2012 Vuelta a Andalucía explained

2012 Vuelta a Andalucía
Date:	19–23 February
Stages:	5
Distance:	649
Unit:	km
Time:	16h 08' 49"
Speed:	40.193
First:	Alejandro Valverde
First Nat:	Spain
First Color:	red
Second:	Rein Taaramäe
Second Nat:	Estonia
Third:	Jérôme Coppel
Third Nat:	France
Sprints:	Luis Ángel Maté
Sprints Nat:	Spain
Sprints Color:	white
Mountains:	Luis Ángel Maté
Mountains Nat:	Spain
Mountains Color:	black
Points:	Alejandro Valverde
Points Nat:	Spain
Points Color:	blue
Previous:	2011
Next:	2013

The 2012 Vuelta a Andalucía was the 58th edition of the Vuelta a Andalucía, a regional Spanish road bicycle race. It was rated as a 2.1 event and was the 13th race of the UCI Europe Tour.^[1] The race was held over 19–23 February.

The race was won by Spain's Alejandro Valverde,^[2] of the, after taking the overall lead with victory on the second stage, and held the lead to the end of the race. Valverde's winning margin over runner-up Rein Taaramäe was three seconds,^[2] and 's Jérôme Coppel completed the podium, five seconds behind Taaramäe and eight seconds down on Valverde.^[2] In the race's other classifications, Valverde won the points and combination classifications, rider Luis Ángel Maté won both the mountains and sprints classifications, and finished at the head of the teams classification.^[3]

Teams

Sixteen teams participated in the 2012 Vuelta a Andalucía, consisting of seven UCI ProTour teams, eight UCI Professional Continental teams, and one UCI Continental Team.^[4]

UCI ProTour Teams

UCI Professional Continental Teams

UCI Continental Teams

Team NSP–Ghost

Stages

Prologue

19 February 2012 — San Fernando 6km (04miles), Prologue (ITT)^[5]

Prologue Results^[6] and General Classification after Prologue^[7]

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 2"
3			+ 3"
4			+ 6"
5			+ 8"
6			+ 10"
7			+ 10"
8			+ 11"
9			+ 11"
10			+ 12"

Stage 1

20 February 2012 — Zahara de los Atunes to Benalmádena, 197.9km (123miles)

Stage 1 result^[8]

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			s.t.
3			+ 3"
4			+ 3"
5			+ 3"
6			+ 3"
7			+ 3"
8			+ 3"
9			+ 3"
10			+ 3"

General Classification after Stage 1

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 2"
3			+ 3"
4			+ 6"
5			+ 8"
6			+ 10"
7			+ 10"
8			+ 11"
9			+ 11"
10			+ 12"

Stage 2

21 February 2012 — Málaga to Lucena, 144.7km (89.9miles)

Stage 2 result^[9]

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 10"
3			+ 10"
4			+ 10"
5			+ 13"
6			+ 15"
7			+ 21"
8			+ 21"
9			+ 23"
10			+ 24"

General Classification after Stage 2

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 3"
3			+ 8"
4			+ 14"
5			+ 15"
6			+ 18"
7			+ 21"
8			+ 22"
9			+ 23"
10			+ 26"

Stage 3

22 February 2012 — Montemayor to Las Gabias, 157.1km (97.6miles)

Stage 3 result^[10]

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			s.t.
3			s.t.
4			s.t.
5			s.t.
6			s.t.
7			s.t.
8			s.t.
9			s.t.
10			s.t.

General Classification after Stage 3

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 3"
3			+ 8"
4			+ 14"
5			+ 15"
6			+ 18"
7			+ 22"
8			+ 23"
9			+ 26"
10			+ 27"

Stage 4

23 February 2012 — Jaén to La Guardia de Jaén, 135.7km (84.3miles)

Stage 4 result^[11]

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 2"
3			+ 2"
4			+ 2"
5			+ 2"
6			+ 2"
7			+ 2"
8			+ 2"
9			+ 2"
10			+ 2"

Final General Classification

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 3"
3			+ 8"
4			+ 14"
5			+ 15"
6			+ 18"
7			+ 22"
8			+ 26"
9			+ 27"
10			+ 28"

Classification leadership

Stage	Winner	General Classification	Mountains Classification	Sprints Classification	Points Classification	Combination Classification	Best Andalusian Rider Classification	Best Spanish Rider Classification
P	Patrick Gretsch	Patrick Gretsch	not awarded	not awarded	Patrick Gretsch	Patrick Gretsch	Pablo Lechuga	Markel Irizar
1	Javier Ramírez	Luis Ángel Maté	Luis Ángel Maté	Luis Ángel Maté	Javier Moreno			Markel Irizar
2	Alejandro Valverde	Alejandro Valverde	Mickaël Buffaz	Alejandro Valverde		Alejandro Valverde	Alejandro Valverde
3	Óscar Freire	Óscar Freire
4	Daniel Moreno	Luis Ángel Maté	Alejandro Valverde
Final		Alejandro Valverde	Luis Ángel Maté	Luis Ángel Maté	Alejandro Valverde	Alejandro Valverde	Javier Moreno	Alejandro Valverde

References

Web site: 2012 UCI Europe Tour Calendar. UCI Continental Circuits. Union Cycliste Internationale. 11 February 2012. 1 July 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130701184127/http://www.ucieuropetour.com/templates/UCI/UCI1/layout.asp?MenuId=MjA2Ng&LangId=1. dead.
News: Moreno wins finale as Valverde wraps up Ruta del Sol. 23 February 2012. 23 February 2012. Yahoo! Eurosport. TF1 Group.
News: Third Team win for 2012 season. 23 February 2012. 23 February 2012. . Leopard S.A.. https://web.archive.org/web/20120224155611/http://www.radioshacknissantrek.com/news/third-team-win-2012-season. 24 February 2012. dead. dmy-all.
News: Official starters as of February 16, 2012. 19 February 2012. Cycling News. 16 February 2012.
News: Gretsch wins Andalucia prologue. 19 February 2012. Cycling News. 19 February 2012.
News: Moore. Kyle. Patrick Gretsch fastest in the prologue in Vuelta a Andulucía. 19 February 2012. Velonation. 19 February 2012.
Web site: Clasificaciones Generales. Deporte Internacional, S.A.. 19 February 2012. Spanish. https://web.archive.org/web/20120222124021/http://www.vueltaandalucia.es/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29&Itemid=98. 2012-02-22. dead.
News: Javier Ramírez wins stage of Andalucia into Benalmádena. 21 February 2012. Cycling News. 20 February 2012.
News: Valverde victorious atop Alto del Santuario. 21 February 2012. Cycling News. 21 February 2012.
News: Freire prevails in Las Gabias. 22 February 2012. Cycling News. 22 February 2012.
News: Valverde wins Vuelta a Andalucía. 23 February 2012. Cycling News. 23 February 2012. Peter. Hymas.