The 2012 Vuelta a España started on 18 August 2012 and was the 67th edition of the race. The race began in Pamplona with a team time trial and ended on 9 September, as traditional, in Madrid. The 2012 edition saw the return of the Bola del Mundo mountain top finish. It was the venue of an exciting battle between winner Vincenzo Nibali and runner-up Ezequiel Mosquera in the 2010 edition. It was the first time since 1994 that the race visited the region of Navarre. The previous time that Pamplona was visited by a Grand Tour in 1996, when the city hosted the finish of a memorable stage of the 1996 Tour de France. On that occasion, the race paid homage to Miguel Indurain by passing through his home village of Villava en route.
The race was won for the second time by Alberto Contador of , taking his first overall victory since returning from a doping suspension. Contador, who won the seventeenth stage of the race after a solo attack, won the general classification by 1' 16" over runner-up Alejandro Valverde of the 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 of Joaquim Rodríguez () 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.
Completing an all-Spanish podium, 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 to sprinter John Degenkolb who won five stages, the most by a German at the Vuelta. 's Simon Clarke became the second Australian to win the mountains classification in a Grand Tour, while the comfortably won the teams classification.
Teams
The 18 UCI ProTour teams were automatically entitled to start the race and were joined by four teams that received a wildcard in April 2012.
The 18 ProTour teams:
Teams receiving a wildcard:
For more details, see List of teams and cyclists in the 2012 Vuelta a España.
Pre-race favourites
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 was Chris 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 of , having previously worked for Bradley 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 the alongside Alejandro Valverde.
Other contenders for the podium included Joaquim Rodríguez of , who finished second in the 2012 Giro d'Italia, Igor Antón of , Jurgen Van den Broeck of , Damiano Cunego of and Robert Gesink of .
Riders who could have made the top ten included Froome's Colombian teammates at , Rigoberto Urán and Sergio Henao, 's Bauke Mollema, 's Maxime Monfort, 's Thomas De Gendt and 's Nicolas Roche.
Route + Stage characteristics and winnersStageDateCourseDistanceTypeWinner118 AugustPamplonaTeam Time Trial 219 August Pamplona to Viana Flat Stage320 August Oion to Arrate (Eibar) Medium Mountain Stage 421 August Barakaldo to Valdezcaray Medium Mountain Stage 522 August Logroño to Logroño Flat Stage 623 August Tarazona to El Fuerte del Rapitán (Jaca) Medium Mountain Stage 724 August Huesca to Motorland Aragon (Alcañiz) Flat Stage 825 August Lleida to Coll de la Gallina Mountain Stage 926 August Andorra to Barcelona Flat Stage 27 AugustRest day1028 August Ponteareas to Sanxenxo Flat Stage 1129 August Cambados to Pontevedra Individual Time Trial 1230 August Vilagarcía to Mirador de Ézaro (Dumbría) Medium Mountain Stage 1331 August Santiago de Compostela to Ferrol Flat Stage 141 September Palas de Rei to Los Ancares Mountain Stage 152 September La Robla to Lagos de Covadonga Mountain Stage163 September Gijón to Cuitu Negru Mountain Stage4 SeptemberRest day175 September Santander to Fuente Dé Medium Mountain Stage186 September Aguilar de Campoo to Valladolid Flat Stage197 September Peñafiel to La Lastrilla Flat Stage 208 September Palazuelos de Eresma to Bola del Mundo Mountain Stage 219 September Cercedilla to Madrid Flat Stage Total
Race overview For details see 2012 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11 and 2012 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21
Classification leadership table There were four main classifications contested in the 2012 Vuelta a España, with the most important being the general 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.
Additionally, there was a points 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 a mountains classification. The organisation categorised some climbs as either hors 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 the combination 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 the team 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 the combativity 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.
Stage Winner General classification Points classification Mountains classification Combination classification Team classification Combativity award 1 Jonathan Castroviejo not awarded not awarded not awarded Imanol Erviti 2 John Degenkolb John Degenkolb Javier Chacón Javier Chacón Javier Aramendia 3 Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Pim Ligthart Alejandro Valverde Philippe Gilbert 4 Simon Clarke Joaquim Rodríguez Simon Clarke Simon Clarke Joaquim Rodríguez Luis Ángel Maté 5 John Degenkolb John Degenkolb Javier Chacón 6 Joaquim Rodríguez Thomas De Gendt 7 John Degenkolb Javier Aramendia 8 Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Javier Aramendia 9 Philippe Gilbert Joaquim Rodríguez Javier Chacón 10 John Degenkolb John Degenkolb Javier Aramendia 11 Fredrik Kessiakoff Fredrik Kessiakoff 12 Joaquim Rodríguez Joaquim Rodríguez Mikel Astarloza 13 Steve Cummings Juan Antonio Flecha 14 Joaquim Rodríguez Simon Clarke Juan Manuel Gárate 15 Antonio Piedra Antonio Piedra 16 Dario Cataldo Dario Cataldo 17 Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Alberto Contador 18 Daniele Bennati Gatis Smukulis 19 Philippe Gilbert Ji Cheng 20 Denis Menchov Simon Clarke 21 John Degenkolb Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde not awarded Final Alberto Contador Alejandro Valverde Simon Clarke Alejandro Valverde Alberto Contador
Notes In stage 3, Javier Aramendia, who was second in the combination classification, wore the white jersey, because Javier Chacón (in first place) wore the blue polka-dot jersey as leader of the mountains classification during that stage. In stage 4, John Degenkolb, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because Alejandro Valverde (in first place) wore the red jersey as leader of the general classification during that stage. As well as that, Joaquim Rodríguez, who was second in the combination classification, wore the white jersey as Valverde also holds the lead of that classification. In stage 5, Pim Ligthart, who was second in the mountains classification, wore the blue polka-dot jersey, because Simon Clarke (in first place) wore the green jersey as leader of the points classification during that stage. As well as that, Alejandro Valverde, who was second in the combination classification wore the white jersey as Joaquim Rodríguez wore the red jersey as leader of the general classification. In stages 6, 7 and 8, Alejandro Valverde, who was second in the combination classification wore the white jersey as Joaquim Rodríguez (in first place) wore the red jersey as leader of the general classification. In stages 9, 10 and 11, Chris Froome, who was third in the combination classification wore the white jersey as Joaquim Rodríguez (in first place) wore the red jersey as leader of the general classification, and Alejandro Valverde (in second place) wore the blue polka-dot jersey as leader of the mountains classification. In stage 10, John Degenkolb, who was second in the points classification wore the green jersey as Joaquim Rodríguez (in first place) wore the red jersey as leader of the general classification. In stages 12, 13 and 14, Alberto Contador, who was third in the combination classification wore the white jersey as Joaquim Rodríguez (in first place) wore the red jersey as leader of the general classification, and Alejandro Valverde (in second place) wore the blue polka-dot jersey as leader of the mountains classification. In stage 13, John Degenkolb, who was third in the points classification wore the green jersey as Joaquim Rodríguez (in first place) wore the red jersey as leader of the general classification, and Alejandro Valverde (in second place) wore the blue polka-dot jersey as leader of the mountains classification. In stage 14, Degenkolb still wore the green jersey, as the second-placed rider in the points classification. In stages 15, 16 and 17, Alejandro Valverde, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey, as Joaquim Rodríguez (in first place) wore the red jersey as leader of the general classification and Alberto Contador, who was third in the combination classification, wore the white jersey. In stages 18 and 19, Alejandro Valverde, who is second in the combination classification, will wear the white jersey, as Joaquim Rodríguez (in first place) will wear the green jersey as leader of the points classification.
Standings
General classification RiderTeamTime 1 2 + 1' 16" 3 + 1' 37" 4 + 10' 16" 5 + 11' 29" 6 + 12' 23" 7 + 13' 28" 8 + 13' 41" 9 + 14' 01" 10 + 16' 13"
Points classification RiderTeamPoints 1 199 2 193 3 161 4 149 5 107 6 93 7 84 8 79 9 74 10 72
King of the Mountains classification RiderTeamPoints 1 63 2 40 3 36 4 33 5 31 6 28 7 27 8 21 9 20 10 18
Combination classification RiderTeamTotal 1 8 2 8 3 10 4 30 5 48 6 65 7 79 8 80 9 85 10 88
Team classification Pos.TeamTime1 2 + 9' 40"3 + 20' 19"4 + 23' 48"5 + 26' 55″6 + 36' 07"7 + 53' 00″8 + 1h 1' 11"9 + 1h 17' 34"10 + 1h 25' 10"
References
External links