2004 Vuelta a España
The 59th Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 4 September to 26 September 2004. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of 2,925 km (1,818 mi), and was won by Roberto Heras of the Liberty Seguros cycling team.
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 4–26 September | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 2,925 km (1,818 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 77h 42' 46" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Halfway through the 2004 Vuelta, it appeared it would become an easy win for Heras, but in the last week his fellow countryman Santiago Pérez won two heavy mountain stages, thus becoming an important rival. Eventually Heras won with only 30 seconds advantage on Pérez. Pérez and Phonak hearing systems teammate Tyler Hamilton would later test positive for blood doping from blood samples taken during the race.[1] Francisco Mancebo, also from Spain took third. The first non-Spaniard was Stefano Garzelli from Italy in 11th. The points jersey was won by Erik Zabel from Germany, the mountain jersey was won by Félix Cárdenas from Colombia and the combination jersey was won by Roberto Heras. Kelme was the winner of the team ranking. Alessandro Petacchi, an Italian sprinter won four stages, but he did not finish the Vuelta.
Teams and riders
Route
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 September | León – León | 28 km (17 mi) |  |
Team time trial | U.S. Postal Service | |
| 2 | 5 September | León – Burgos | 207 km (129 mi) |  | |||
| 3 | 6 September | Burgos – Soria | 156 km (97 mi) |  | |||
| 4 | 7 September | Soria – Zaragoza | 167 km (104 mi) | | |||
| 5 | 8 September | Zaragoza – Morella | 186.5 km (116 mi) |  | |||
| 6 | 9 September | Benicarló – Castellón de la Plana | 157 km (98 mi) | | |||
| 7 | 10 September | Castellón de la Plana – Valencia | 170 km (106 mi) | | |||
| 8 | 11 September | Almussafes – Almussafes | 40.1 km (25 mi) |  |
Individual time trial |  | |
| 9 | 12 September | Xàtiva – Alto de Aitana | 162 km (101 mi) | | |||
| 10 | 13 September | Alcoy – Xorret de Catí | 174.2 km (108 mi) | | |||
| 11 | 14 September | San Vicente del Raspeig – Caravaca de la Cruz | 165 km (103 mi) | ||||
| 15 September | Rest day | ||||||
| 12 | 16 September | Almería – Calar Alto Observatory | 145 km (90 mi) | | |||
| 13 | 17 September | El Ejido – Málaga | 172 km (107 mi) | | |||
| 14 | 18 September | Málaga – Granada | 167 km (104 mi) | | |||
| 15 | 19 September | Granada – Sierra Nevada | 29.6 km (18 mi) | |
Individual time trial | | |
| 20 September | Rest day | ||||||
| 16 | 21 September | Olivenza – Cáceres | 190.1 km (118 mi) | | |||
| 17 | 22 September | Plasencia – La Covatilla | 170 km (106 mi) | | |||
| 18 | 23 September | Béjar – Ávila | 196 km (122 mi) | | |||
| 19 | 24 September | Ávila – Collado Villalba | 142 km (88 mi) | | |||
| 20 | 25 September | Alcobendas – Puerto de Navacerrada | 178 km (111 mi) | | |||
| 21 | 26 September | Madrid – Madrid | 28 km (17 mi) | |
Individual time trial | | |
| Total | 2,925 km (1,818 mi) | ||||||
Jersey progress
General classification (final)
References
- "Perez vows to continue". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
- "59th Vuelta a España". Cycling News. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- "59ème Vuelta a España 2004". Memoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 12 January 2005.
External links
- La Vuelta (Official site in Spanish, English, and French)
- Cyclingnews.com 2004 Vuelta a Espana coverage
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| Classifications ("jerseys") |
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