1979 Vuelta a España

The 34th Edition Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 24 April to 13 May 1979. It consisted of 19 stages covering a total of 3,373 km (2,096 mi), and was won by Joop Zoetemelk of the Miko–Mercier cycling team. Zoetemelk won two of the three ITT's and Fons De Wolf won the other. De Wolf also won the points classification as well as five stages, but Zoetemelk won the race with a comfortable lead ahead of Spanish climbing specialist Francisco Galdós and Michel Pollentier. Felipe Yáñez won the mountains classification.[1]

1979 Vuelta a España
Race details
Dates24 April – 13 May
Stages19 stages + Prologue, including 3 split stages
Distance3,373 km (2,096 mi)
Winning time94h 57' 03"
Results
Winner Joop Zoetemelk (NED)(Miko–Mercier)
 Second Francisco Galdós (ESP)(Kas)
 Third Michel Pollentier (BEL)(Splendor)

Points Alfons De Wolf (BEL)(Boule d'Or–Lano)
Mountains Felipe Yáñez (ESP)(Novostil–Helios)
 Sprints Roger De Cnijf (BEL)(Boule d'Or–Lano)
 TeamKas
← 1978
1980 →

Teams and riders

Route

List of stages[2][3]
StageDateCourseDistanceTypeWinner
P24 AprilJerez de la Frontera – Jerez de la Frontera6.3 km (4 mi) Individual time trial  Joop Zoetemelk (NED)
125 AprilJerez de la FronteraSeville156 km (97 mi)  Sean Kelly (IRL)
226 AprilSevilleCórdoba188 km (117 mi)  Alfons De Wolf (BEL)
327 AprilCórdobaSierra Nevada190 km (118 mi)  Felipe Yáñez (ESP)
428 AprilGranadaPuerto Lumbreras222 km (138 mi)  Roger De Cnijf (BEL)
529 AprilPuerto LumbrerasMurcia139 km (86 mi)  Juan Argudo [es] (ESP)
630 AprilMurciaAlcoy171 km (106 mi)  Christian Levavasseur (FRA)
71 MayAlcoySedaví173 km (107 mi)  Alfons De Wolf (BEL)
8a2 MaySedavíBenicàssim145 km (90 mi)  Sean Kelly (IRL)
8b2 MayBenicàssim – Benicàssim11.3 km (7 mi) Individual time trial  Joop Zoetemelk (NED)
93 MayBenicàssimReus193 km (120 mi)  Alfons De Wolf (BEL)
104 MayReusZaragoza230 km (143 mi)  Noël Dejonckheere (BEL)
115 MayZaragozaPamplona183 km (114 mi)  Noël Dejonckheere (BEL)
126 MayPamplonaLogroño149 km (93 mi)  Frans Van Vlierberghe (BEL)
137 MayHaro – Peña Cabarga [es]180 km (112 mi)  Ángel López del Álamo [fr] (ESP)
148 MayTorrelavegaGijón178 km (111 mi)  Bernardo Alfonsel (ESP)
159 MayGijónLeón156 km (97 mi)  Lucien Van Impe (BEL)
16a10 MayLeónValladolid134 km (83 mi)  Adri van Houwelingen (NED)
16b10 MayValladolid – Valladolid22 km (14 mi) Individual time trial  Alfons De Wolf (BEL)
1711 MayValladolidÁvila204 km (127 mi)  Francisco Albelda (ESP)
18a12 MayÁvilaColmenar Viejo155 km (96 mi)  Miguel María Lasa (ESP)
18b12 MayColmenar ViejoAzuqueca de Henares104 km (65 mi)  Cees Bal (NED)
1913 MayMadrid – Madrid84 km (52 mi)  Alfons De Wolf (BEL)
Total3,373 km (2,096 mi)

Results

Final General Classification

RankRiderTeamTime
1 Joop ZoetemelkMiko–Mercier94h 57' 03"
2 Francisco GaldósKas–Campagnolo+ 2' 43"
3 Michel PollentierSplendor–Euro Soap+ 3' 21"
4 Faustino RupérezMoliner–Vereco+ 5' 51"
5 Lucien Van ImpeKas–Campagnolo+ 6' 30"
6 Pedro TorresTransmallorca–Flavia+ 6' 49"
7 Felipe YáñezNovostil–Helios+ 7' 41"
8 Christian SeznecMiko–Mercier+ 8' 03"
9 Fons De WolfBoule d'Or–Lano+ 10' 01"
10 Julián AndianoMoliner–Vereco+ 10' 52"
11 Miguel María LasaMoliner–Vereco
12 Vicente López CarrilTeka
13 Raymond MartinMiko–Mercier
14 Alberto FernándezMoliner–Vereco
15 Herman BeysensSplendor–Euro Soap
16 Manuel Esparza SanzTeka
17 Vicente BeldaTransmallorca–Flavia
18 José PesarrodonaTeka
19 Ángel ArroyoMoliner–Vereco
20 Juan Pujol PagesTransmallorca–Flavia
21 Ismael LejarretaNovostil–Helios
22 Carlos MeleroMoliner–Vereco
23 Bernardo AlfonselKas–Campagnolo
24 Jesús SuárezKas–Campagnolo
25 Gonzalo Aja BarguinNovostil–Helios

References