| 1946 Vuelta a España | |
| Date: | 7 – 30 May |
| Stages: | 21 |
| Distance: | 3836 |
| Unit: | km |
| Time: | 137h 10' 38" |
| Speed: | 27.96 |
| First: | Dalmacio Langarica |
| First Nat: | ESP |
| First Natvar: | 1945 |
| First Color: | white |
| Second: | Julián Berrendero |
| Second Nat: | ESP |
| Second Natvar: | 1945 |
| Third: | Jan Lambrichs |
| Third Nat: | NED |
| Mountains: | Emilio Rodríguez |
| Mountains Nat: | ESP |
| Mountains Natvar: | 1945 |
| Mountains Color: | green |
| Previous: | 1945 |
| Next: | 1947 |
The 6th Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 7 to 30 May 1946. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of 3836km (2,384miles), and was won by Dalmacio Langarica.[1] Emilio Rodríguez won the mountains classification.
After the 22nd stage, Jan Lambrichs was in second place. The Dutch team then received a letter, saying that Lambrichs should give up his second place, otherwise he would reach the finish in Madrid in an ambulance. The team manager decided not to tell Lambrichs about this threat, but gave him extra security. In the final stage, Berrendero escaped and left everybody behind, including Lambrichs, and took over the second place. The next day, the Dutch team received a box of Cuban cigars from the unknown person who had sent the threat.[2] [3] [4]
See main article: List of teams and cyclists in the 1946 Vuelta a España.
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 May | Madrid – Salamanca | 212km (132miles) | ||||
| 2 | 8 May | Salamanca – Béjar | 73km (45miles) | ||||
| 3 | 8 May | Béjar – Cáceres | 141km (88miles) | ||||
| 4 | 9 May | Cáceres – Badajoz | 132km (82miles) | ||||
| 5 | 10 May | Badajoz – Seville | 218km (135miles) | ||||
| 6 | 12 May | Seville – Granada | 251km (156miles) | ||||
| 7 | 13 May | Granada – Baza | 107km (66miles) | ||||
| 8 | 14 May | Baza – Murcia | 178km (111miles) | ||||
| 9 | 15 May | Murcia – Valencia | 264km (164miles) | ||||
| 10 | 17 May | Valencia – Castellón | 67km (42miles) | Team time trial | Holland | ||
| 11 | 17 May | Castellón – Tortosa | 123km (76miles) | ||||
| 12 | 18 May | Tortosa – Barcelona | 215km (134miles) | ||||
| 13 | 19 May | Barcelona – Lleida | 162km (101miles) | ||||
| 14 | 20 May | Lleida – Zaragoza | 144km (89miles) | ||||
| 15 | 21 May | Zaragoza – San Sebastián | 276km (171miles) | ||||
| 16 | 23 May | San Sebastián – Bilbao | 207km (129miles) | ||||
| 17 | 24 May | Bilbao – Santander | 226km (140miles) | ||||
| 18 | 25 May | Santander – Reinosa | 110km (70miles) | ||||
| 19 | 26 May | Reinosa – Gijón | 204km (127miles) | ||||
| 20 | 28 May | Gijón – Oviedo | 53km (33miles) | Individual time trial | |||
| 21 | 28 May | Oviedo – León | 119km (74miles) | ||||
| 22 | 29 May | León – Valladolid | 134km (83miles) | ||||
| 23 | 30 May | Valladolid – Madrid | 200km (100miles) | ||||
| Total | 3836km (2,384miles) | ||||||
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 137h 10' 38" | |||
| 2 | + 17' 32" | |||
| 3 | Jan Lambrichs | + 23' 54" | ||
| 4 | Manuel Costa | + 24' 19" | ||
| 5 | + 45' 04" | |||
| 6 | Alejandro Fombellida | + 46' 09" | ||
| 7 | Antonio-Andres Sancho | + 1h 00' 10" | ||
| 8 | + 1h 03' 45" | |||
| 9 | José Gutierrez | + 1h 18' 48" | ||
| 10 | Joao Rebelo | + 1h 53' 37" | ||
| 11 | Georges Aeschlimann | |||
| 12 | Cipriano Aguirrezabal | |||
| 13 | ||||
| 14 | Pastor Rodríguez | |||
| 15 | Joaquim Olmos | |||
| 16 | Antonio Martin | |||
| 17 | Ernest Kuhn | |||
| 18 | Vicente Miro | |||
| 19 | José Lopez Gandara | |||
| 20 | Frans Pauwels | |||
| 21 | Joaquim Jiménez | |||
| 22 | Pedro Font | |||
| 23 | Cees Joosen | |||
| 24 | Gabriel Palmer | |||
| 25 | Theo Perret |