2014 Vuelta a España
| 2014 UCI World Tour, race 22 of 29 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | 23 August – 14 September | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,181.5 km (1,977 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 81h 25' 05" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Winner |
 Alberto Contador (ESP)
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(Tinkoff–Saxo) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second |
 Chris Froome (GBR)
|
(Team Sky) | |
| Third |
Alejandro Valverde (ESP)
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(Movistar Team) | |
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Points |
 John Degenkolb (GER)
|
(Giant–Shimano) |
 |
Mountains |
Luis León Sánchez (ESP)
|
(Caja Rural–Seguros RGA) |
 |
Combination |
Alberto Contador (ESP)
|
(Tinkoff–Saxo) |
| Team | Team Katusha | ||
The 2014 Vuelta a España took place between 23 August and 14 September 2014 and was the 69th edition of the race. It featured eight mountain stages, five hill stages, five flat stages, and three time trials (one team and two individual), two of which appeared at the beginning and end of the race. Jerez de la Frontera, on the Spanish south coast, hosted the opening stage. The Vuelta then went counterclockwise, through the south-east and east of the country before crossing the north and finishing in Santiago de Compostela. This was the first time in 21 years that the race has finished outside Madrid.
The race was won for the third time by Spanish rider, Alberto Contador, of Tinkoff–Saxo. Contador went into the race uncertain of his form after crashing out of the Tour on the 10th stage, breaking his tibia. However, Contador found his form in the race earlier than expected, taking the red jersey on the 10th stage individual time trial and taking two key mountain stage wins on his way to victory. He won the race by 1' 10" over runner-up, Chris Froome of Team Sky. Like Contador, Froome also went into the race uncertain of his form after he crashed three times in two days during the Tour, leading to his withdrawal. However, Froome came to life during the third week, finishing second in three key mountain stages and taking time to move into second place overall. Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde of the Movistar Team completed the podium, finishing 40 seconds behind Froome and 1 minute and 50 seconds behind Contador. Valverde also took the sixth stage of the race going to La Zubia, the race's first mountain stage.
In the race's other classifications, John Degenkolb of Giant–Shimano won the green jersey for the points classification. Degenkolb took four stage wins, the most by any rider in the race. The blue polka-dot jersey for the mountains classification was taken by Spaniard Luis Leon Sanchez of Caja Rural–Seguros RGA. Aside from taking the red jersey, Contador also won the white jersey for the combination classification. He took the first place in the general classification, third place in the points classification and second place in the mountains classification. Team Katusha took the team classification for accumulating the lowest time from their three best cyclists.
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