2004 Vuelta a España

The 59th Edition of Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 4 September to 26 September 2004. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of 2,925 km (1,818 mi), and was won by Roberto Heras of the Liberty Seguros cycling team.

2004 Vuelta a España
Race details
Dates4–26 September
Stages21
Distance2,925 km (1,818 mi)
Winning time77h 42' 46"
Results
Winner  Roberto Heras (ESP) (Liberty Seguros)
  Second  Santiago Pérez (ESP) (Phonak)
  Third  Francisco Mancebo (ESP) (Illes Balears–Banesto)
Points  Erik Zabel (GER) (T-Mobile Team)
Mountains  Félix Cárdenas (COL) (Orbitel)
Combination  Roberto Heras (ESP) (Liberty Seguros)
  Team Comunidad Valenciana–Kelme

Halfway through the 2004 Vuelta, it appeared it would become an easy win for Heras, but in the last week his fellow countryman Santiago Pérez won two heavy mountain stages, thus becoming an important rival. Eventually Heras won with only 30 seconds advantage on Pérez. Pérez and Phonak hearing systems teammate Tyler Hamilton would later test positive for blood doping from blood samples taken during the race.[1] Francisco Mancebo, also from Spain took third. The first non-Spaniard was Stefano Garzelli from Italy in 11th. The points classification was won by Erik Zabel from Germany, the mountains classification was won by Félix Cárdenas from Colombia and the combination classification was won by Roberto Heras. Kelme was the winner of the team ranking. Alessandro Petacchi, an Italian sprinter won four stages, but he did not finish the Vuelta.

Teams and riders
Main article: List of teams and cyclists in the 2004 Vuelta a España

Route
List of stages[2][3]
Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner
1 4 September León – León 28 km (17 mi) Team time trial U.S. Postal Service
2 5 September León – Burgos 207 km (129 mi)  Alessandro Petacchi (ITA)
3 6 September Burgos – Soria 156 km (97 mi)  Alejandro Valverde (ESP)
4 7 September Soria – Zaragoza 167 km (104 mi)  Alessandro Petacchi (ITA)
5 8 September Zaragoza – Morella 186.5 km (116 mi)  Denis Menchov (RUS)
6 9 September Benicarló – Castellón de la Plana 157 km (98 mi)  Óscar Freire (ESP)
7 10 September Castellón de la Plana – Valencia 170 km (106 mi)  Alessandro Petacchi (ITA)
8 11 September Almussafes – Almussafes 40.1 km (25 mi) Individual time trial Tyler Hamilton
 Víctor Hugo Peña (COL)
9 12 September Xàtiva – Alto de Aitana 162 km (101 mi)  Leonardo Piepoli (ITA)
10 13 September Alcoy – Xorret de Catí 174.2 km (108 mi)  Eladio Jiménez (ESP)
11 14 September San Vicente del Raspeig – Caravaca de la Cruz 165 km (103 mi) David Zabriskie
15 September Rest day
12 16 September Almería – Calar Alto Observatory 145 km (90 mi)  Roberto Heras (ESP)
13 17 September El Ejido – Málaga 172 km (107 mi)  Alessandro Petacchi (ITA)
14 18 September Málaga – Granada 167 km (104 mi)  Santiago Pérez (ESP)
15 19 September Granada – Sierra Nevada 29.6 km (18 mi) Individual time trial  Santiago Pérez (ESP)
20 September Rest day
16 21 September Olivenza – Cáceres 190.1 km (118 mi)  José Julia (ESP)
17 22 September Plasencia – La Covatilla 170 km (106 mi)  Félix Cárdenas (COL)
18 23 September Béjar – Ávila 196 km (122 mi)  Javier Pascual Rodríguez (ESP)
19 24 September Ávila – Collado Villalba 142 km (88 mi)  Constantino Zaballa (ESP)
20 25 September Alcobendas – Puerto de Navacerrada 178 km (111 mi)  José Enrique Gutiérrez (ESP)
21 26 September Madrid – Madrid 28 km (17 mi) Individual time trial  Santiago Pérez (ESP)
Total 2,925 km (1,818 mi)

Jersey progress
Stage
(Winner)		 General classification
 Points Classification
 Mountains Classification
 Combination Classification
 Team Classification
0Stage 1 (TTT)
(U.S. Postal Service)		 Floyd Landis Floyd Landis Floyd Landis Floyd Landis U.S. Postal Service
0Stage 2
(Alessandro Petacchi)		 Max van Heeswijk Erik Zabel
0Stage 3
(Alejandro Valverde)		 Benoît Joachim Stuart O'Grady
0Stage 4
(Alessandro Petacchi)		 Erik Zabel
0Stage 5
(Denis Menchov)		 Manuel Beltrán Stuart O'Grady Juan Manuel Gárate
0Stage 6
(Óscar Freire)		 Francisco Mancebo Manuel Beltrán
0Stage 7
(Alessandro Petacchi)		 Erik Zabel Denis Menchov
0Stage 8
(Tyler Hamilton)		 Floyd Landis Floyd Landis
0Stage 9
(Leonardo Piepoli)		 David Fernández Francisco Mancebo
0Stage 10
(Eladio Jiménez)		 Stuart O'Grady José Miguel Elias Comunidad Valenciana–Kelme
0Stage 11
(David Zabriskie)		 Alejandro Valverde
0Stage 12
(Roberto Heras)		 Roberto Heras Roberto Heras Roberto Heras
0Stage 13
(Alessandro Petacchi)		 Erik Zabel
0Stage 14
(Santiago Pérez)
0Stage 15 (ITT)
(Santiago Pérez)
0Stage 16
(José Julía)
0Stage 17
(Félix Cárdenas)		 Félix Cárdenas
0Stage 18
(Javier Pascual Rodriguez)
0Stage 19
(Constantino Zaballa)
0Stage 20
(José Enrique Gutiérrez)
0Stage 21 (ITT)
(Santiago Pérez)
Final Roberto Heras Erik Zabel Félix Cárdenas Roberto Heras Comunidad Valenciana–Kelme

General classification (final)
RankRiderTeamTime
1 Roberto Heras (ESP)Liberty Seguros77h42'46"
2 Santiago Pérez (ESP)Phonak30"
3 Francisco Mancebo (ESP)Illes Balears–Banesto2'13"
4 Alejandro Valverde (ESP)Comunidad Valenciana–Kelme3'30"
5 Carlos García Quesada (ESP)Comunidad Valenciana–Kelme7'44"
6 Carlos Sastre (ESP)Team CSC8'11"
7 Isidro Nozal (ESP)Liberty Seguros8'32"
8 José Ángel Gómez Marchante (ESP)Paternina-Costa De Almeria13'08"
9 Luis Pérez (ESP)Cofidis13'24"
10 David Blanco (ESP)Comunidad Valenciana–Kelme15'15"
11 Stefano Garzelli (ITA)Vini Caldirola–Nobili Rubinetterie16'33"
12 Marcos Serrano (ESP)Liberty Seguros17'14"
13 Manuel Beltrán (ESP)U.S. Postal Service17'43"
14 Francisco José Lara (ESP)Paternina-Costa De Almeria24'16"
15 Samuel Sánchez (ESP)Euskaltel–Euskadi29'23"
16 Damiano Cunego (ITA)Saeco Macchine per Caffè29'51"
17 Jorge Ferrio (ESP)Paternina-Costa De Almeria30'49"
18 David Plaza (ESP)Cafe Baque31'24"
19 Eladio Jiménez (ESP)Comunidad Valenciana–Kelme34'35"
20 Luis Pasamontes (ESP)Relax-Bergasol37'49"
21 Unai Osa (ESP)Illes Balears–Banesto38'06"

References
  1. "Perez vows to continue". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
  2. "59th Vuelta a España". Cycling News. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  3. "59ème Vuelta a España 2004". Memoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 12 January 2005.
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