considered by many the top favourite for overall victory. Another favourite wasChris Froome, who had at the time finished second in the 2011 Vuelta and 2012 Tour de France, and he started the 2012 Vuelta as team leader ofTeam Sky, having previously worked forBradley Wiggins. The then winner of the 2011 edition,Juan José Cobo, was looking to replicate his previous year's form after a disappointing 2012 season, and he was co-leader of theMovistar Team alongsideAlejandro Valverde.
Other contenders for the podium includedJoaquim Rodríguez ofTeam Katusha, who finished second in the2012 Giro d'Italia,Igor Antón ofEuskaltel–Euskadi,Jurgen Van den Broeck ofLotto–Belisol,Damiano Cunego ofLampre–ISD andRobert Gesink ofRabobank.
Riders who could have made the top ten included Froome's Colombian teammates at Team Sky,Rigoberto Urán andSergio Henao, Rabobank'sBauke Mollema,RadioShack–Nissan'sMaxime Monfort,Vacansoleil–DCM'sThomas De Gendt andAg2r–La Mondiale'sNicolas Roche.
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 August | Pamplona | 16.5 km (10.3 mi) |  | Team Time Trial |  Movistar Team | |
| 2 | 19 August | Pamplona toViana | 181.4 km (112.7 mi) |  | Flat Stage |  John Degenkolb (GER) | |
| 3 | 20 August | Oion toArrate (Eibar) | 155.3 km (96.5 mi) |  | Medium Mountain Stage | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) | |
| 4 | 21 August | Barakaldo toValdezcaray | 160.6 km (99.8 mi) | | Medium Mountain Stage |  Simon Clarke (AUS) | |
| 5 | 22 August | Logroño toLogroño | 168 km (104 mi) | | Flat Stage | John Degenkolb (GER) | |
| 6 | 23 August | Tarazona toEl Fuerte del Rapitán (Jaca) | 175.4 km (109.0 mi) | | Medium Mountain Stage | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | |
| 7 | 24 August | Huesca toMotorland Aragon (Alcañiz) | 164.2 km (102.0 mi) | | Flat Stage | John Degenkolb (GER) | |
| 8 | 25 August | Lleida toColl de la Gallina | 174.7 km (108.6 mi) |  | Mountain Stage | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) | |
| 9 | 26 August | Andorra toBarcelona | 196.3 km (122.0 mi) | | Flat Stage |  Philippe Gilbert (BEL) | |
| 27 August | Rest day | ||||||
| 10 | 28 August | Ponteareas toSanxenxo | 190 km (120 mi) | | Flat Stage | John Degenkolb (GER) | |
| 11 | 29 August | Cambados toPontevedra | 39.4 km (24.5 mi) | | Individual Time Trial |  Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE) | |
| 12 | 30 August | Vilagarcía toMirador de Ézaro (Dumbría) | 190.5 km (118.4 mi) | | Medium Mountain Stage | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | |
| 13 | 31 August | Santiago de Compostela toFerrol | 172.8 km (107.4 mi) | | Flat Stage |  Steve Cummings (GBR) | |
| 14 | 1 September | Palas de Rei toLos Ancares | 149.2 km (92.7 mi) | | Mountain Stage | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | |
| 15 | 2 September | La Robla toLagos de Covadonga | 186.5 km (115.9 mi) | | Mountain Stage | Antonio Piedra (ESP) | |
| 16 | 3 September | Gijón toCuitu Negru | 183.5 km (114.0 mi) | | Mountain Stage |  Dario Cataldo (ITA) | |
| 4 September | Rest day | ||||||
| 17 | 5 September | Santander toFuente Dé | 187.3 km (116.4 mi) | | Medium Mountain Stage | Alberto Contador (ESP) | |
| 18 | 6 September | Aguilar de Campoo toValladolid | 204.5 km (127.1 mi) | | Flat Stage | Daniele Bennati (ITA) | |
| 19 | 7 September | Peñafiel toLa Lastrilla | 178.4 km (110.9 mi) | | Flat Stage | Philippe Gilbert (BEL) | |
| 20 | 8 September | Palazuelos de Eresma toBola del Mundo | 170.7 km (106.1 mi) | | Mountain Stage |  Denis Menchov (RUS) | |
| 21 | 9 September | Cercedilla toMadrid | 115 km (71 mi) | | Flat Stage | John Degenkolb (GER) | |
| Total | 3,360.2 km (2,087.9 mi) | ||||||
For details see2012 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11 and2012 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21
There were four main classifications contested in the 2012 Vuelta a España, with the most important being thegeneral classification. The general classification was calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the red jersey; the winner of this classification was considered the winner of the Vuelta. In 2012, there were time bonuses given on mass-start stages; twelve seconds were awarded to the stage winner, with eight for second and four for third.[9]
Additionally, there was apoints classification, which awards a green jersey. In the points classification, cyclists get points for finishing among the best in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints. The cyclist with the most points led the classification, and is identified with a green jersey. There was also amountains classification. The organisation categorised some climbs as eitherhors catégorie, first, second, third, or fourth-category; points for this classification were won by the first cyclists that reach the top of these climbs, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs. The cyclist with the most points led the classification, and was identified with a blue polka dot jersey.
The fourth individual classification was thecombination classification, marked by the white jersey. This classification is calculated by adding the numeral ranks of each cyclist in the general, points and mountains classifications – a rider must have a score in all classifications possible to qualify for the combination classification – with the lowest cumulative total signifying the winner of this competition.
For theteam classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team is the team with the lowest total time. For thecombativity award, a jury gives points after each stage to the cyclists they considered most combative. The cyclist with the most votes in all stages leads the classification. For the daily combative winner, the rider in question donned a dossard with a red background, on the following stage.
| Rider | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alberto Contador (ESP) | Saxo Bank–Tinkoff Bank | 84h 59' 49" |
| 2 | Alejandro Valverde (ESP)  | Movistar Team | + 1' 16" |
| 3 | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | Team Katusha | + 1' 37" |
| 4 | Chris Froome (GBR) | Team Sky | + 10' 16" |
| 5 | Daniel Moreno (ESP) | Team Katusha | + 11' 29" |
| 6 |  Robert Gesink (NED) | Rabobank | + 12' 23" |
| 7 |  Andrew Talansky (USA) | Garmin–Sharp | + 13' 28" |
| 8 | Laurens ten Dam (NED) | Rabobank | + 13' 41" |
| 9 | Igor Antón (ESP) | Euskaltel–Euskadi | + 14' 01" |
| 10 | Beñat Intxausti (ESP) | Movistar Team | + 16' 13" |
| Pos. | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Movistar Team | 254h 52' 49" |
| 2 | Euskaltel–Euskadi | + 9' 40" |
| 3 |  Ag2r–La Mondiale | + 20' 19" |
| 4 | Rabobank | + 23' 48" |
| 5 | Team Sky | + 26' 55″ |
| 6 | Team Katusha | + 36' 07" |
| 7 | Lampre–ISD | + 53' 00″ |
| 8 |  Saxo Bank–Tinkoff Bank | + 1h 1' 11" |
| 9 |  RadioShack–Nissan | + 1h 17' 34" |
| 10 | Caja Rural | + 1h 25' 10" |
| By year men |
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| By year women | |||||||||||||
| Classifications ("jerseys") |
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| Lists and topics | |||||||||||||
| Related articles | |||||||||||||
