List of Vuelta a España general classification winners

The Vuelta a España is an annual road bicycle race. Established in 1935 by the Spanish newspaper Informaciones, the Vuelta is one of cycling's three "Grand Tours", along with the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia. Initially, the race was held in April/May, but in 1995 it was moved to September. The race usually covers approximately 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi), although this has varied, passing through Spain and countries with a close proximity in Europe. The race is broken into day-long segments called stages. Individual finishing times for each stage are totalled to determine the overall winner at the end of the race. The course changes every year, but has traditionally finished in Madrid.

Individual times to finish each stage are totalled to determine the winner of the general classification at the end of the race. The rider with the lowest aggregate time at the end of each day wears the leader's jersey. Since 2010 this has been a red jersey; previously it was gold. Other classifications have been calculated: those still in use are the points classification, in 2010 represented by a green jersey; the mountains classification, in 2010 represented by a blue dotted jersey; and the combination classification, in 2010 represented by a white jersey.

Tony Rominger, Roberto Heras and Alberto Contador have the most Vuelta victories, each cyclist having won the competition three times. Rominger's three consecutive wins is also a record. Spanish cyclists have won the most Vueltas; 23 cyclists have won 29 Vueltas between them. French cyclists are second with nine victories and Belgian riders are third with seven wins. The current champion is Nairo Quintana of the Movistar team, who won the 2016 Vuelta a España.

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