2006 Vuelta a España

The 2006 Vuelta a España was held from 26 August to 17 September 2006, and was the 61st edition of the race. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of 3,192 km (1,983 mi), and was won by Alexander Vinokourov of the Astana cycling team. The points classification was won by Thor Hushovd of Crédit Agricole, and the mountains classification by Egoi Martínez of Discovery Channel.

2006 Vuelta a España
2006 UCI ProTour, race 23 of 27
Overview of the stages
Overview of the stages
Race details
Dates26 August – 17 September
Stages21
Distance3,192 km (1,983 mi)
Winning time81h 23' 07"
Results
Winner Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ)(Astana)
 Second Alejandro Valverde (ESP)(Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears)
 Third Andrey Kashechkin (KAZ)(Astana)

Points Thor Hushovd (NOR)(Crédit Agricole)
Mountains Egoi Martínez (ESP)(Discovery Channel)
Combination Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ)(Astana)
 TeamUnited States Discovery Channel
← 2005
2007 →

Teams and riders

In addition to the 20 UCI ProTour teams, Relax–GAM have received a wild card.

List of stages

StageDateCourseDistanceTypeWinner
126 AugMálaga – Málaga7.2 kmTeam time trialTeam CSC
227 AugMálaga – Córdoba167 kmPaolo Bettini
328 AugCórdoba – Almendralejo220 kmFrancisco Ventoso
429 AugAlmendralejo – Cáceres142 kmErik Zabel
530 AugPlasenciaEstación de Esquí La Covatilla (Béjar)178 kmMountain stage*Danilo Di Luca
631 AugZamoraLeón155 kmThor Hushovd
71 SeptLeón – Alto de El Morredero (Ponferrada)148 kmMountain stage*Alejandro Valverde
82 SeptPonferrada – Lugo173 kmAlexander Vinokourov
93 SeptA Fonsagrada – Alto de La Cobertoria206 kmMountain stage*Alexander Vinokourov
4 SeptRest Day
105 SeptAvilés – Museo de Altamira (Santillana del Mar)190 kmSérgio Paulinho
116 SeptTorrelavega (Velódromo Óscar Freire) – Burgos165 kmMountain stageEgoi Martínez
127 SeptAranda de DueroGuadalajara162 kmLuca Paolini
138 SeptGuadalajara – Cuenca170 kmSamuel Sánchez
149 SeptCuenca – Cuenca33 kmIndividual time trialDavid Millar
1510 SeptMotilla del PalancarFactoría Ford (Almussafes)175 kmRobert Förster
11 SeptRest Day
1612 SeptAlmeríaObservatorio Astronómico de Calar Alto145 kmMountain stage*Igor Antón
1713 SeptAdraGranada167 kmMountain stageThomas Danielson
1814 SeptGranada – Sierra de la Pandera153 kmMountain stage*Andrey Kashechkin
1915 SeptJaénCiudad Real195 kmJosé Luis Arrieta
2016 SeptRivas FuturaRivas Vaciamadrid28 kmIndividual time trialAlexander Vinokourov
2117 SeptMadrid – Madrid150 kmErik Zabel
  • Mountain stages with asterisk end on the top of the climb.

Stage recaps

Jersey progress

Stage
(Winner)
General classification
Points Classification
Mountains Classification
Combination Classification
Team Classification
0Stage 1 (TTT)
(Team CSC)
Carlos SastreCarlos Sastreno awardno awardTeam CSC
0Stage 2
(Paolo Bettini)
Thor HushovdPaolo BettiniMario De SárragaMario De Sárraga
0Stage 3
(Francisco Ventoso)
Thor HushovdDavid de la Fuente
0Stage 4
(Erik Zabel)
0Stage 5
(Danilo Di Luca)
Danilo Di LucaDanilo Di LucaDanilo Di LucaDiscovery Channel
0Stage 6
(Thor Hushovd)
0Stage 7
(Alejandro Valverde)
Janez BrajkovičJanez BrajkovičJanez Brajkovič
0Stage 8
(Alexander Vinokourov)
0Stage 9
(Alexander Vinokourov)
Alejandro ValverdePietro CaucchioliAlejandro Valverde
0Stage 10
(Sérgio Paulinho)
0Stage 11
(Egoi Martínez)
0Stage 12
(Luca Paolini)
0Stage 13
(Samuel Sánchez)
0Stage 14 (ITT)
(David Millar)
0Stage 15
(Robert Förster)
0Stage 16
(Igor Antón)
0Stage 17
(Tom Danielson)
Alexander VinokourovEgoi Martínez
0Stage 18
(Andrei Kashechkin)
0Stage 19
(José Luis Arrieta)
Alexander Vinokourov
0Stage 20 (ITT)
(Alexander Vinokourov)
0Stage 21
(Erik Zabel)
FinalAlexander VinokourovThor HushovdEgoi MartínezAlexander VinokourovDiscovery Channel

Jersey wearers when same rider is holding multiple jerseys:

Final standings

General classification (final)

RankRiderTeamTime
1 Alexander VinokourovAstana81h 23' 07"
2 Alejandro ValverdeCaisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears1' 12"
3 Andrey KashechkinAstana3' 12"
4 Carlos SastreTeam CSC3' 35"
5 José Ángel Gómez MarchanteSaunier Duval–Prodir6' 51"
6 Tom DanielsonDiscovery Channel8' 09"
7 Samuel SánchezEuskaltel–Euskadi8' 26"
8 Manuel BeltránDiscovery Channel10' 36"
9 Vladimir KarpetsCaisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears10' 47"
10 Luis Pérez RodríguezCofidis11' 32"

Points classification

In 2006, the leader of the points classification is awarded a blue with yellow-fish-covered jersey, which is sponsored by Spain's fishing and marine industry known as FROM (or El Fondo de Regulación y Organización del Mercado de Productos de la Pesca y Cultivos Marinos).[1] Archived 2008-09-26 at the Wayback Machine

RankRiderTeamPoints
1 Thor HushovdCrédit Agricole199
2 Alexander VinokourovAstana163
3 Alejandro ValverdeCaisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears147
4 Samuel SánchezEuskaltel–Euskadi107
5 Erik ZabelTeam Milram104
6 Stuart O'GradyTeam CSC104
7 Francisco VentosoSaunier Duval–Prodir99
8 Andrey KashechkinAstana95
9 Carlos SastreTeam CSC93
10 José Ángel Gómez MarchanteSaunier Duval–Prodir68

Mountains classification

In 2006, the leader of the climbers classification (or King of the Mountains) wears the orange jersey sponsored by Ford. In recent years, the KoM wore a red jersey.

RankRiderTeamPoints
1 Egoi MartínezDiscovery Channel129
2 Pietro CaucchioliCrédit Agricole117
3 Alejandro ValverdeCaisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears98
4 Andrey KashechkinAstana84
5 Alexander VinokourovAstana82
6 José Miguel ElíasRelax–GAM70
7 Igor AntónEuskaltel–Euskadi67
8 Carlos SastreTeam CSC63
9 José Ángel Gómez MarchanteSaunier Duval–Prodir60
10 David ArroyoCaisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears58

Combination classification

In 2006, the leader of the combinations classification wears the white jersey. In 2005, the rider with the lowest cumulative rank of all classifications wore a gold-green jersey.

RankRiderTeamPoints
1 Alexander VinokourovAstana8
2 Alejandro ValverdeCaisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears8
3 Andrey KashechkinAstana15
4 Carlos SastreTeam CSC21
5 José Ángel Gómez MarchanteSaunier Duval–Prodir24
6 Samuel SánchezEuskaltel–Euskadi25
7 Tom DanielsonDiscovery Channel28
8 Egoi MartínezDiscovery Channel31
9 Igor AntónEuskaltel–Euskadi39
10 Manuel BeltránDiscovery Channel43

Teams classification

RankTeamTime
1 Discovery Channel201h 59' 16"
2 Astana15' 25"
3 Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears25' 33"
4 Euskaltel–Euskadi32' 13"
5 Team CSC52' 56"
6 Saunier Duval–Prodir1h 40' 02"
7 Lampre–Fondital1h 43' 20"
8 AG2R Prévoyance2h 02' 55"
9 Relax–GAM2h 16' 26"
10 Cofidis2h 20' 33"