Vuelta Ciclista de Chile
Stage race in Chile
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Vuelta Ciclista de Chile (Tour of Chile) is the main professional men's road cycling stage race in Chile, first held in 1976.[1]
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | October |
| Region |  Chile |
| English name | Tour of Chile |
| Local name | Vuelta Ciclista de Chile |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI America Tour 2.2 |
| Type | Stage race |
| Organiser | Federación Ciclista de Chile |
| Web site | www |
| History | |
| First edition | 1976 |
| Editions | 33 (as of 2025) |
| First winner |  Giovanni Fedrigo (ITA) |
| Most wins | Luis Fernando Sepúlveda (CHI) (2) Marco Arriagada (CHI) (2) |
| Most recent |  Óscar Sevilla (ESP) (2019) |
The race is contested over multiple stages across different regions of Chile. It has been considered the country’s premier cycling event, sometimes nicknamed the Multicolored Serpent for the colorful jerseys in the peloton.
History
The inaugural edition was run between 23 October and 1 November 1976, under the name Vuelta Ciclística El Mercurio. It replaced the earlier Vuelta al Centro de la República (sponsored by the Arrigoni family since the 1950s). El Mercurio newspaper organized the 10-stage route from Puerto Montt to Santiago, with major crowds in Concepción and Santiago. Italian rider Giovanni Fedrigo became the first winner, while the San Bernardo club won the team classification.
From 1977, Colombian teams began to dominate the race, earning the nickname "Escarabajos" ("Beetles"). Antonio Londoño was champion in 1977, followed by several Colombian victories.
The race was not held in 1993, 1994, from 2007 to 2010, 2013 to 2016, 2018, and since 2020. In 2005, it was classified as a 2.2 race within the UCI America Tour. After a four-year pause, the event returned in January–February 2011. It was last held in 2017, when Colombian Nicolás Paredes took victory. Since then, the Vuelta has remained suspended, while other Chilean races such as the Vuelta Ciclista a Chiloé and the Gran Premio de la Patagonia gained prominence within the UCI America Tour.
Past winners
| Year | Country | Rider | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Italy |
Giovanni Fedrigo | {{{team}}} | |
| 1977 |  Colombia |
Antonio Londoño | {{{team}}} | |
| 1978 | Colombia |
Norberto Cáceres | {{{team}}} | |
| 1979 | Colombia |
Alfonso Flórez Ortiz | {{{team}}} | |
| 1980 | Colombia |
Plinio Casas | {{{team}}} | |
| 1981 |  Belgium |
Marc Somers | {{{team}}} | |
| 1982 | Colombia |
Julio Alberto Rubiano | {{{team}}} | |
| 1983 | Chile |
Roberto Muñoz | {{{team}}} | |
| 1984 |  Brazil |
Renan Ferraro | {{{team}}} | |
| 1985 |  Uruguay |
Federico Moreira | {{{team}}} | |
| 1986 | Colombia |
José Darío Hernández | {{{team}}} | |
| 1987 | Chile |
Peter Tormen | {{{team}}} | |
| 1988 | Chile |
Fernando Vera | {{{team}}} | |
| 1989 | Colombia |
Julio César Ortegón | {{{team}}} | |
| 1990 |  Soviet Union |
Sergei Sukhoruchenkov | {{{team}}} | |
| 1991 | Soviet Union |
Pavel Tonkov | {{{team}}} | |
| 1992 |  Kazakhstan |
Yuri Sourkov | {{{team}}} | |
| 1993–94 | No race | |||
| 1995 | Colombia |
Ricardo Meza | {{{team}}} | |
| 1996 |  France |
Christophe Moreau | {{{team}}} | |
| 1997 | France |
Patrice Halgand | {{{team}}} | |
| 1998 | Spain |
José Ramón Uriarte | {{{team}}} | |
| 1999 | Chile |
Luis Fernando Sepúlveda | {{{team}}} | |
| 2000 | Chile |
Luis Fernando Sepúlveda | {{{team}}} | |
| 2001 | Spain |
David Plaza | {{{team}}} | |
| 2002 |  Argentina |
Gonzalo Salas | {{{team}}} | |
| 2003 | Chile |
Marco Arriagada | {{{team}}} | |
| 2004 | Chile |
Marco Arriagada | {{{team}}} | |
| 2005 | Argentina |
Edgardo Simón | {{{team}}} | |
| 2006 |  Russia |
Andrei Sartassov | {{{team}}} | |
| 2007–10 | No race | |||
| 2011 | Chile |
Gonzalo Garrido[2] | {{{team}}} | |
| 2012 | Chile |
Patricio Almonacid | {{{team}}} | |
| 2013–16 | No race | |||
| 2017 | Colombia |
Nicolás Paredes | {{{team}}} | |
| 2018 | No race | |||
| 2019 | Spain |
Óscar Sevilla | {{{team}}} | |
| 2020–2025 | No race | |||