Tour of the Basque Country

Tour of the Basque Country
Race details
Date Early-April
Region Spanish Basque Country
English name Tour of the Basque Country
Local name(s)
  • Vuelta al País Vasco (Spanish)
  • Euskal Herriko itzulia (Basque)
Discipline Road
Competition UCI World Tour
Type Stage race
History
First edition 1924 (1924)
Editions 56 (as of 2016)
First winner  Francis Pélissier (FRA)
Most wins

(4 wins)

Most recent  Alberto Contador (ESP)

The Tour of the Basque Country (Spanish: Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco, Basque: Euskal Herriko Itzulia) is an annual cycling stage race held in the Spanish Basque Country in April.
It is one of 24 races that make up the UCI World Ranking calendar.

History

The original Tour of the Basque Country had a troubled history, with 8 editions contested between 1924 and 1935, before the civil war seemingly wiped it out for good. In spite of its short tenure, it is mentioned and described in Ernest Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises.

In 1952, the Eibar Cycling Club (erstwhile backers of Spain's first national stage race, the pre-Vuelta a España Gran Premio República) launched a new 3-day event called Gran Premio de la Bicicleta Eibarresa to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Former French national champion Louis Caput took the inaugural edition.
In 1969, organizers opted to promote the race (by then 5 stages long) as IX Vuelta al País Vasco - XVIII Bicicleta Eibarresa, effectively merging the Bicicleta Eibarresa into a reborn Tour of the Basque Country.
However, the palmares of the Bicicleta Eibarresa (featuring Vuelta a España winners Jesús Loroño and Rolf Wolfshohl) is not recognized as part of the Tour of the Basque Country's history.
The Eibar Cycling Club would relinquish control of the competition following the 1973 edition, while retaining the rights to the Bicicleta Eibarresa name, which has sporadically been reactivated to help promote other, lower ranked events.

The first winner of the Tour of the Basque Country was Francis Pélissier from France, while the first winner of the 'modern' Tour (1969) was Jacques Anquetil, also of France. The most successful riders in the history of the Tour are Spain's José Antonio González, who won the race four times in 1972, 1975, 1977 and 1978, and Spain's Alberto Contador, who also won the race four times in 2008, 2009, 2014 and 2016.

The most recent edition (2016) was won by Spain's Alberto Contador, his fourth win in the race.

The winner traditionally dons a basque beret on the podium.

Because the Basque Country is a mountainous area, there are few flat stages, and thus the event favors those who are strong climbers. Most ascents in the Tour are not particularly high by professional cycling standards, but are often quite steep.

Winners

Rider Team
1924 France Pelissier, FrancisFrancis Pélissier (FRA)
1925 Belgium Verdyck, AugusteAuguste Verdyck (BEL)
1926 Luxembourg Frantz, NicolasNicolas Frantz (LUX)
1927 France Fontan, VictorVictor Fontan (FRA)
1928 Belgium De Waele, MauriceMaurice De Waele (BEL)
1929 Belgium De Waele, MauriceMaurice De Waele (BEL)
1930 Spain Canardo, MarianoMariano Cañardo (ESP)
1931–
1934
No race
1935 Italy Bartali, GinoGino Bartali (ITA)
1936–
1968
No race
1969 France Anquetil, JacquesJacques Anquetil (FRA)
1970 Spain Santamarina, Luis PedroLuis Pedro Santamarina (ESP)
1971 Spain Ocana, LuisLuis Ocaña (ESP)
1972 Spain Gonzalez, Jose AntonioJosé Antonio González (ESP)
1973 Spain Ocana, LuisLuis Ocaña (ESP)
1974 Spain Lasa, Miguel MaríaMiguel María Lasa (ESP)
1975 Spain Gonzalez, Jose AntonioJosé Antonio González (ESP)
1976 Italy Baronchelli, GianbattistaGianbattista Baronchelli (ITA)
1977 Spain Gonzalez, Jose AntonioJosé Antonio González (ESP)
1978 Spain Gonzalez, Jose AntonioJosé Antonio González (ESP)
1979 Italy Battaglin, GiovanniGiovanni Battaglin (ITA)
1980 Spain Fernandez, AlbertoAlberto Fernández (ESP)
1981 Italy Contini, SilvanoSilvano Contini (ITA)
1982 Spain Laguia, Jose LuisJosé Luis Laguía (ESP)
1983 Spain Gorospe, JuliánJulián Gorospe (ESP)
1984 Republic of Ireland Kelly, SeanSean Kelly (IRL)
1985 Spain Ruiz Cabestany, PelloPello Ruiz Cabestany (ESP)
1986 Republic of Ireland Kelly, SeanSean Kelly (IRL)
1987 Republic of Ireland Kelly, SeanSean Kelly (IRL)
1988 Netherlands Breukink, ErikErik Breukink (NED)
1989 Republic of Ireland Roche, StephenStephen Roche (IRL)
1990 Spain Gorospe, JuliánJulián Gorospe (ESP)
1991 Italy Chiappucci, ClaudioClaudio Chiappucci (ITA)
1992 Switzerland Rominger, TonyTony Rominger (SUI)
1993 Switzerland Rominger, TonyTony Rominger (SUI)
1994 Switzerland Rominger, TonyTony Rominger (SUI) Mapei–CLAS
1995 Switzerland Zulle, AlexAlex Zülle (SUI) ONCE
1996 Italy Casagrande, FrancescoFrancesco Casagrande (ITA) Saeco–AS Juvenes San Marino
1997 Switzerland Zulle, AlexAlex Zülle (SUI) ONCE
1998 Spain Cuesta, InigoÍñigo Cuesta (ESP) ONCE
1999 France Jalabert, LaurentLaurent Jalabert (FRA) ONCE–Deutsche Bank
2000 Germany Kloden, AndreasAndreas Klöden (GER) Team Telekom
2001 Lithuania Rumsas, RaimondasRaimondas Rumšas (LTU) Fassa Bortolo
2002 Spain Osa, AitorAitor Osa (ESP) iBanesto.com
2003 Spain Mayo, IbanIban Mayo (ESP) Euskaltel–Euskadi
2004 Russia Menchov, DenisDenis Menchov (RUS) Illes Balears–Banesto
2005 Italy Di Luca, DaniloDanilo Di Luca (ITA) Liquigas–Bianchi
2006 Spain Gomez Merchante, Jose AngelJosé Ángel Gómez Marchante (ESP) Saunier Duval–Prodir
2007 Spain Cobo, Juan JoseJuan José Cobo (ESP) Saunier Duval–Prodir
2008 Spain Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador (ESP) Astana
2009 Spain Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador (ESP) Astana
2010 United States Horner, ChrisChris Horner (USA) Team RadioShack
2011 Germany Klöden, AndreasAndreas Klöden (GER) Team RadioShack
2012 Spain Sánchez, SamuelSamuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel–Euskadi
2013 Colombia Quintana, NairoNairo Quintana (COL) Movistar Team
2014 Spain Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador (ESP) Tinkoff–Saxo
2015 Spain Rodríguez, JoaquimJoaquim Rodríguez (ESP) Team Katusha
2016 Spain Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador (ESP) Tinkoff

External links

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