The 47th Edition Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 27 April to 17 May 1992. It consisted of 20 stages covering a total of 3,395 km (2,110 mi), and was won by Tony Rominger of the Clas-Cajastur cycling team.[1]

1992 Vuelta a España
Race details
Dates27 April – 17 May
Stages20 + Prologue, including one split stage
Distance3,395 km (2,110 mi)
Winning time96h 14' 50"
Results
Winner  Tony Rominger (SUI) (CLAS–Cajastur)
  Second  Jesús Montoya (ESP) (Amaya Seguros)
  Third  Pedro Delgado (ESP) (Banesto)

Points  Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (UZB) (Carrera Jeans–Vagabond)
Mountains  Carlos Hernández Bailo (ESP) (Lotus–Festina)
Youth  Artūras Kasputis (LIT) (Postobón–Manzana–Ryalcao)
Combination  Tony Rominger (SUI) (CLAS–Cajastur)
Sprints  Antonio Esparza (ESP) (Wigarma)
  Team Amaya Seguros
← 1991
1993 →

Race preview and favorites

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Among the starters in Jerez de la Frontera were such big names as Erik Breukink, Robert Millar, Steven Rooks and Stephen Roche. However, none of them seemed to arrive in good form, and none of them lived up to their reputation. Among the locals, the defending champion Melchor Mauri, Pedro Delgado and Laudelino Cubino were the favorites.

Route

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List of stages[2][3]
Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner
1 27 April Jerez de la Frontera – Jerez de la Frontera 9.2 km (6 mi)   Individual time trial   Jelle Nijdam (NED)
2a 28 April San FernandoJerez de la Frontera 135.5 km (84 mi)   Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (UZB)
2b 28 April Arcos de la FronteraJerez de la Frontera 32.6 km (20 mi)   Team time trial Gatorade–Chateau d'Ax
3 29 April Jerez de la FronteraCórdoba 205 km (127 mi)   Jean-Paul van Poppel (NED)
4 30 April LinaresAlbacete 229 km (142 mi)   Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (UZB)
5 1 May AlbaceteGandia 213.5 km (133 mi)   Jean-Paul van Poppel (NED)
6 2 May GandiaBenicàssim 202.8 km (126 mi)   Edwig Van Hooydonck (BEL)
7 3 May Alquerías del Niño PerdidoOropesa 49.5 km (31 mi)   Individual time trial   Erik Breukink (NED)
8 4 May LleidaPla de Beret 240.5 km (149 mi)   Jon Unzaga (ESP)
9 5 May VielhaLuz Ardiden (France) 144 km (89 mi)   Laudelino Cubino (ESP)
10 6 May Luz-Saint-Sauveur (France) – Sabiñánigo 196 km (122 mi)   Julio César Cadena (COL)
11 7 May SabiñánigoPamplona 162.9 km (101 mi)   Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (UZB)
12 8 May PamplonaBurgos 200.1 km (124 mi)   Johan Bruyneel (BEL)
13 9 May BurgosSantander 178.3 km (111 mi)   Roberto Torres (ESP)
14 10 May SantanderLakes of Covadonga 213.4 km (133 mi)   Pedro Delgado (ESP)
15 11 May Cangas de OnísAlto del Naranco 163 km (101 mi)   Francisco Javier Mauleón (ESP)
16 12 May OviedoLeón 162 km (101 mi)   Tom Cordes (NED)
17 13 May LeónSalamanca 200.6 km (125 mi)   Eric Vanderaerden (BEL)
18 14 May SalamancaÁvila 218.9 km (136 mi)   Enrico Zaina (ITA)
19 15 May Fuenlabrada – Fuenlabrada 37.9 km (24 mi)   Individual time trial   Tony Rominger (SUI)
20 16 May Collado VillalbaPalazuelos de Eresma (Destilerías DYC) 188.3 km (117 mi) Óscar Vargas
  Tony Rominger (SUI)
21 17 May Palazuelos de Eresma (Destilerías DYC) – Madrid 175 km (109 mi)   Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (UZB)
Total 3,395 km (2,110 mi)

Race overview

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The first decisive stage was the first individual time trial, won by Dutch rider Erik Breukink. The big surprise that day was pure climber Jesús Montoya who managed second on the stage and took the leader's jersey. Rominger, suffering from a concussion and a knee injury due to an earlier crash, lost almost three minutes.

Two days later, during the queen stage in the Pyrenees, with 5 major mountain passes ending with the ascensions of the Tourmalet and Luz Ardiden, the names of the contenders became clear, as Mauri lost over forty minutes and Rominger dropped the other contenders on the final climb, to finish second to the stage winner Lale Cubino who had spent the day in a breakaway. Cubino, who until then seemed like a candidate for the overall win, lost time on the ascension of Lagos de Covadonga, where Delgado took the stage and rose to second overall. Montoya limited his losses to Delgado, and Rominger finished right with him after being initially dropped.

As Montoya and Delgado closely marked each other's attacks, they were unable to increase their advantage on Rominger who took the lead with a commanding performance in the final flat time trial. After this, Montoya and Delgado joined forces over the final mountain stage, but were unable to unseat Rominger who once again won the stage.

Thus, Rominger became the first Swiss rider to win the Vuelta. He was joined on the final podium by Jesús Montoya and Pedro Delgado.

Doping

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Óscar Vargas initially won stage 20, but tested positive for caffeine in the subsequent doping test. He was stripped of his result and given a three-month suspension.[4]

Results

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Final General Classification

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Rank Rider Team Time
1   Tony Rominger CLAS-Cajastur 96h 14' 50"
2   Jesús Montoya Amaya Seguros 1' 04"
3   Pedro Delgado Banesto 1' 42"
4   Marco Giovannetti Gatorade – Chateau D'ax 5' 19"
5   Federico Echave CLAS-Cajastur 5' 34"
6   Laudelino Cubino Amaya Seguros 6' 24"
7   Fabio Parra Amaya Seguros 7' 24"
8   Raúl Alcalá PDM-Concorde 12' 50"
9   Francisco Javier Mauleón CLAS-Cajastur 15' 44"
10   Steven Rooks Buckler 18' 57"
11   Gert-Jan Theunisse TVM-Sanyo 19' 39"
12   Pello Ruiz Cabestany Gatorada-Chateaux d'Ax 19' 41"
13   Luis Camargo Ryalco–Postobón
14   Stephen Roche Carrera Jeans–Vagabond
15   Johan Bruyneel ONCE
16   Hernán Buenahora Kelme-Don Café
17   William Palacio Ryalco-Postobón
18   Piotr Ugrumov Seur
19   Edgar Corredor Sicasal-Arcal
20   Robert Millar TVM-Sanyo
21   Fabio Rodríguez Clas-Cajastur
22   Carlos Hernández Bailo Lotus-Festina
23   Jon Unzaga Bombín Clas-Cajastur
24   Arsenio González Clas-Cajastur
25   Luis Perez Garcia Lotus-Festina

References

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  1. ^ "'92 La Vuelta – Rominger entró vencedor en Madrid después de una etapa final de trámite" (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo. 18 May 1992. p. 34. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ "1992 » 47th Vuelta a Espana". Procyclingstats. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  3. ^ "47ème Vuelta a España 1992". Memoire du cyclisme (in French). Archived from the original on 12 January 2005.
  4. ^ "Óscar Vargas, positivo". El País (in Spanish). 29 May 1992. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
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