{"id":34980,"date":"2023-07-18T15:43:46","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T13:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1856466"},"modified":"2023-07-19T02:53:59","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T00:53:59","slug":"who-has-won-the-most-vuelta-a-espana-titles-most-successful-riders-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/who-has-won-the-most-vuelta-a-espana-titles-most-successful-riders-of-all-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Who has won the most Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a titles? Most successful riders of all time"},"content":{"rendered":"

A round-up of the most successful riders in the history of the Vuelta a Espana. <\/p>

By Paul Norman\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 18 July 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

The Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a is one of the world\u2019s most esteemed cycling races. Until 1995, the race was held in the spring, before moving to a late-August start. Even in September, temperatures in Spain can be very hot, especially in the south, adding extra pressure for the riders.<\/p>\n

Although it makes excursions to Spain\u2019s southernmost provinces, the bulk of the action tends to be in the Pyrenees and the mountains along Spain\u2019s northern coast in the Basque Country, Cantabria and Asturias.<\/p>\n

The race typically finishes with laps of a circuit in Madrid, comparable to the final stage of the Tour de France on the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es.<\/p>\n

When it was run in the spring, the Vuelta overlapped with the Giro d\u2019Italia, which tended to restrict its appeal for international riders.<\/p>\n

Nowadays, it\u2019s a popular late-season race for riders who have ridden the Giro but not the Tour de France, or who have been forced to abandon the Giro or the Tour.<\/p>\n

But who has conquered Spain more than any other cycling star?<\/p>\n

RadioTimes.com<\/a> brings you the most successful riders in the history of Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>

Most Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a title wins<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d (Slovenia) \u2013 3<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d is one of the foremost current stage racers and won the Vuelta in 2019, 2020 and 2021. In 2022, he abandoned the race while in second place, following a heavy crash on stage 14.<\/p>\n

Rogli\u010d\u2019s Vuelta wins came from stage victories in time trials and his ability to stay with the pace or win on the steep climbs of northern Spain. They\u2019re talents that he also used to win the 2023 Giro d\u2019Italia in May, when he took the lead from Welshman Geraint Thomas on the penultimate stage in a mountain time trial.<\/p>\n

He skipped the 2023 Tour de France, but looks set to take to the start line of the Vuelta in Barcelona in August, aiming for a fourth win.<\/p>\n

Alberto Contador (Spain) \u2013 3<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Contador won the Vuelta overall in 2008, 2012 and 2014. He was an aggressive, punchy climber and one of the dominant cyclists of the 2000s and 2010s. Alongside his three Vuelta wins, he also won the Tour de France and the Giro d\u2019Italia, both twice.<\/p>\n

A controversial figure, Contador was criticised<\/a> for battling the race leader at the 2010 Tour de France, Andy Schleck, when the latter suffered a dropped chain, with the result that Contador won the race overall.<\/p>\n

He was subsequently stripped of that win and a win at the 2011 Giro d\u2019Italia, when it was found that a blood sample given during the 2010 Tour was positive for a banned substance<\/a>. This resulted in a two-year suspension from competition, although Contador protested his innocence, claiming that the failed test was the result of eating a contaminated steak<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tony Rominger (Switzerland) \u2013 3<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Rominger won the Vuelta in 1992, \u201993 and \u201994 and took a total of 13 stage wins. He also won the 1995 Giro d\u2019Italia and the king of the mountains competition at the 1993 Tour de France, being a rider who excelled at climbing and also at time trials.<\/p>\n

The 1993 Vuelta was a close battle between Rominger and the younger Swiss rider Alex Z\u00fclle. Z\u00fclle was the better time trialist and led through the first half of the race, before Rominger took back the lead on a wet mountain stage. Z\u00fclle won the final stage time trial, but not by a large enough margin to win the race overall.<\/p>\n

The 1994 race was a more one-sided affair, though, with Rominger winning the initial prologue time trial and holding the race lead from start to finish, while Z\u00fclle finished fourth.<\/p>\n

Roberto Heras (Spain) \u2013 4<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Heras won the Vuelta in 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2005. His winning margin in 2004 was just 30 seconds, following a late run of stage victories by compatriot Santiago P\u00e9rez.<\/p>\n

Heras\u2019s final win in 2005 was more emphatic, with a 4 minute 36 second margin. But it was annulled when a blood sample tested positive for the blood booster EPO<\/a>, a banned but commonly used performance enhancing drug at the time. He successfully contested the result<\/a> and his 2005 win was reinstated in 2012.<\/p>\n

Most Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a stage wins<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Delio Rodr\u00edguez (Spain) \u2013 39<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Delio Rodr\u00edguez is the most successful stage winner at the Vuelta with 39 stages to his name in the 1940s.<\/span><\/p>\n

A sprinter, he won 12 stages in the 1941 Vuelta, followed by eight the following year. As with Fausto Coppi in Italy, his career was interrupted by the Second World War, when the Vuelta wasn\u2019t run for two years, but he returned and won the race overall by over 30 minutes in 1945, along with another six stages.<\/span><\/p>\n

He won yet another five stages in 1946 and capped his career with another eight at the 1947 race, his last.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vuelta a Espana multiple winners<\/strong><\/h3>\n