The 57th edition of the Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 7 September to 29 September 2002. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of 2,957 km (1,837 mi), and was won by Aitor González of the Kelme–Costa Blanca cycling team.[1]

2002 Vuelta a España
Race details
Dates7–29 September
Stages21
Distance2,957 km (1,837 mi)
Winning time75h 13' 52"
Results
Winner  Aitor González (ESP) (Kelme–Costa Blanca)
  Second  Roberto Heras (ESP) (U.S. Postal)
  Third  Joseba Beloki (ESP) (ONCE–Eroski)

Points  Erik Zabel (GER) (Team Telekom)
Mountains  Aitor Osa (ESP) (iBanesto.com)
Combination  Roberto Heras (ESP) (U.S. Postal)
← 2001
2003 →

Joseba Beloki, the second-place finisher of the 2002 Tour de France was part of the winning ONCE–Eroski team that won the opening team time trial of the race. Beloki held the lead until the fifth stage when he lost it to a teammate but on the sixth stage which was won by Roberto Heras. Beloki lost considerable time to other general classification contenders Óscar Sevilla, Aitor González and Heras. Sevilla took the leader's jersey which he had worn for much of the previous edition of the Vuelta. After the first individual time trial, his teammate Aitor González was within one second of the jersey. On stage 15, González increased the pace of the group and put Sevilla in difficulty. Heras profited from this and attacked to take the stage win and the lead.[2] Heras kept the lead until the final day when there was an individual time trial. Heras started the day with a lead of one minute and eight seconds over González but he lost this in the first 25 km of the time trial. González took the lead and won the Vuelta, Heras came second and Beloki recovered to eventually finish third overall. The Vuelta was also marked by three stage wins of Italian sprinter Mario Cipollini who retired from the race after his third stage win to prepare for the World Championships.

During stage 15 riders climbed the Alto de l'Angliru in rain. Team cars stalled on the steepest part, some unable to restart because their tires slipped on messages painted by fans.[3] Riders were caught behind them and others had to ride with flat tires because mechanics could not reach them. David Millar crashed three times[4] and protested by handing in his race number a metre from the line. The judges ruled he had not finished the stage and he left the race.[5][6] He regretted his temper – he had been ninth – and apologised to his team.[3]

Route

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List of stages[7][8]
Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner
1 7 September Valencia – Valencia 24.6 km (15 mi)   Team time trial ONCE–Eroski
2 8 September ValenciaAlcoy 144.7 km (90 mi)   Danilo Di Luca (ITA)
3 9 September San Vicente del RaspeigMurcia 134.2 km (83 mi)   Mario Cipollini (ITA)
4 10 September ÁguilasRoquetas de Mar 149.5 km (93 mi)   Mario Cipollini (ITA)
5 11 September El EjidoSierra Nevada 198 km (123 mi)   Guido Trentin (ITA)
6 12 September GranadaSierra de la Pandera 153.1 km (95 mi)   Roberto Heras (ESP)
7 13 September JaénMálaga 196.8 km (122 mi)   Mario Cipollini (ITA)
8 14 September MálagaUbrique 173.6 km (108 mi)   Aitor González (ESP)
9 15 September Córdoba – Córdoba 130.2 km (81 mi)   Pablo Lastras (ESP)
10 16 September Córdoba – Córdoba 36.5 km (23 mi)   Individual time trial   Aitor González (ESP)
17 September Rest day
11 18 September AlcobendasCollado Villalba 166.1 km (103 mi)   Pablo Lastras (ESP)
12 19 September SegoviaBurgos 210.5 km (131 mi)   Alessandro Petacchi (ITA)
13 20 September BurgosSantander 189.8 km (118 mi)   Giovanni Lombardi (ITA)
14 21 September SantanderGijón 190.2 km (118 mi)   Serguei Smetanine (RUS)
15 22 September GijónAlto de l'Angliru 176.7 km (110 mi)   Roberto Heras (ESP)
23 September Rest day
16 24 September AvilésLeón 154.7 km (96 mi)   Santiago Botero (COL)
17 25 September BenaventeSalamanca 146.6 km (91 mi)   Angelo Furlan (ITA)
18 26 September SalamancaLa Covatilla 193.7 km (120 mi)   Santiago Blanco (ESP)
19 27 September BéjarÁvila 177.8 km (110 mi)   José Vicente Garcia Acosta (ESP)
20 28 September ÁvilaWarner Bros. Park 141.2 km (88 mi)   Angelo Furlan (ITA)
21 29 September Warner Bros. ParkMadrid (Santiago Bernabéu Stadium) 41.2 km (26 mi)   Individual time trial   Aitor González (ESP)
Total 2,957 km (1,837 mi)

Jersey Progress

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Stage Winner General classification Points classification Mountains classification Combination classification Team classification
1 ONCE–Eroski Joseba Beloki no award no award Joseba Beloki ONCE–Eroski
2 Danilo Di Luca Danilo Di Luca Médéric Clain Vitoriano Fernandez
3 Mario Cipollini Erik Zabel Médéric Clain
4 Mario Cipollini Vitoriano Fernandez
5 Guido Trentin Mikel Zarrabeitia Guido Trentin
6 Roberto Heras Óscar Sevilla Félix García Casas
7 Mario Cipollini
8 Aitor González Gilberto Simoni Óscar Sevilla
9 Pablo Lastras
10 Aitor González Kelme–Costa Blanca
11 Pablo Lastras
12 Alessandro Petacchi
13 Giovanni Lombardi Team Coast
14 Sergei Smetanine
15 Roberto Heras Roberto Heras Roberto Heras Kelme–Costa Blanca
16 Santiago Botero Aitor Osa
17 Angelo Furlan
18 Santiago Blanco Roberto Heras
19 José Vicente García Acosta Aitor Osa
20 Angelo Furlan
21 Aitor González Aitor González
Final Aitor González Erik Zabel Aitor Osa Roberto Heras Kelme–Costa Blanca

General classification (final)

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Aitor González (pictured in 2005), won the general classification.
Rank Rider Team Time
1   Aitor González Kelme–Costa Blanca 75h13'52"
2   Roberto Heras U.S. Postal 2'14"
3   Joseba Beloki ONCE–Eroski 3'11"
4   Óscar Sevilla Kelme–Costa Blanca 3'26"
5   Iban Mayo Euskaltel–Euskadi 5'42"
6   Ángel Casero Team Coast 6'33"
7   Francesco Casagrande Fassa Bortolo 6'38"
8   Félix García Casas BigMat–Auber 93 6'46"
9   Manuel Beltrán Team Coast 8'29"
10   Gilberto Simoni Saeco–Longoni Sport 9'22"
11   Haimar Zubeldia Euskaltel–Euskadi 9'49"
12   Claus Michael Møller Milaneza–MSS 10'16"
13   Fabian Jeker Milaneza–MSS 11'45"
14   David Plaza Team Coast 11'50"
15   Guido Trentin Cofidis 15'27"
16   Rui Sousa Milaneza–MSS 16'36"
17   Pablo Lastras iBanesto.com 19'33"
18   Tadej Valjavec Fassa Bortolo 23'11"
19   Carlos García Quesada Kelme–Costa Blanca 24'01"
20   Danilo Di Luca Saeco–Longoni Sport 30'35"
21   Mikel Zarrabeitia ONCE–Eroski 31'57"
22   Luis Pérez Team Coast 39'42"
23   Pietro Caucchioli Alessio 43'54"
24   Vladimir Miholjević Alessio 50'13"
25   Christian Vande Velde U.S. Postal 52'50"

References

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  1. ^ "Ciclismo Vuelta a España – Clasificaciones" (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo. 30 September 2002. p. 50. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Heras conquers l'Angliru, taking the stage and the race lead". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
  3. ^ a b Procycling, UK, November 2003
  4. ^ Procycling, UK, November 2002
  5. ^ No way back for Millar
  6. ^ Epica y polémica (in Spanish)
  7. ^ "57th Vuelta a España Preview". Cycling News. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  8. ^ "57ème Vuelta a España 2002". Memoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 12 January 2005.
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