2006 Vuelta a España
Cycling race
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The 2006 Vuelta a España was held from 26 August to 17 September 2006, and was the 61st edition of the race. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of 3,192 km (1,983 mi), and was won by Alexander Vinokourov of the Astana cycling team. The points classification was won by Thor Hushovd of Crédit Agricole, and the mountains classification by Egoi Martínez of Discovery Channel.
| 2006 UCI ProTour, race 23 of 27 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Overview of the stages | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | 26 August – 17 September | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,192 km (1,983 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 81h 23' 07" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Teams and riders
In addition to the 20 UCI ProTour teams, Relax–GAM have received a wild card.
Route
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 August | Málaga to Málaga | 7.2 km (4 mi) | Team time trial | Team CSC |
| 2 | 27 August | Málaga to Córdoba | 167 km (104 mi) |  Paolo Bettini (ITA) | |
| 3 | 28 August | Córdoba to Almendralejo | 220 km (137 mi) |  Francisco Ventoso (ESP) | |
| 4 | 29 August | Almendralejo to Cáceres | 142 km (88 mi) |  Erik Zabel (GER) | |
| 5 | 30 August | Plasencia to Estación de Esquí La Covatilla (Béjar) | 178 km (111 mi) | Mountain stage* | Danilo Di Luca (ITA) |
| 6 | 31 August | Zamora to León | 155 km (96 mi) |  Thor Hushovd (NOR) | |
| 7 | 1 September | León to Alto de El Morredero (Ponferrada) | 148 km (92 mi) | Mountain stage* | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) |
| 8 | 2 September | Ponferrada to Lugo | 173 km (107 mi) |  Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) | |
| 9 | 3 September | A Fonsagrada to Alto de La Cobertoria | 206 km (128 mi) | Mountain stage* | Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) |
| 4 September | Rest Day | ||||
| 10 | 5 September | Avilés to Museo de Altamira (Santillana del Mar) | 190 km (118 mi) |  Sérgio Paulinho (POR) | |
| 11 | 6 September | Torrelavega (Velódromo Óscar Freire) to Burgos | 165 km (103 mi) | Mountain stage | Egoi Martínez (ESP) |
| 12 | 7 September | Aranda de Duero to Guadalajara | 162 km (101 mi) | Luca Paolini (ITA) | |
| 13 | 8 September | Guadalajara to Cuenca | 170 km (106 mi) | Samuel Sánchez (ESP) | |
| 14 | 9 September | Cuenca to Cuenca | 33 km (21 mi) | Individual time trial |  David Millar (GBR) |
| 15 | 10 September | Motilla del Palancar to Factoría Ford (Almussafes) | 175 km (109 mi) | Robert Förster (GER) | |
| 11 Sept | Rest Day | ||||
| 16 | 12 September | Almería to Observatorio Astronómico de Calar Alto | 145 km (90 mi) | Mountain stage* | Igor Antón (ESP) |
| 17 | 13 September | Adra to Granada | 167 km (104 mi) | Mountain stage |  Thomas Danielson (USA) |
| 18 | 14 September | Granada to Sierra de la Pandera | 153 km (95 mi) | Mountain stage* | Andrey Kashechkin (KAZ) |
| 19 | 15 September | Jaén to Ciudad Real | 195 km (121 mi) | José Luis Arrieta (ESP) | |
| 20 | 16 September | Rivas Futura to Rivas Vaciamadrid | 28 km (17 mi) | Individual time trial | Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) |
| 21 | 17 September | Madrid to Madrid | 150 km (93 mi) | Erik Zabel (GER) |
- Mountain stages with asterisk end on the top of the climb.
Race overview
Jersey progress
Jersey wearers when same rider is holding multiple jerseys:
- Lars Bak wore the points jersey in stage 2
- Paolo Bettini wore the points jersey in stages 4–5
- Janez Brajkovič wore the white combination jersey in stages 6–7
- José Miguel Elías wore the orange mountains jersey in stages 6–7
- Danilo Di Luca wore the orange mountains jersey in stages 8–9
- Alejandro Valverde wore the white combination jersey in stages 8–9
- Carlos Sastre wore the white combination jersey in stages 8–16
- Alexander Vinokourov wore the white combination jersey in stage 17
- Andrey Kashechkin wore the white combination jersey in stage 19-21
- When he has been 2nd in combination classification behind GC leader, Alejandro Valverde has worn white jersey of UCI ProTour leader. This happened on stages 8, 9, 19, 20 and 21.
Final standings
General classification (final)
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander Vinokourov | Astana | 81h 23' 07" |
| 2 | Alejandro Valverde | Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears | 1' 12" |
| 3 | Andrey Kashechkin | Astana | 3' 12" |
| 4 | Carlos Sastre | Team CSC | 3' 35" |
| 5 | José Ángel Gómez Marchante | Saunier Duval–Prodir | 6' 51" |
| 6 | | ||
| 7 | Samuel Sánchez | Euskaltel–Euskadi | 8' 26" |
| 8 | Manuel Beltrán | Discovery Channel | 10' 36" |
| 9 |  Vladimir Karpets | Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears | 10' 47" |
| 10 | Luis Pérez Rodríguez | Cofidis | 11' 32" |
Points classification
In 2006, the leader of the points classification is awarded a blue with yellow-fish-covered jersey, which is sponsored by Spain's fishing and marine industry known as FROM (or El Fondo de Regulación y Organización del Mercado de Productos de la Pesca y Cultivos Marinos). Archived 2008-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thor Hushovd | Crédit Agricole | 199 |
| 2 | Alexander Vinokourov | Astana | 163 |
| 3 | Alejandro Valverde | Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears | 147 |
| 4 | Samuel Sánchez | Euskaltel–Euskadi | 107 |
| 5 | Erik Zabel | Team Milram | 104 |
| 6 |  Stuart O'Grady | Team CSC | 104 |
| 7 | Francisco Ventoso | Saunier Duval–Prodir | 99 |
| 8 | Andrey Kashechkin | Astana | 95 |
| 9 | Carlos Sastre | Team CSC | 93 |
| 10 | José Ángel Gómez Marchante | Saunier Duval–Prodir | 68 |
Mountains classification
In 2006, the leader of the climbers classification (or King of the Mountains) wears the orange jersey sponsored by Ford. In recent years, the KoM wore a red jersey.
Combination classification
In 2006, the leader of the combinations classification wears the white jersey. In 2005, the rider with the lowest cumulative rank of all classifications wore a gold-green jersey.
Teams classification
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discovery Channel | 201h 59' 16" |
| 2 | Astana | 15' 25" |
| 3 | Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears | 25' 33" |
| 4 | Euskaltel–Euskadi | 32' 13" |
| 5 |  Team CSC | 52' 56" |
| 6 | Saunier Duval–Prodir | 1h 40' 02" |
| 7 | Lampre–Fondital | 1h 43' 20" |
| 8 |  AG2R Prévoyance | 2h 02' 55" |
| 9 | Relax–GAM | 2h 16' 26" |
| 10 | Cofidis | 2h 20' 33" |