The 23rd edition of Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 25 April to 12 May 1968. It consisted of 18 stages covering a total of 3,014 km (1,873 mi). Basque nationalist ETA terrorists detonated a bomb along the course on stage 15, causing that day's racing to be annulled.[1][2] The race was won by Felice Gimondi of the Salvarani cycling team. With this win in the 1968 Vuelta a España, the 1967 Giro d'Italia and the 1965 Tour de France, Gimondi became the second cyclist after Jacques Anquetil to win all three grand tours in his career.[3] Defending champion Jan Janssen won the points competition and 1966 champion Francisco Gabica won the mountains classification.[4]

1968 Vuelta a España
Race details
Dates25 April – 12 May
Stages18
Distance3,014 km (1,873 mi)
Winning time78h 29' 00"
Results
Winner  Felice Gimondi (ITA) (Salvarani)
  Second  José Pérez Francés (ESP) (Kas–Kaskol)
  Third  Eusebio Vélez (ESP) (Fagor)

Points  Jan Janssen (NED) (Pelforth)
  Mountains  Francisco Gabica (ESP) (Fagor)
  Sprints  Carlos Echeverría (ESP) (KAS)
← 1967
1969 →

Teams and riders

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Route

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List of stages[5][6]
Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner
1a 25 April Zaragoza – Zaragoza 130 km (81 mi)   Jan Janssen (NED)
1b 25 April Zaragoza – Zaragoza 4 km (2 mi)   Individual time trial   Jan Janssen (NED)
2 26 April ZaragozaLleida 195 km (121 mi)   Michael Wright (GBR)
3a 27 April LleidaBarcelona 165 km (103 mi)   Tommaso de Pra (ITA)
3b 27 April Barcelona – Barcelona 38 km (24 mi)   Rudi Altig (FRG)
4 28 April BarcelonaSalou 108 km (67 mi)   Michael Wright (GBR)
5 29 April SalouVinaròs 106 km (66 mi)   Rudi Altig (FRG)
6 30 April VinaròsValencia 148 km (92 mi)   Pietro Guerra (ITA)
7 1 May ValenciaBenidorm 144 km (89 mi)   Wilfried Peffgen (FRG)
8 2 May BenidormAlmansa 167 km (104 mi)   Manuel Martín Piñera (ESP)
9 3 May AlmansaAlcázar de San Juan 230 km (143 mi)   José María Errandonea (ESP)
10 4 May Alcázar de San JuanMadrid 173 km (107 mi)   Domingo Perurena (ESP)
11 5 May MadridPalencia 242 km (150 mi)   Ramón Sáez (ESP)
12 6 May Villalón de CamposGijón 236 km (147 mi)   José Pérez Francés (ESP)
13 7 May GijónSantander 203 km (126 mi)   Victor Van Schil (BEL)
14 8 May SantanderVitoria 244 km (152 mi)   Eduardo Castelló (ESP)
15 9 May VitoriaPamplona Annulled
16 10 May PamplonaSan Sebastián 204 km (127 mi)   Luis Santamarina (ESP)
17 11 May San SebastiánTolosa 67 km (42 mi)   Individual time trial   Felice Gimondi (ITA)
18 12 May TolosaBilbao 206 km (128 mi)   Manuel Martín Piñera (ESP)
Total 3,014 km (1,873 mi)

Results

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Final General Classification

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Rank Rider Team Time
1   Felice Gimondi Salvarani 78h 29' 00"
2   José Pérez Francés Kas–Kaskol + 2' 15"
3   Eusebio Vélez Fagor + 5' 08"
4   José María Errandonea Fagor + 5' 19"
5   Vittorio Adorni Faema + 5' 26"
6   Jan Janssen Pelforth + 5' 43"
7   Antonio Gómez del Moral Kas–Kaskol + 5' 55"
8   Carlos Echeverría Kas–Kaskol + 6' 00"
9   Lucien Aimar Bic + 6' 40"
10   Jos Spruyt Faema + 7' 50"
11   Luis Otaño Arcelus Fagor
12   Jean-Pierre Ducasse Pelforth
13   Francisco Gabica Fagor
14   Michael Wright Bic
15   Ventura Díaz Arrey Ferrys
16   José Manuel Lopez Fagor
17   José Antonio Momeñe Fagor
18   Rudi Altig Salvarani
19   Andrés Gandarias Kas–Kaskol
20   Cees Haast Bic
21   Fernando Manzaneque Karpy
22   Wilfried Peffgen Salvarani
23   Victor Van Schil Faema
24   Domingo Perurena Fagor
25   Sebastián Elorza Uria Kas–Kaskol

References

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  1. ^ "In praise of the Vuelta a España". Cyclist. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  2. ^ Jones, Graham (2003-09-01). "La Vuelta: A Colorful & Caliente History". PezCycling News. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  3. ^ "General Information 1968". La Vuelta.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
  4. ^ "XXIII Vuelta Ciclista a España – Clasificaciones Oficiales" (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo. 13 May 1968. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 November 2020.
  5. ^ "1968 » 23rd Vuelta a España". Procyclingstats. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  6. ^ "23ème Vuelta a España 1968". Memoire du cyclisme (in French). Archived from the original on 25 October 2004.