| 1979 Vuelta a España | |
| Date: | 24 April – 13 May |
| Stages: | 19 stages + Prologue, including 3 split stages |
| Distance: | 3,373 |
| Unit: | km |
| Time: | 94h 57' 03" |
| First: | Joop Zoetemelk |
| First Nat: | NED |
| First Team: | Miko–Mercier |
| First Color: | yellow |
| Second: | Francisco Galdós |
| Second Nat: | ESP |
| Second Natvar: | 1977 |
| Second Team: | Kas |
| Third: | Michel Pollentier |
| Third Nat: | BEL |
| Third Team: | Splendor |
| Points: | Alfons De Wolf |
| Points Nat: | BEL |
| Points Team: | Boule d'Or–Lano |
| Points Color: | light blue |
| Mountains: | Felipe Yáñez |
| Mountains Nat: | ESP |
| Mountains Natvar: | 1977 |
| Mountains Team: | Novostil–Helios |
| Mountains Color: | green |
| Sprints: | Roger De Cnijf |
| Sprints Nat: | BEL |
| Sprints Team: | Boule d'Or–Lano |
| Team: | Kas |
| Previous: | 1978 |
| Next: | 1980 |
The 34th Edition Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 24 April to 13 May 1979. It consisted of 19 stages covering a total of 3373km (2,096miles), and was won by Joop Zoetemelk of the Miko–Mercier cycling team. Zoetemelk won two of the three ITT's and Fons De Wolf won the other. De Wolf also won the points classification as well as five stages, but Zoetemelk won the race with a comfortable lead ahead of Spanish climbing specialist Francisco Galdós and Michel Pollentier. Felipe Yáñez won the mountains classification.[1]
See main article: List of teams and cyclists in the 1979 Vuelta a España.
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 24 April | Jerez de la Frontera – Jerez de la Frontera | 6.3km (03.9miles) | Individual time trial | |||
| 1 | 25 April | Jerez de la Frontera – Seville | 156km (97miles) | ||||
| 2 | 26 April | Seville – Córdoba | 188km (117miles) | ||||
| 3 | 27 April | Córdoba – Sierra Nevada | 190km (120miles) | ||||
| 4 | 28 April | Granada – Puerto Lumbreras | 222km (138miles) | ||||
| 5 | 29 April | Puerto Lumbreras – Murcia | 139km (86miles) | ||||
| 6 | 30 April | Murcia – Alcoy | 171km (106miles) | ||||
| 7 | 1 May | Alcoy – Sedaví | 173km (107miles) | ||||
| 8a | 2 May | Sedaví – Benicàssim | 145km (90miles) | ||||
| 8b | 2 May | Benicàssim – Benicàssim | 11.3km (07miles) | Individual time trial | |||
| 9 | 3 May | Benicàssim – Reus | 193km (120miles) | ||||
| 10 | 4 May | Reus – Zaragoza | 230km (140miles) | ||||
| 11 | 5 May | Zaragoza – Pamplona | 183km (114miles) | ||||
| 12 | 6 May | Pamplona – Logroño | 149km (93miles) | ||||
| 13 | 7 May | Haro – | 180km (110miles) | ||||
| 14 | 8 May | Torrelavega – Gijón | 178km (111miles) | ||||
| 15 | 9 May | Gijón – León | 156km (97miles) | ||||
| 16a | 10 May | León – Valladolid | 134km (83miles) | ||||
| 16b | 10 May | Valladolid – Valladolid | 22km (14miles) | Individual time trial | |||
| 17 | 11 May | Valladolid – Ávila | 204km (127miles) | ||||
| 18a | 12 May | Ávila – Colmenar Viejo | 155km (96miles) | ||||
| 18b | 12 May | Colmenar Viejo – Azuqueca de Henares | 104km (65miles) | ||||
| 19 | 13 May | Madrid – Madrid | 84km (52miles) | ||||
| Total | 3373km (2,096miles) | ||||||
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 94h 57' 03" | |||
| 2 | + 2' 43" | |||
| 3 | Michel Pollentier | Splendor–Euro Soap | + 3' 21" | |
| 4 | Moliner–Vereco | + 5' 51" | ||
| 5 | + 6' 30" | |||
| 6 | Transmallorca–Flavia | + 6' 49" | ||
| 7 | Novostil–Helios | + 7' 41" | ||
| 8 | + 8' 03" | |||
| 9 | Boule d'Or–Lano | + 10' 01" | ||
| 10 | Moliner–Vereco | + 10' 52" | ||
| 11 | Moliner–Vereco | |||
| 12 | Teka | |||
| 13 | ||||
| 14 | Moliner–Vereco | |||
| 15 | Splendor–Euro Soap | |||
| 16 | Teka | |||
| 17 | Transmallorca–Flavia | |||
| 18 | Teka | |||
| 19 | Moliner–Vereco | |||
| 20 | Transmallorca–Flavia | |||
| 21 | Novostil–Helios | |||
| 22 | Moliner–Vereco | |||
| 23 | ||||
| 24 | ||||
| 25 | Novostil–Helios |