1988 Vuelta a España


The 1988 Vuelta a España was the 43rd Vuelta a España, taking place from 25 April to 15 May 1988. It was a bicycle race which consisted of 20 stages over, ridden at an average speed of. Sean Kelly started the race as the principal favourite after performance in the 1987 Vuelta a España in which he was leading the General classification with several days remaining in the race when he was forced to withdraw due to injury. Luis "Lucho" Herrera returned to defend his title while 1985 Vuelta winner Pedro Delgado had decided to ride the 1988 Giro d'Italia in preparation for the 1988 Tour de France. The BH team directed by Javier Mínguez, presented solid opposition with the strong climbers Álvaro Pino and Anselmo Fuerte. In the end, Kelly won the race and became the first Irish winner of the Vuelta a España.

Route

The first stage introduced an innovative format of five heats, each with two riders per team, with the team leaders appearing in the final heat.

Results

Final General classification

KOM Classification

CyclistTeamPoints
1 Álvaro PinoBH100
2 Anselmo FuerteBH62
3 Sean KellyKAS60

Points Classification

CyclistTeamPoints
1 Sean KellyKAS248
2 Mathieu HermansCAJ166
3 Benny Van BrabantZAH138

Team classification

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