Vuelta a Murcia
The Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia (English: Tour of Murcia) is a road bicycle race held in and around Murcia, Spain. The first four editions were reserved to amateurs. Originally the race was held in early March and consisted of five stages. However, due to Spain's financial turmoil, the race was scaled back to three stages in 2011 and two stages in 2012.[1] From 2013 to 2018 the Vuelta a Murcia was organised as a single-day race and shifted to mid-February on the international calendar.[2] In 2019 the race was expanded to two stages.[3] It is part of the UCI Europe Tour as a 2.1 event.[3]
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | Mid-February |
| Region | Region of Murcia, Spain |
| English name | Tour of Murcia |
| Local name(s) | Vuelta Ciclistica a la Region di Murcia |
| Discipline | Road race |
| Competition | UCI Europe Tour |
| Type | Stage race (until 2012) One-day race (2013-2018) Stage race (from 2019) |
| Web site | www |
| History | |
| First edition | 1981 |
| Editions | 40 (as of 2020) |
| First winner |  Pedro Delgado (ESP) |
| Most wins | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (5 wins) |
| Most recent | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Xandro Meurisse (BEL) |
Controversies
All Italian teams were banned from taking part in 2010 edition of the race by the race organizers. This decision was made due to the banning of Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde by the Italian Olympic Committee due to his links with the Operación Puerto blood doping ring.[4]
In 2011 Alberto Contador won both the overall and points classification after winning Stage 2 and the Stage 3 individual time trial. However, in February 2012 he was suspended and all his results after July 2010 were voided, awarding Jérôme Coppel of Saur Sojasun the overall victory.[5]
Past winners – men's race
References
- "Economic crisis hits Tour of Murcia". Cyclingnews. Future Publishing Limited. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- Axelgaard, Emil. "Vuelta a Murcia preview". Cycling Quotes. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia (2.1) on BikeRaceInfo.
- "Tour of Murcia bars Italian teams". Cyclingnews. Future Publishing Limited. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- Stokes, Shane (6 February 2012). "Confirmed: Contador handed two year doping ban,loses 2010 Tour title". VeloNation. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- http://masdeporte.as.com/masdeporte/2006/07/02/polideportivo/1151877902_850215.html
External links
- Official website (in Spanish)