Tour of the Basque Country

Tour of the Basque Country
Race details
Date	Early-April
Region	Basque Country
English name	Tour of the Basque Country
Local name(s)	Vuelta al País Vasco (Spanish); Euskal Herriko itzulia (Basque);
Discipline	Road
Competition	UCI World Tour
Type	Stage-race
History
First edition	1924
Editions	51 (as of 2011)
First winner	Francis Pélissier (FRA)
Most wins	José Antonio Gonzalez (ESP) (4 wins)
Most recent	Andreas Klöden (GER)

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The Tour of the Basque Country (Spanish: Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco, Basque: Euskal Herriko txirrindulari itzulia) is an annual cycling stage race held in the Basque Country, Spain, in April.

The first race was held in 1924, but between 1935 and 1969 the race was not held. However between 1939 and 1969 similar races were organised. The race is mentioned and described in Ernest Hemingway's novel 'The Sun Also Rises'. It is one of 24 races that make up the UCI World Ranking calendar.

The first winner was Francis Pélissier from France. The first winner of the 'modern' Tour of the Basque Country (1969) was Jacques Anquetil. The most successful rider in the Tour of the Basque Country was José Antonio Gonzalez Linares, who won the race four times in 1972, 1975, 1977 and 1978. The most recent edition (2011) was won by Andreas Klöden from Germany

Because the Basque Country is a mountainous area there are hardly any flat stages, and the event's winners therefore tend to be good climbers. Most climbs in the Tour of the Basque Country are not high, but often they are quite steep.

[edit] Winners

		Rider	Team
1924	FRA !	Pelissier, FrancisFrancis Pélissier (FRA)
1925	BEL !	Verdyck, AugusteAuguste Verdyck (BEL)
1926	LUX !	Frantz, NicolasNicolas Frantz (LUX)
1927	FRA !	Fontan, VictorVictor Fontan (FRA)
1928	BEL !	De Waele, MauriceMaurice De Waele (BEL)
1929	BEL !	De Waele, MauriceMaurice De Waele (BEL)
1930	ESP !	Canardo, MarianoMariano Cañardo (ESP)
1931- 1934	~ !No race
1935	ITA !	Bartali, GinoGino Bartali (ITA)
1936- 1968	~ !No race
1969	FRA !	Anquetil, JacquesJacques Anquetil (FRA)
1970	ESP !	Santamarina, Luis PedroLuis Pedro Santamarina (ESP)
1971	ESP !	Ocana, LuisLuis Ocaña (ESP)
1972	ESP !	Gonzalez, Jose AntonioJosé Antonio González (ESP)
1973	ESP !	Ocana, LuisLuis Ocaña (ESP)
1974	ESP !	Lasa, Miguel-MariaMiguel-Maria Lasa (ESP)
1975	ESP !	Gonzalez, Jose AntonioJosé Antonio González (ESP)
1976	ITA !	Baronchelli, GianbattistaGianbattista Baronchelli (ITA)
1977	ESP !	Gonzalez, Jose AntonioJosé Antonio González (ESP)
1978	ESP !	Gonzalez, Jose AntonioJosé Antonio González (ESP)
1979	ITA !	Battaglin, GiovanniGiovanni Battaglin (ITA)
1980	ESP !	Fernandez, AlbertoAlberto Fernández (ESP)
1981	ITA !	Contini, SilvanoSilvano Contini (ITA)
1982	ESP !	Laguia, Jose LuisJosé Luis Laguía (ESP)
1983	ESP !	Gorospe, JulianJulian Gorospe (ESP)
1984	IRL !	Kelly, SeanSean Kelly (IRL)
1985	ESP !	Ruiz-Cabestany, PelloPello Ruiz-Cabestany (ESP)
1986	IRL !	Kelly, SeanSean Kelly (IRL)
1987	IRL !	Kelly, SeanSean Kelly (IRL)
1988	NED !	Breukink, ErikErik Breukink (NED)
1989	IRL !	Roche, StephenStephen Roche (IRL)
1990	ESP !	Gorospe, JulianJulian Gorospe (ESP)
1991	ITA !	Chiappucci, ClaudioClaudio Chiappucci (ITA)
1992	SUI !	Rominger, TonyTony Rominger (SUI)
1993	SUI !	Rominger, TonyTony Rominger (SUI)
1994	SUI !	Rominger, TonyTony Rominger (SUI)
1995	SUI !	Zulle, AlexAlex Zülle (SUI)
1996	ITA !	Casagrande, FrancescoFrancesco Casagrande (ITA)
1997	SUI !	Zulle, AlexAlex Zülle (SUI)
1998	ESP !	Cuesta, InigoÍñigo Cuesta (ESP)
1999	FRA !	Jalabert, LaurentLaurent Jalabert (FRA)
2000	GER !	Kloden, AndreasAndreas Klöden (GER)
2001	LTU !	Rumsas, RaimondasRaimondas Rumšas (LTU)
2002	ESP !	Osa, AitorAitor Osa (ESP)
2003	ESP !	Mayo, IbanIban Mayo (ESP)
2004	RUS !	Menchov, DenisDenis Menchov (RUS)
2005	ITA !	Di Luca, DaniloDanilo Di Luca (ITA)	Liquigas-Bianchi
2006	ESP !	Gomez Merchante, Jose AngelJosé Ángel Gómez Marchante (ESP)	Saunier Duval-Prodir
2007	ESP !	Cobo, Juan JoseJuan José Cobo (ESP)	Saunier Duval-Prodir
2008	ESP !	Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador (ESP)	Astana
2009	ESP !	Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador (ESP)	Astana
2010	USA !	Horner, ChrisChris Horner (USA)	Team RadioShack
2011	GER !	Klöden, AndreasAndreas Klöden (GER)	Team RadioShack