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] However, due to the postponement of the 2021 edition to May, the race was reverted to its one-day nature, with the expectation that the race will continue as a two-day event in future editions.[4]

Vuelta a Murcia
Race details
DateMid-February
RegionRegion of Murcia, Spain
English nameTour of Murcia
Local name(s)Vuelta Ciclistica a la Region di Murcia
DisciplineRoad race
CompetitionUCI Europe Tour
Type
  • Stage race (until 2012, 2019–2020)
  • One-day race (2013–2018, 2021–24)
Web sitewww.vueltamurcia.es Edit this at Wikidata
History
First edition1981 (1981)
Editions44 (as of 2024)
First winner Pedro Delgado (ESP)
Most wins Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (5 wins)
Most recent Ben O'Connor (AUS)

Controversies

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All Italian teams were banned from taking part in the 2010 edition of the race by 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.[5]

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.[6]

Past winners – men's race

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Year Country Rider Team
1981   Spain Pedro Delgado
1982   Spain Salvador Sanchis
1983   Spain Francisco Javier Cedena
1984   Spain Ricardo Martinez
1985   Spain José Recio Kelme
1986   Spain Miguel Induráin Reynolds
1987   Spain Pello Ruiz Cabestany Caja Rural–Seat
1988   Spain Carlos Hernández Teka
1989   Spain Marino Alonso Teka
1990   Netherlands Tom Cordes Buckler–Colnago–Decca
1991   Spain José Luis Villanueva ONCE
1992   Colombia Álvaro Mejía Postobón
1993   Spain Carlos Galarreta Deportpublic
1994   Spain Melcior Mauri Banesto
1995   Italy Adriano Baffi Mapei–GB
1996   Spain Melcior Mauri ONCE
1997   Spain Juan Carlos Domínguez Kelme–Costa Blanca
1998   Italy Alberto Elli Casino–Ag2r
1999   Italy Marco Pantani Mercatone Uno–Bianchi
2000   Spain David Cañada ONCE–Deutsche Bank
2001   Spain Aitor González Kelme–Costa Blanca
2002   Colombia Víctor Hugo Peña U.S. Postal Service
2003   Spain Javier Pascual Llorente Kelme–Costa Blanca
2004   Spain Alejandro Valverde Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme
2005   Spain Koldo Gil Liberty Seguros–Würth
2006   Spain José Iván Gutiérrez[7] Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears
2007   Spain Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne
2008   Spain Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne
2009   Russia Denis Menchov Rabobank
2010   Czech Republic František Raboň Team HTC–Columbia
2011   France Jérôme Coppel Saur–Sojasun
2012   Colombia Nairo Quintana Movistar Team
2013   Spain Daniel Navarro Cofidis
2014   Spain Alejandro Valverde Movistar Team
2015   Estonia Rein Taaramäe Astana
2016   Belgium Philippe Gilbert BMC Racing Team
2017   Spain Alejandro Valverde Movistar Team
2018   Spain Luis León Sánchez Astana
2019   Spain Luis León Sánchez Astana
2020[8]   Belgium Xandro Meurisse Circus–Wanty Gobert
2021[9]   Spain Antonio Jesús Soto Euskaltel–Euskadi
2022[10]   Italy Alessandro Covi UAE Team Emirates
2023[11]   Great Britain Ben Turner Ineos Grenadiers
2024   Australia Ben O'Connor Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale

Past winners – women's race

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Year Country Rider Team
2018   Spain Gloria Rodriguez Movistar Team

References

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  1. ^ "Economic crisis hits Tour of Murcia". Cyclingnews. Future Publishing Limited. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  2. ^ Axelgaard, Emil. "Vuelta a Murcia preview". Cycling Quotes. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  3. ^ a b Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia (2.1) on BikeRaceInfo.
  4. ^ "The 41st Vuelta Ciclista a la Región de Murcia "Costa Cálida"-Gran Premio Banco Sabadell, to start from Los Alcázares and finish on Alcantarilla". Vuelta a Murcia. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Tour of Murcia bars Italian teams". Cyclingnews. Future Publishing Limited. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  6. ^ Stokes, Shane (6 February 2012). "Confirmed: Contador handed two year doping ban,loses 2010 Tour title". VeloNation. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  7. ^ "Santos se queda sin victoria por un positivo". 2 July 2006.
  8. ^ "Standings Vuelta a Murcia 2020 - Cycling". Eurosport. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Road race - Men live - 23 May 2021". Eurosport. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Alessandro Covi wins Vuelta a Murcia". cyclingnews.com. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Ben Turner surges late to win Vuelta Murcia". cyclingnews.com. 11 February 2022.
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