|
Stages:
|
22 |
Kms:
|
4.406 |
|
Riders:
|
32 |
|
|
Kms/hour:
|
26,108 |
|
Retired:
|
16 |
The first Vuelta a España after the Spanish Civil
War had a clear Spanish protagonism. The Second World War caused a considerable
reduction in the presence of foreign riders and just four Swiss riders started
the race. This edition will remain in our minds not only thanks to the triumph
achieved by a Spanish rider but also thanks to the twelve stages won by Delio
Rodriguez one of the best sprinters in the history of Spanish cycling. Nevertheless,
that sensational number of achievements were not enough to guarantee him a
place among the first five classified riders in the Individual overall Standings.
Berrendero and Fermín Trueba delighted the enthusiasts with an spectacular
duel, which kept their interest until the last day of the race and which ended
with the victory of the former, who rouded off the race in a 53-kilometre-long
time trial between Gijón and Oviedo, in which he took a four-minute lead over
Trueba; this rider suffered a puncture which made him lose all his options
to the final triumph. We must take into account that, at that time, all the
punctures and damages had to be mended by the riders themselves who faced
the stages equipped with a spare inner tube, which they had to use very frequently.
Fermín Trueba´s victory in the Top stage of the race, which ended in Santander,
was not enough to award him the final triumph, though it allowed him the leadership
in the Climbers Overall Standings taking a one-point lead over Berrendero.
These three riders, main protagonists in this third edition, were very fond
of Real Club Deportivo Espanyol and therefore their great performance in the
race was also useful to torment their opponents who were faithful followers
of the F. C. Barcelona; Trueba, Berrendero and Rodriguez virtually pushed
them into the background.
