The Vuelta a España is an important cycling race (one of the grand tours). The first Vuelta a España was in 1935. As the Vuelta a España is a stage race, a classification based on times is calculated after every stage. The cyclist with the lowest time after a stage is the leader of the general classification after that stage. A jersey is given to that cyclist, which the cyclist wears during the next stage. From 1999 to 2009, this jersey had a golden color and was named the golden jersey. From 2010 onwards, the leader's jersey was red. It has also been black and white at different points in the Vuelta's history.
Although the leader of the classification after a stage gets the leader's jersey, he is not considered the winner of that jersey, only the wearer. Only after the final stage, the wearer of the leader's jersey is considered the winner, and therefore the winner of the Vuelta a España.
Since the first Vuelta a España in 1935, there have been 1,302 stages, up to and including the 2011 Vuelta a España. The race leader following each stage has been awarded a leader's jersey.
Although the number of stages is 1,302, there have been 1,303 leader's jerseys awarded, because after the first stage of the 1948 Vuelta a España, Bernardo Ruiz and Julian Berrendero shared the lead and both received the leader's jersey. As of 2011, 1,303 leader's jerseys have been awarded in the Vuelta a España to 199 different riders.
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Key:
Cyclists who are still active |
In previous Vueltas a España, sometimes a stage was split in two. On such occasions, only the cyclist leading at the end of the day is counted. The "Leader's jerseys" column gives the number of days that the cyclist wore the leader's jersey, the "Vuelta wins" column gives the number of times that the cyclist won the Vuelta. The next three columns indicate the number of times the rider won the points classification, the mountains classification, and the years in which the rider lead the general classification, with bold years indicating an overall Vuelta win.
For example: Alex Zülle has spent 48 days in the leader's jersey, and won the overall classification two times. He wore the leader's jersey in the Vueltas of 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000, of which he won the 1996 and 1997 Vueltas.
Rank | Name | Country | Leader's jerseys |
Vuelta Wins | Points | KoM | Years |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alex Zülle | Switzerland | 48 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000 |
2 | Roberto Heras | Spain | 34 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 |
3= | Delio Rodriguez | Spain | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947 |
3= | Tony Rominger | Switzerland | 32 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1992, 1993, 1994 |
3= | Gustaaf Deloor | Belgium | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1935, 1936 |
6 | Julian Berrendero | Spain | 27 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1941, 1942, 1945, 1948 |
7 | Domingo Perurena | Spain | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1975 |
8 | Laurent Jalabert | France | 24 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 |
9 | Abraham Olano | Spain | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000 |
10= | Manuel Costa | Spain | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1946, 1947 |
10= | Denis Menchov | Russia | 22 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2005, 2007 |
10= | Alejandro Valverde | Spain | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2006, 2008, 2009 |
13 | Óscar Sevilla | Spain | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2001, 2002 |
14 | Freddy Maertens | Belgium | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1977 |
15 | Emilio Rodriguez | Spain | 19 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1950 |
16 | Melchior Mauri | Spain | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1991 |
17= | Angelo Conterno | Italy | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1956 |
17= | José Manuel Fuente | Spain | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1972, 1974 |
17= | Isidro Nozal | Spain | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2003 |
17= | René Pijnen | Netherlands | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1970, 1971, 1972 |
21= | Jacques Anquetil | France | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1963 |
21= | Pedro Delgado | Spain | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1984, 1985, 1989 |
21= | Bernard Hinault | France | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1978, 1983 |
21= | Dalmacio Langarica | Spain | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1946, 1948 |
21= | Faustino Rupérez | Spain | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1980 |
26= | Rudi Altig | Germany | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1962, 1968 |
26= | Laudelino Cubino | Spain | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1988 |
28= | Miguel María Lasa | Spain | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1972, 1975 |
28= | Robert Millar | United Kingdom | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1985, 1986 |
28= | Joop Zoetemelk | Netherlands | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1979 |
31= | Giovanni Battaglin | Italy | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1981 |
31= | Marco Giovannetti | Italy | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1990 |
31= | Jesús Montoya | Spain | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1992 |
31= | Álvaro Pino | Spain | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1983, 1986 |
31= | Bernardo Ruiz | Spain | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1948 |
31= | Fermín Trueba | Spain | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1941 |
31= | Rolf Wolfshohl | Germany | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1965 |
38= | Luis Herrera | Colombia | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1987 |
38= | Rik Van Looy | Belgium | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1958, 1959, 1964, 1965 |
40= | Jean Pierre Ducasse | France | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1967 |
40= | Agustín Tamames | Spain | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1970, 1971, 1975 |
40= | Jan Ullrich | Germany | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1999 |
40= | Valentín Uriona | Spain | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1966, 1967 |
44= | Eddy Merckx | Belgium | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1973 |
44= | Alberto Contador | Spain | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2008 |
44= | Jesús Loroño | Spain | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1955, 1957 |
44= | Ferdi Van den Haute | Belgium | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1978 |
44= | Seamus Elliott | Ireland | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1962 |
44= | Omar Hernandez | Colombia | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1989 |
44= | Pello Ruiz Cabestany | Spain | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1985, 1990, 1992 |
51= | Eric Caritoux | France | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1984 |
51= | Régis Clère | France | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1981 |
51= | Marc Gomez | France | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1982, 1986 |
51= | Julián Gorospe | Spain | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1983, 1990 |
51= | José Pesarrodona | Spain | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1973, 1976 |
56= | Ángel Arroyo | Spain | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1982 |
56= | Joseba Beloki | Spain | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2001, 2002 |
56= | Juan José Cobo | Spain | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2011 |
56= | Sean Kelly | Ireland | 7 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1987, 1988 |
56= | Marino Lejarreta | Spain | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1982, 1983 |
56= | Christian Levavasseur | France | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1979 |
56= | Francesco Moser | Italy | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1984 |
56= | Vincenzo Nibali | Italy | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2010 |
56= | Roger Pingeon | France | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1969 |
56= | Raymond Poulidor | France | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1964, 1965 |
56= | Jean Stablinski | France | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1958 |
56= | Dietrich Thurau | Germany | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1976 |
68= | Ferdinand Bracke | Belgium | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1971 |
68= | Claude Criquielion | Belgium | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1982 |
68= | Armand Desmet | France | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1960 |
68= | Jean Dotto | France | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1955 |
68= | Luis Ocaña | Spain | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1970 |
73= | Joaquim Agostinho | Portugal | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1976 |
73= | Igor Antón | Spain | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2010 |
73= | Fabian Cancellara | Switzerland | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2009 |
73= | Sylvain Chavanel | France | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2008, 2011 |
73= | Anselmo Fuerte | Spain | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1988, 1991 |
73= | Dominique Gaigne | France | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1983 |
73= | Philippe Gilbert | Belgium | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2010 |
73= | Jan Janssen | Netherlands | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1967, 1968 |
73= | Antonio Karmany | Spain | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1959 |
73= | Floyd Landis | United States | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2004 |
73= | Luis Otaño | Spain | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1964 |
73= | José Pérez-Francés | Spain | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1964, 1968 |
73= | Joaquim Rodríguez | Spain | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2003, 2010, 2011 |
73= | Marcel Seynaeve | Belgium | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1961 |
73= | Roberto Visentini | Italy | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1980 |
73= | Alexander Vinokourov | Kazakhstan | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2006 |
89= | Federico Bahamontes | Spain | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1957 |
89= | Fabio Baldato | Italy | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1996 |
89= | Daniele Bennati | Italy | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2007, 2008, 2011 |
89= | Ángel Casero | Spain | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2000, 2001 |
89= | Reimund Dietzen | Germany | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1987 |
89= | Vladimir Efimkin | Russia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2007 |
89= | Francisco Gabica | Spain | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1966 |
89= | Felice Gimondi | Italy | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1968 |
89= | Miguel Indurain | Spain | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1985 |
89= | José María Jiménez | Spain | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1998 |
89= | Viktor Klimov | Russia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1990 |
89= | Egoi Martínez | Spain | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2008 |
89= | Bradley McGee | Australia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2005 |
89= | André Messelis | Belgium | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1961 |
89= | Lars Michaelsen | Denmark | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1997 |
89= | Antonio Suárez | Spain | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1959 |
89= | Roger Swerts | Belgium | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1974, 1975 |
89= | Bradley Wiggins | United Kingdom | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2011 |
107= | Antón Barrutia | Spain | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1960, 1962 |
107= | Manuel Beltran | Spain | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2004 |
107= | Omer Braeckeveldt | Belgium | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1950 |
107= | Joseph De Cauwer | Belgium | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1976 |
107= | Daan De Groot | Belgium | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1958 |
107= | Franz De Mulder | Belgium | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1960 |
107= | José María Errandonea | Spain | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1966 |
107= | Pierre Everaert | France | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1959 |
107= | Alberto Fernández | Spain | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1983 |
107= | Raphael Geminiani | France | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1955 |
107= | Fabrizio Guidi | Italy | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1997, 1998 |
107= | Thor Hushovd | Norway | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2006 |
107= | Roland Leclerq | France | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1989 |
107= | Fernando Manzaneque | Spain | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1960 |
107= | David Millar | United Kingdom | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2001 |
107= | Ramón Saez | Spain | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1969 |
107= | José Segu | Spain | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1959 |
107= | Luigi Sgarbozza | Italy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1969 |
107= | Raymond Steegmans | Belgium | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1969 |
107= | Edouard Van Dyck | Belgium | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1947 |
107= | Eusebio Vélez | Spain | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1961, 1964 |
107= | Michael Wright | United Kingdom | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1968, 1969 |
129= | Gilbert Bauvin | France | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1955 |
129= | Santiago Botero | Colombia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2001 |
129= | Janez Brajkovic | Slovenia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2006 |
129= | Mark Cavendish | United Kingdom | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2010 |
129= | Biagio Conte | Italy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1996 |
129= | Danilo Di Luca | Italy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2006 |
129= | Laurent Dufaux | Switzerland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1997 |
129= | Jacky Durand | France | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1999 |
129= | Javier Elorriaga | Spain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1976 |
129= | Óscar Freire | Spain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2007 |
129= | Igor González Galdeano | Spain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1999, 2003 |
129= | André Greipel | Germany | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2009 |
129= | Cees Haast | Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1966 |
129= | Benoît Joachim | Luxembourg | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2004 |
129= | Gerben Karstens | Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1973 |
129= | Hennie Kuiper | Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1976 |
129= | Levi Leipheimer | United States | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2008 |
129= | René Marigil | Spain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1955 |
129= | Bert Oosterbosch | Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1985 |
129= | Roberto Pagnin | Italy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1987 |
129= | Angelino Soler | Spain | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1961 |
129= | José Luis Talamillo | Spain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1961 |
129= | Bernard Thévenet | France | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1974 |
129= | Marcel Wüst | Germany | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1999 |
129= | Markus Zberg | Switzerland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1998 |
155= | Felipe Alberdi | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1960 |
155= | Alessandro Ballan | Italy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2008 |
155= | José Herrero Berrendero | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1958 |
155= | Salvador Botella | Spain | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1957 |
155= | Miguel Chacón | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1957 |
155= | Hilaire Covreur | France | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1958 |
155= | Michele Dancelli | Italy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1967 |
155= | Gino De Bakker | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1989 |
155= | Stijn Devolder | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2007 |
155= | Antoine Dignef | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1935 |
155= | Antonio Escuriet | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1935 |
155= | Cadel Evans | Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2009 |
155= | José Martín Farfán | Colombia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1989 |
155= | Chris Froome | United Kingdom | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2011 |
155= | Jakob Fuglsang | Denmark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2011 |
155= | Jesús Galdeano | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1960 |
155= | Frans Gielen | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1948 |
155= | Aitor González | Spain | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2002 |
155= | Santos González | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2000 |
155= | Max van Heeswijk | Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2004 |
155= | Joseph Huts | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1936 |
155= | Julio Jiménez | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1964 |
155= | Pablo Lastras | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2011 |
155= | François Mahé | France | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1961 |
155= | Thierry Marie | France | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1986 |
155= | Antonio Martín | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1946 |
155= | Gabriel Mas | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1960 |
155= | Bauke Mollema | Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2011 |
155= | Carmelo Morales | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1957 |
155= | Francisco Moreno | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1957 |
155= | Jelle Nijdam | Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1992 |
155= | Joaquín Olmos | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1946 |
155= | Miguel Pacheco | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1958 |
155= | Gianluca Pianegonda | Italy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1995 |
155= | Manuel Martín Piñera | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1968 |
155= | Filippo Pozzato | Italy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2008 |
155= | José María López Rodríguez | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1967 |
155= | Carlos Sastre | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2006 |
155= | Modesto Urrutibeazcoa | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1988 |
155= | Benny Van Brabant | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1989 |
155= | Rik Van Steenbergen | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1956 |
155= | Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1987 |
155= | Jesús Blanco Villar | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1986 |
155= | Josef Vloebergh | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1959 |
155= | Herminio Díaz Zabala | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1991 |
155= | Mikel Zarrabeitia | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2002 |
The leader's jersey has been awarded to 19 different countries since 1935. In the table below, "Jerseys" indicates the number of leader's jerseys that were given to cyclists of each country. "Vuelta wins" stands for the number of Vuelta wins by cyclists of that country, "Points" for the number of times the points classification was won by a cyclist of that country and "KoM" for the number of times the mountains classification was won by a cyclist of that country. The "Most recent" column shows the cyclist of the country that wore the leader's jersey most recently. The "Different holders" column gives the number of different cyclists of the country that wore the leader's jersey.
Rank | Country | Jerseys | Vuelta Wins | Points | KoM | Most recent cyclist | Most recent date | Different holders |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Spain | 609 | 30 | 13 | 45 | Juan José Cobo | 2011, stage 21 | 83 |
2 | France | 155 | 9 | 5 | 6 | Sylvain Chavanel | 2011, stage 7 | 24 |
3 | Belgium | 140 | 7 | 13 | 1 | Philippe Gilbert | 2010, stage 7 | 26 |
4 | Switzerland | 89 | 5 | 2 | 2 | Fabian Cancellara | 2009, stage 7 | 5 |
5 | Italy | 87 | 5 | 4 | 3 | Daniele Bennati | 2011, stage 2 | 18 |
6 | Germany | 50 | 4 | 7 | 0 | André Greipel | 2009, stage 6 | 7 |
7 | Netherlands | 45 | 2 | 5 | 1 | Bauke Mollema | 2011, stage 9 | 10 |
8 | Russia | 30 | 2 | 0 | 1 | Denis Menchov | 2007, stage 21 | 3 |
9 | United Kingdom | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Bradley Wiggins | 2011, stage 14 | 6 |
10 | Colombia | 23 | 1 | 0 | 6 | Santiago Botero | 2001, stage 7 | 4 |
11 | Ireland | 16 | 1 | 4 | 0 | Sean Kelly | 1988, stage 20 | 2 |
12 | United States | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Levi Leipheimer | 2008, stage 8 | 2 |
13= | Portugal | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Joaquim Agostinho | 1976, stage 16 | 1 |
13= | Kazakhstan | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Alexander Vinokourov | 2006, stage 21 | 1 |
13= | Australia | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cadel Evans | 2009, stage 8 | 2 |
13= | Denmark | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jakob Fuglsang | 2011, stage 1 | 2 |
17 | Norway | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Thor Hushovd | 2006, stage 4 | 1 |
18= | Luxembourg | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Benoit Joachim | 2004, stage 4 | 1 |
18= | Slovenia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Janez Brajkovic | 2006, stage 8 | 1 |
20= | Uzbekistan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 0 |
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