1995 Vuelta a España

The 50th Edition Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 2 September to 24 September 1995. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of 3,750 km (2,330 mi), and was won by Laurent Jalabert of the ONCE cycling team. Jalabert won the three classification competitions – the general classification, the points classification and the mountains classification being only the third rider (after Eddy Merckx in the 1968 Giro d'Italia and the 1969 Tour de France, and Tony Rominger in the 1993 Vuelta a España) to win all three major classifications in a Grand Tour.[1][2][3][4]

1995 Vuelta a España
Race details
Dates2–24 September
Stages21 + Prologue
Distance3,750 km (2,330 mi)
Winning time95h 30' 33"
Results
Winner  Laurent Jalabert (FRA) (ONCE)
  Second  Abraham Olano (ESP) (Mapei–GB–Latexco)
  Third  Johan Bruyneel (BEL) (ONCE)

Points  Laurent Jalabert (FRA) (ONCE)
Mountains  Laurent Jalabert (FRA) (ONCE)
Sprints  Steffen Wesemann (GER) (Team Telekom)
  Team ONCE

The 1995 Vuelta was the first edition that was not held in April and May, as had previously been the case, but instead in September as the last of the three Grand Tours of the year. This was done to attract more high profile riders, who before had preferred to ride the Giro d'Italia or the Tour de France, which both took place very closely to the Vuelta's timeslot.[5]

Background

The Mapei squad arrived in disarray, after one of their lead riders, Fernando Escartín, announced that he would move to Kelme the following year. He was therefore left out of the team, which was led by Abraham Olano. The starting field also included Laurent Jalabert, Alex Zülle, former winner Melchor Mauri (all ONCE), Marco Pantani (Carrera Jeans–Tassoni) and a then unknown Jan Ullrich (Team Telekom) in his first ever Grand Tour appearance.[6]

Route and stages

Stage characteristics and winners
Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner
P 2 SeptemberZaragoza7 km (4.3 mi)Individual time trial Abraham Olano (ESP)
1 3 SeptemberZaragoza to Logroño186.6 km (115.9 mi)Plain stage Nicola Minali (ITA)
2 4 SeptemberSan Asensio to Santander223.5 km (138.9 mi)Plain stage Gianluca Pianegonda (ITA)
3 5 SeptemberSantander to Alto del Naranco206.0 km (128.0 mi)Hilly stage Laurent Jalabert (FRA)
4 6 SeptemberTapia de Casariego to A Coruña82.6 km (51.3 mi)Plain stage Marcel Wüst (GER)
5 7 SeptemberA Coruña to Ourense179.8 km (111.7 mi)Plain stage Laurent Jalabert (FRA)
6 8 SeptemberOurense to Zamora264.0 km (164.0 mi)Plain stage Nicola Minali (ITA)
7 9 SeptemberSalamanca41.0 km (25.5 mi)Individual time trial Abraham Olano (ESP)
8 10 SeptemberSalamanca to Ávila219.8 km (136.6 mi)Stage with mountain(s) Laurent Jalabert (FRA)
9 11 SeptemberÁvila to Palazuelos de Eresma122.5 km (76.1 mi)Stage with mountain(s) Jesper Skibby (DEN)
10 12 SeptemberCórdoba to Seville208.5 km (129.6 mi)Plain stage Jeroen Blijlevens (NED)
11 13 SeptemberSeville to Marbella162.5 km (101.0 mi)Plain stage Nicola Minali (ITA)
12 14 SeptemberMarbella to Sierra Nevada238.5 km (148.2 mi)Stage with mountain(s) Bert Dietz (GER)
13 15 SeptemberOlula del Río to Murcia181.0 km (112.5 mi)Hilly stage Christian Henn (GER)
14 16 SeptemberElche to Valencia207.0 km (128.6 mi)Plain stage Marcel Wüst (GER)
15 17 SeptemberBarcelona to Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys154.0 km (95.7 mi)Hilly stage Laurent Jalabert (FRA)
18 September Rest day
16 19 SeptemberTàrrega to Pla de Beret197.3 km (122.6 mi)Stage with mountain(s) Alex Zülle (SUI)
17 20 SeptemberSalardu (Naut Aran) to Luz Ardiden (France)179.2 km (111.3 mi)Stage with mountain(s) Laurent Jalabert (FRA)
18 21 SeptemberLuz-Saint-Sauveur (France) to Sabiñánigo157.8 km (98.1 mi)Stage with mountain(s) Asiat Saitov (RUS)
19 22 SeptemberSabiñánigo to Calatayud227.7 km (141.5 mi)Plain stage Adriano Baffi (ITA)
20 23 SeptemberAlcalá de Henares41.6 km (25.8 mi)Individual time trial Abraham Olano (ESP)
21 24 SeptemberAlcalá de Henares to Madrid147.5 km (91.7 mi)Plain stage Marcel Wüst (GER)
Total 3,750 km (2,330 mi)

Race overview

The race started with a prologue time trial in Zaragoza, won by Olano, two seconds ahead of Jalabert. The latter would move into the leader's golden jersey after stage 3, based on a stage win at Alto del Naranco. Olano moved closer in the general classification after the stage-7 time trial in Salamanca, but only gained 23 seconds on Jalabert due to a fall and a puncture along the route. On stage 8 to Ávila, Jalabert attacked almost from the beginning. Olano, left isolated, lost 4:40 minutes and all hopes of winning the Vuelta. Over the course of the two time trials, Olano gained 2:42 minutes on Jalabert, enough to make up for his losses on all stages but the one to Ávila. From this point on, Jalabert only attacked the field close to the finish line, collecting few advantages and some bonus seconds.[6] His lead was so comfortable that he was able to abort an attack on the way to Sierra Nevada and gift the stage win to escapee Bert Dietz (Team Telekom).[7]

Classification leadership

Classification leadership by stage[2]
Stage Winner General classification
Points classification
Mountains classification
P Abraham Olano Abraham Olano Abraham Olano not awarded
1 Nicola Minali Laurent Jalabert Marco Artunghi
2 Gianluca Pianegonda Gianluca Pianegonda Laurent Jalabert
3 Laurent Jalabert Laurent Jalabert
4 Marcel Wüst
5 Laurent Jalabert
6 Nicola Minali
7 Abraham Olano
8 Laurent Jalabert
9 Jesper Skibby
10 Jeroen Blijlevens
11 Nicola Minali
12 Bert Dietz
13 Christian Henn
14 Marcel Wüst
15 Laurent Jalabert
16 Alex Zülle
17 Laurent Jalabert
18 Asiat Saitov
19 Adriano Baffi
20 Abraham Olano
21 Marcel Wüst
Final Laurent Jalabert Laurent Jalabert Laurent Jalabert

Final classification

RankRiderTeamTime
1
 Laurent Jalabert (FRA)ONCE95h 30' 33s
2
 Abraham Olano (ESP)Mapei–GB–Latexco4' 22s
3
 Johan Bruyneel (BEL)ONCE6' 48s
4
 Melchor Mauri (ESP)ONCE8' 04s
5
 Richard Virenque (FRA)Festina-Lotus11' 38s
6
 Roberto Pistore (ITA)Polti-Vaporetto11' 54s
7
 David García (ESP)Banesto13' 50s
8
 Daniel Clavero (ESP)Artiach15' 03s
9
 Michele Bartoli (ITA)Mercatone Uno-Saeco19' 14s
10
 Stefano Della Santa (ITA)Mapei-GB19' 42s

References

Citations
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