|
Stages:
|
19 |
Kms:
|
3.688 |
|
Riders:
|
40 |
|
|
Kms/hour:
|
27,505 |
|
Retired:
|
22 |
The fourth edition of Vuelta a España had a clear
protagonist: the Spanish rider Julián Berrendero, who achieved his second
consecutive triumph and showed himself to be the best Spanish rider of the
moment. His superioriry was so great that he even could afford to fight for
the victory in the Climbers Overall Standings, something he had to fight very
hard against the Italian rider Brambilla, who did not made the grade in the
hardest stages across the North of Spain.
People from Madrid were aware of the overwhelming superiority of the rider
and they welcomed him like a heroe the last day of the race. More than 100.000
people gathered in Casa de Campo to watch the end of the event and congratulate
one of the few men who were able to win Vuelta a España for two consecutive
times.
The way to triumph became more clear everyday for Berrendero since the very
beginning of the race. A puncture suffered by Fermín Trueba made him lose
contact with the peloton and was forced to make a great effort in order to
catch them up, effort he paid days later. The proceeding of the second stage
could not have been better for Berrendero, since another of his rivals, Escuriet,
decided to abandon the race in order to meet up with his wife and his newborn
child, even if that meant to relinquish the final triumph.
In this way, the rider from Madrid virtually cruised to an easy victory along
the Spanish roads and in order to prove it we just have to have a look at
the more than eight-minutes lead he had over the second classified rider in
the Individual Overall Standings. Diego Chafer, Antonio A. Sancho, Juan Jimeno
and Cipriano Elys completed the first five positions in the Individual Overall
Standings, though the difference regarding the winner were spectacular.
If Berrendero´s opponents did not live up to the expectation they had aroused,
the sprinter Delio Rodriguez could not match his spectacular performance in
the third edition, either. Nevertheless, he achieved eight stage victories,
a very acceptable number, though the twelve partial victories he achieved
the previous year were even better.
