Vuelta a Murcia
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | Mid-February |
| Region | Region of Murcia, Spain |
| English name | Tour of Murcia |
| Local name(s) | Vuelta Ciclistica a la Region di Murcia |
| Discipline | Road race |
| Competition | UCI Europe Tour |
| Type |
Stage race (until 2012) One-day race (2013 onwards) |
| History | |
| First edition | 1981 |
| Editions | 36 (as of 2016) |
| First winner |
 Pedro Delgado (ESP) |
| Most wins |
Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (4 wins) |
| Most recent |
.svg.png){kind=small} Philippe Gilbert (BEL) |
The Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia (English: Tour of Murcia) is a road bicycle race held in and around Murcia, Spain. The first four editions were reserved to amateurs. Originally the race was held in early March and consisted of five stages. However, due to Spain's financial turmoil, the race was scaled back to three stages in 2011 and two stages in 2012.[1] Since 2013 the Vuelta a Murcia is organised as a single-day race and shifted to mid-February on the international calendar.[2] It is part of the UCI Europe Tour as a 1.1 event.[3]
Controversies
All Italian teams were banned from taking part in 2010 edition of the race by the race organizers. This decision was made due to the banning of Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde by the Italian Olympic Committee due to his links with the Operación Puerto blood doping ring.[4]
In 2011 Alberto Contador won both the overall and points classification after winning Stage 2 and the Stage 3 individual time trial. However, in February 2012 he was suspended and all his results after July 2010 were voided, awarding Jérôme Coppel of Saur Sojasun the overall victory.[5]
Past winners
| Rider | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | |
Delgado, PedroPedro Delgado (ESP) | |
| 1982 | |
Sanchis, SalvadorSalvador Sanchis (ESP) | |
| 1983 | |
Cedena, Francisco JavierFrancisco Javier Cedena (ESP) | |
| 1984 | |
Martinez, RicardoRicardo Martinez (ESP) | |
| 1985 | |
Recio, JoseJosé Recio (ESP) | Kelme |
| 1986 | |
Indurain, MiguelMiguel Indurain (ESP) | Reynolds |
| 1987 | |
Ruiz Cabestany, PelloPello Ruiz Cabestany (ESP) | Caja Rural-Seat |
| 1988 | |
Hernández, CarlosCarlos Hernández (ESP) | Teka |
| 1989 | |
Alonso, MarinoMarino Alonso (ESP) | Teka |
| 1990 |  |
Cordes, TomTom Cordes (NED) | Buckler–Colnago–Decca |
| 1991 | |
Villanueva, José LuisJosé Luis Villanueva (ESP) | ONCE |
| 1992 |  |
Mejia, AlvaroÁlvaro Mejía (COL) | Postobón |
| 1993 | |
Galarreta, CarlosCarlos Galarreta (ESP) | Deportpublic |
| 1994 | |
Mauri, MelchorMelchor Mauri (ESP) | Banesto |
| 1995 |  |
Baffi, AdrianoAdriano Baffi (ITA) | Mapei-GB |
| 1996 | |
Mauri, MelchorMelchor Mauri (ESP) | ONCE |
| 1997 | |
Domínguez, Juan CarlosJuan Carlos Domínguez (ESP) | Kelme-Costa Blanca |
| 1998 | |
Elli, AlbertoAlberto Elli (ITA) | Casino–Ag2r |
| 1999 | |
Pantani, MarcoMarco Pantani (ITA) | Mercatone Uno–Bianchi |
| 2000 | |
Cañada, DavidDavid Cañada (ESP) | ONCE–Deutsche Bank |
| 2001 | |
González, AitorAitor González (ESP) | Kelme-Costa Blanca |
| 2002 | |
Peña, Victor HugoVíctor Hugo Peña (COL) | U.S. Postal Service |
| 2003 | |
Pascual Llorente, JavierJavier Pascual Llorente (ESP) | Kelme-Costa Blanca |
| 2004 | |
Valverde, AlejandroAlejandro Valverde (ESP) | Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme |
| 2005 | |
Gil, KoldoKoldo Gil (ESP) | Liberty Seguros–Würth |
| 2006 | |
Gutiérrez, José IvánJosé Iván Gutiérrez[6] (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears |
| 2007 | |
Valverde, AlejandroAlejandro Valverde (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne |
| 2008 | |
Valverde, AlejandroAlejandro Valverde (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne |
| 2009 |  |
Menchov, DenisDenis Menchov (RUS) | Rabobank |
| 2010 |  |
Raboň, FrantišekFrantišek Raboň (CZE) | Team HTC–Columbia |
| 2011 |  |
Coppel, JérômeJérôme Coppel (FRA) | Saur–Sojasun |
| 2012 | |
Quintana, NairoNairo Quintana (COL) | Movistar Team |
| 2013 | |
Navarro, DanielDaniel Navarro (ESP) | Cofidis |
| 2014 | |
Valverde, AlejandroAlejandro Valverde (ESP) | Movistar Team |
| 2015 |  |
Taaramäe, ReinRein Taaramäe (EST) | Astana |
| 2016 | |
Gilbert, PhilippePhilippe Gilbert (BEL) | BMC Racing Team |
References
- ↑ "Economic crisis hits Tour of Murcia". Cyclingnews. Future Publishing Limited. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ↑ Axelgaard, Emil. "Vuelta a Murcia preview". Cycling Quotes. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- ↑ "2012 UCI Road Calendar". Union Cycliste Internationale. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ↑ "Tour of Murcia bars Italian teams". Cyclingnews. Future Publishing Limited. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ↑ Stokes, Shane (6 February 2012). "Confirmed: Contador handed two year doping ban,loses 2010 Tour title". VeloNation. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ↑ http://masdeporte.as.com/masdeporte/2006/07/02/polideportivo/1151877902_850215.html
External links
- Official website (Spanish)