The 46th Edition Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 29 April to 19 May 1991. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of 3,215.5 km (1,998 mi),[1] and was won by Melcior Mauri of the ONCE cycling team.[2][3]
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 29 April – 19 May | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21, including one split stage | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,215.5 km (1,998 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 82h 48' 07" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Race preview and favorites
editMiguel Induráin, Laudelino Cubino and Anselmo Fuerte were the Spanish favourites for the race. Defending champion Marco Giovannetti was also a favourite together with Steven Rooks, Raúl Alcalá and the Colombians Fabio Parra and Luis ‘Lucho’ Herrera.
In the end Melcior Mauri was the revelation of the race and beat the future winner of the Tour de France Miguel Induráin in all the time trials. Indurain was forced to ride an aggressive race in the mountain stages but Mauri was able to defend his lead.
Route and stages
edit
Race overview
editThe opening stage consisted, on this occasion, of a three-man team time trial. The winning trio consisted of ONCE's Melcior Mauri, Anselmo Fuerte and Herminio Díaz-Zabala. Coupled with ONCE's win in the following day's Team Time Trial, meant the leader's jersey alternated between these three riders for the first week of the race. The team time trial would turn out to have a large impact as Induráin lost almost two minutes to Mauri on this stage.
Stage 8, a 47 km (29 mi) individual time trial, was the first decisive stage of the Vuelta. Riders such as Laudelino Cubino and Anselmo Fuerte lost most of their chances that day. Mauri increased his lead by winning the stage, a little less than a minute ahead of Induráin.
The Pyrenean stages were awaited with anticipation, to see if ONCE's Catalunyan rider would be capable of withstanding the high mountains. However, the queen stage ending at Pla de Beret had to be suspended due to adverse weather. Russian rider Ivan Ivanov won the 12th stage to the mountaintop ski resort at Cerler, but Mauri held on, losing less than a minute to Induráin.
Stage 14 was a mountain time trial finishing at the ski station in Valdezcaray, where Parra and Herrera set the leading times. Mauri once again put in a good performance, gaining more time on Induráin and leading the general classification ahead of his teammate Lejarreta, Echave and Induráin.
The third and final week of the race featured two high mountain stages in the Cordillera Cantábrica mountain range: the historic ascensions to the Alto del Naranco and the Covadonga Lakes. Herrera and Cubino took the stages, but Mauri managed to hang on. Mauri lost some time, but not enough to lose his overall lead. At this point he was the leader and there was still one time trial to go.
Mauri didn't disappoint, winning the Valladolid time trial ahead of Induráin by over a minute to seal his Vuelta win. He would never again perform at such a high standard. Induráin finished second overall, and Lejarreta third.
Results
editFinal General Classification
edit| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Melcior Mauri |
ONCE | 82h 48' 07s |
| 2 | Miguel Induráin |
Banesto | a 2' 52s |
| 3 | Marino Lejarreta |
ONCE | a 3' 11s |
| 4 | Federico Echave |
CLAS–Cajastur | a 3' 54s |
| 5 |  Fabio Parra |
Amaya Seguros | a 5' 38s |
| 6 | Pello Ruiz Cabestany |
CLAS–Cajastur | a 6' 50s |
| 7 |  Raúl Alcalá |
PDM–Concorde | a 6' 57s |
| 8 |  Piotr Ugrumov |
Seur | a 10' 43s |
| 9 |  Steven Rooks |
Buckler | a 12' 09s |
| 10 | Oliverio Rincón |
Kelme | a 12' 11s |
| 11 | Eduardo Chozas |
ONCE | |
| 12 | Tom Cordes |
PDM–Ultima–Concorde | |
| 13 | Luis Herrera |
Ryalco–Postobón | |
| 14 | Ignacio Gaston Crespo |
CLAS–Cajastur | |
| 15 | Laudelino Cubino Gonzalez |
Amaya | |
| 16 | Jon Unzaga Bombín |
Seur | |
| 17 |  Udo Bölts |
Telekom-Mercedes-Merckx | |
| 18 |  Marco Giovannetti |
Gatorade-Chateau d'Ax | |
| 19 |  Ivan Ivanov |
Seur | |
| 20 | Fernando Martinez De Guerenu |
Puertas Mavisa | |
| 21 | Francisco Javier Mauleón |
CLAS–Cajastur | |
| 22 | Alvaro Meija Castrillon |
Ryalco–Postobón | |
| 23 | Jesus Montoya Alarcon |
Amaya | |
| 24 |  Fabrice Philipot |
Banesto | |
| 25 | Gerardo Moncada |
Ryalco–Postobón |
Notes
edit- ^ The opening stage was competed as a three-man time trial.
References
edit- ^ "46ème Vuelta a España 1991". Memoire du cyclisme (in French). Archived from the original on 11 August 2004.
- ^ "Vuelta Ciclista a España, Clasificaciones" (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo. 20 May 1991. p. 44. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 October 2021.
- ^ "Vuelta Ciclista a España, Clasificaciones" (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo. 20 May 1991. p. 45. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 October 2021.
- ^ "1991 » 46th Vuelta a Espana". procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 11 October 2017.