agosto 14, 2023

Vuelta a España winners: The full history

Ahead of the final Grand Tour of the 2023 cycling season, we take a look at the history behind the winners of La Vuelta a España

Words: Joe Timms

The Vuelta a España is the youngest of cycling’s three Grand Tours. There have been over 100 editions of both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, but the 2023 race is only the 78th edition of the Vuelta.

Nonetheless, the race has been graced by historic performances and some of the most adored athletes that cycling has seen. Before the 23 teams and 184 riders take to the startline in Barcelona on Saturday August 26, 2023 for the opening team time trial, we take a look through the history books to study the previous winners of the Vuelta a España.

Who has the most Vuelta a España wins?

(Image by Tim de Waele/Corbis via Getty Images)

Roberto Heras - 4
Tony Rominger, Alberto Contador, Primož Roglič - 3
Gustaaf Deloor, Julián Berrendero, José Fuente, Bernard Hinault, Pedro Delgado, Alex Zülle, Chris Froome - 2

Roberto Heras is the only rider to have won La Vuelta on four separate occasions. He won the race in 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Heras was a specialist at competing on Spanish soil — 21 of his 22 career victories occurred in Spain. Despite his domination of La Vuelta, Heras couldn’t produce the same form at the Tour de France or Giro d’Italia — his best overall result at both races was fifth.

Tony Rominger and Alberto Contador are the two riders to have claimed a hat-trick of overall victories at the Vuelta. Primož Roglič joined the two riders in 2021 having secured his third Vuelta win in a row. The Slovenian rider will once again be back on the start line for the 2023 edition in the hopes of being the second-ever rider to win the title four times.

Oldest Vuelta a España winners

(Image by JOSE JORDAN/AFP via Getty Images)

2013 - Chris Horner, 41 years and 328 days
1994 - Tony Rominger, 33 years and 49 days
2006 - Alexandre Vinokourov, 33 years and 1 day
1979 - Joop Zoetemelk, 32 years and 161 days
2017 - Chris Froome, 32 years and 113 days

Chris Horner made cycling history when he won the 2013 edition of the Vuelta a España at the age of 41. Prior to the race, Horner had started 10 Grand Tours. Incredibly, he’d never finished better than ninth overall, which he achieved at the 2010 Tour de France. Horner defeated Vincenzo Nibali and Alejandro Valverde in 2013 who both finished on the final podium.

The next oldest rider to win the Vuelta is Tony Rominger, who won the last of his three Vueltas in 1994 aged 33 — over eight years younger than Horner. Alexandre Vinokourov won his only Grand Tour at the 2006 Vuelta a España when he was 33 years old.

Youngest Vuelta a España winners

1961 - Angelino Soler, 21 years and 168 days
1935 - Gustaaf Deloor, 21 years and 325 days
1960 - Frans De Mulder, 22 years and 153 days
2022 - Remco Evenepoel, 22 years and 206 days
1936 - Gustaaf Deloor, 22 years and 336 days

Angelino Soler won the 1961 Vuelta a España at the age of just 21, making him the youngest winner of the race. Belgian Gustaaf Deloor won the first two editions of the race in 1935 and 1936 — the only two occasions he entered the race. He also started the Tour de France in 1937, finishing 16th overall.

Historicaly, the five youngest winners of the Vuelta all claimed their win in the first 16 editions of the race, until last year in 2022, when Remco Evenepoel dominated the race, securing himself the red jersey and adding his name to the honours roll as the fourth youngest rider to win La Vuelta.