The 59th edition of the Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 4 September to 26 September 2004. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of 2,925 km (1,818 mi), and was won by Roberto Heras of the Liberty Seguros cycling team.
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | 4–26 September | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 2,925 km (1,818 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 77h 42' 46" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Halfway through the 2004 Vuelta, it appeared it would become an easy win for Heras, but in the last week his fellow countryman Santiago Pérez won two heavy mountain stages, thus becoming an important rival. Eventually Heras won with only 30 seconds advantage on Pérez. Pérez and Phonak hearing systems teammate Tyler Hamilton would later test positive for blood doping from blood samples taken during the race.[1] Francisco Mancebo, also from Spain took third. The first non-Spaniard was Stefano Garzelli from Italy in 11th. The points classification was won by Erik Zabel from Germany, the mountains classification was won by Félix Cárdenas from Colombia and the combination classification was won by Roberto Heras. Kelme was the winner of the team ranking. Alessandro Petacchi, an Italian sprinter won four stages, but he did not finish the Vuelta.
Teams and riders
editRoute
edit| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 September | León – León | 28 km (17 mi) | 
|
Team time trial | U.S. Postal Service | |
| 2 | 5 September | León – Burgos | 207 km (129 mi) |  Alessandro Petacchi (ITA)
| |||
| 3 | 6 September | Burgos – Soria | 156 km (97 mi) |  Alejandro Valverde (ESP)
| |||
| 4 | 7 September | Soria – Zaragoza | 167 km (104 mi) | Alessandro Petacchi (ITA)
| |||
| 5 | 8 September | Zaragoza – Morella | 186.5 km (116 mi) |  Denis Menchov (RUS)
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| 6 | 9 September | Benicarló – Castellón de la Plana | 157 km (98 mi) | Óscar Freire (ESP)
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| 7 | 10 September | Castellón de la Plana – Valencia | 170 km (106 mi) | Alessandro Petacchi (ITA)
| |||
| 8 | 11 September | Almussafes – Almussafes | 40.1 km (25 mi) | 
|
Individual time trial |  Víctor Hugo Peña (COL)
| |
| 9 | 12 September | Xàtiva – Alto de Aitana | 162 km (101 mi) | Leonardo Piepoli (ITA)
| |||
| 10 | 13 September | Alcoy – Xorret de Catí | 174.2 km (108 mi) | Eladio Jiménez (ESP)
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| 11 | 14 September | San Vicente del Raspeig – Caravaca de la Cruz | 165 km (103 mi) | ||||
| 15 September | Rest day | ||||||
| 12 | 16 September | Almería – Calar Alto Observatory | 145 km (90 mi) | Roberto Heras (ESP)
| |||
| 13 | 17 September | El Ejido – Málaga | 172 km (107 mi) | Alessandro Petacchi (ITA)
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| 14 | 18 September | Málaga – Granada | 167 km (104 mi) | Santiago Pérez (ESP)
| |||
| 15 | 19 September | Granada – Sierra Nevada | 29.6 km (18 mi) | 
|
Individual time trial | Santiago Pérez (ESP)
| |
| 20 September | Rest day | ||||||
| 16 | 21 September | Olivenza – Cáceres | 190.1 km (118 mi) | José Julia (ESP)
| |||
| 17 | 22 September | Plasencia – La Covatilla | 170 km (106 mi) | Félix Cárdenas (COL)
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| 18 | 23 September | Béjar – Ávila | 196 km (122 mi) | Javier Pascual Rodríguez (ESP)
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| 19 | 24 September | Ávila – Collado Villalba | 142 km (88 mi) | Constantino Zaballa (ESP)
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| 20 | 25 September | Alcobendas – Puerto de Navacerrada | 178 km (111 mi) | José Enrique Gutiérrez (ESP)
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| 21 | 26 September | Madrid – Madrid | 28 km (17 mi) |
|
Individual time trial | Santiago Pérez (ESP)
| |
| Total | 2,925 km (1,818 mi) | ||||||
Jersey progress
editGeneral classification (final)
editReferences
edit- ^ "Perez vows to continue". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
- ^ "59th Vuelta a España". Cycling News. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ "59ème Vuelta a España 2004". Memoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 12 January 2005.