| 1996 Vuelta a España | |
| Date: | 7–29 September |
| Stages: | 22 |
| Distance: | 3898 |
| Unit: | km |
| Time: | 97h 31' 46" |
| Speed: | 39.986 |
| First: | Alex Zülle |
| First Nat: | SUI |
| First Color: | yellow |
| Second: | Laurent Dufaux |
| Second Nat: | SUI |
| Third: | Tony Rominger |
| Third Nat: | SUI |
| Points: | Laurent Jalabert |
| Points Nat: | FRA |
| Points Color: | rosa |
| Mountains: | Tony Rominger |
| Mountains Nat: | SUI |
| Mountains Color: | white |
| Sprints: | Jürgen Werner |
| Sprints Nat: | GER |
| Sprints Color: | orange |
| Previous: | 1995 |
| Next: | 1997 |
The 51st Edition Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three Grand Tours, was held from 7 September to 29 September 1996. It consisted of 22 stages covering a total of 3898km (2,422miles), and was won by Alex Zülle of the ONCE cycling team.[1] This was the only time in cycling history that riders from Switzerland swept the Podium in a Grand Tour.
Five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain started his home tour for the first time since finishing second in 1991, having just recently been dislodged at the Tour by Bjarne Riis. He was initially reluctant to start, but convinced by his team to do so after a strong performance during the time trial at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. However, Indurain would eventually abandon the race, which would prove to be the last of his career, on stage 13 while lying in third place overall, having been dropped by the rest of the race favourites on the first-category climb of the Fito pass.[2] [3] [4]
See main article: List of teams and cyclists in the 1996 Vuelta a España.
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 September | Valencia – Valencia | 162km (101miles) | |||||
| 2 | 8 September | Valencia – Cuenca | 210km (130miles) | |||||
| 3 | 9 September | Cuenca – Albacete | 167.2km (103.9miles) | |||||
| 4 | 10 September | Albacete – Murcia | 166.5km (103.5miles) | |||||
| 5 | 11 September | Murcia – Almería | 208.4km (129.5miles) | |||||
| 6 | 12 September | Almería – Málaga | 196.5km (122.1miles) | |||||
| 7 | 13 September | Málaga – Marbella | 171.1km (106.3miles) | |||||
| 8 | 14 September | Marbella – Jerez de la Frontera | 220.7km (137.1miles) | |||||
| 9 | 15 September | Jerez de la Frontera – Córdoba | 203.5km (126.4miles) | |||||
| 16 September | Rest day | |||||||
| 10 | 17 September | El Tiemblo – Ávila | 46.5km (28.9miles) | Individual time trial | ||||
| 11 | 18 September | Ávila – Salamanca | 188km (117miles) | |||||
| 12 | 19 September | Benavente – Alto del Naranco | 188km (117miles) | |||||
| 13 | 20 September | Oviedo – Lakes of Covadonga | 159km (99miles) | |||||
| 14 | 21 September | Cangas de Onís – Cabarceno Natural Park | 202.6km (125.9miles) | |||||
| 15 | 22 September | – Alto Cruz de la Demanda (Ezcaray) | 220km (140miles) | |||||
| 16 | 23 September | Logroño – Sabiñánigo | 220.9km (137.3miles) | |||||
| 17 | 24 September | Sabiñánigo – Cerler | 165.7km (103miles) | |||||
| 18 | 25 September | Benasque – Zaragoza | 219.5km (136.4miles) | |||||
| 19 | 26 September | Getafe – Ávila | 217.1km (134.9miles) | |||||
| 20 | 27 September | Ávila – Palazuelos de Eresma (Destilerías DYC) | 209.5km (130.2miles) | |||||
| 21 | 28 September | Segovia – Palazuelos de Eresma (Destilerías DYC) | 43km (27miles) | Individual time trial | ||||
| 22 | 29 September | Madrid – Madrid | 157.6km (97.9miles) | |||||
| Total | 3898km (2,422miles) | |||||||
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Zülle | ONCE | 97h 31' 46s | |
| 2 | + 6' 23s | |||
| 3 | + 8' 29s | |||
| 4 | + 10' 13s | |||
| 5 | AKI - Gipièmme | + 11' 21s | ||
| 6 | + 11' 33s | |||
| 7 | + 13' 16s | |||
| 8 | + 14' 46s | |||
| 9 | + 15' 10s | |||
| 10 | + 18' 35s | |||
| 11 | + 19' 19s | |||
| 12 | + 20' 19s | |||
| 13 | + 21' 15s | |||
| 14 | MX Onda | + 21' 49s | ||
| 15 | + 22' 37s | |||
| 16 | + 26' 00s | |||
| 17 | + 27' 34s | |||
| 18 | + 27' 38s | |||
| 19 | + 27' 44s | |||
| 20 | + 29' 56s | |||
| 21 | ||||
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