# 1995 Vuelta a España

The 50th Edition Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 2 September to 24 September 1995. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of 3,750 km (2,330 mi), and was won by Laurent Jalabert of the ONCE cycling team. Jalabert won the three classification competitions – the general classification, the points classification and the mountains classification being only the third rider (after Eddy Merckx in the 1968 Giro d'Italia and the 1969 Tour de France, and Tony Rominger in the 1993 Vuelta a España) to win all three major classifications in a Grand Tour.
The 1995 Vuelta was the first edition that was not held in April and May, as had previously been the case, but instead in September as the last of the three Grand Tours of the year. This was done to attract more high-profile riders, who before had preferred to ride the Giro d'Italia or the Tour de France, which both took place very closely to the Vuelta's timeslot.

## Background

The Mapei squad arrived in disarray, after one of their lead riders, Fernando Escartín, announced that he would move to Kelme the following year. He was therefore left out of the team, which was led by Abraham Olano. The starting field also included Laurent Jalabert, Alex Zülle, former winner Melcior Mauri (all ONCE), Marco Pantani (Carrera Jeans–Tassoni) and a then unknown Jan Ullrich (Team Telekom) in his first ever Grand Tour appearance.

## Route and stages

Stage characteristics and winners :
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Type | Winner |
| P | 2 September | Zaragoza | 7 km (4.3 mi) | | Individual time trial | Abraham Olano (ESP) |
| 1 | 3 September | Zaragoza to Logroño | 186.6 km (115.9 mi) | | Plain stage | Nicola Minali (ITA) |
| 2 | 4 September | San Asensio to Santander | 223.5 km (138.9 mi) | | Plain stage | Gianluca Pianegonda (ITA) |
| 3 | 5 September | Santander to Alto del Naranco | 206.0 km (128.0 mi) | | Hilly stage | Laurent Jalabert (FRA) |
| 4 | 6 September | Tapia de Casariego to A Coruña | 82.6 km (51.3 mi) | | Plain stage | Marcel Wüst (GER) |
| 5 | 7 September | A Coruña to Ourense | 179.8 km (111.7 mi) | | Plain stage | Laurent Jalabert (FRA) |
| 6 | 8 September | Ourense to Zamora | 264.0 km (164.0 mi) | | Plain stage | Nicola Minali (ITA) |
| 7 | 9 September | Salamanca | 41.0 km (25.5 mi) | | Individual time trial | Abraham Olano (ESP) |
| 8 | 10 September | Salamanca to Ávila | 219.8 km (136.6 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Laurent Jalabert (FRA) |
| 9 | 11 September | Ávila to Palazuelos de Eresma | 122.5 km (76.1 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Jesper Skibby (DEN) |
| 10 | 12 September | Córdoba to Seville | 208.5 km (129.6 mi) | | Plain stage | Jeroen Blijlevens (NED) |
| 11 | 13 September | Seville to Marbella | 162.5 km (101.0 mi) | | Plain stage | Nicola Minali (ITA) |
| 12 | 14 September | Marbella to Sierra Nevada | 238.5 km (148.2 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Bert Dietz (GER) |
| 13 | 15 September | Olula del Río to Murcia | 181.0 km (112.5 mi) | | Hilly stage | Christian Henn (GER) |
| 14 | 16 September | Elche to Valencia | 207.0 km (128.6 mi) | | Plain stage | Marcel Wüst (GER) |
| 15 | 17 September | Barcelona to Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys | 154.0 km (95.7 mi) | | Hilly stage | Laurent Jalabert (FRA) |
| | 18 September | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day |
| 16 | 19 September | Tàrrega to Pla de Beret | 197.3 km (122.6 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Alex Zülle (SUI) |
| 17 | 20 September | Salardu (Naut Aran) to Luz Ardiden (France) | 179.2 km (111.3 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Laurent Jalabert (FRA) |
| 18 | 21 September | Luz-Saint-Sauveur (France) to Sabiñánigo | 157.8 km (98.1 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Asiat Saitov (RUS) |
| 19 | 22 September | Sabiñánigo to Calatayud | 227.7 km (141.5 mi) | | Plain stage | Adriano Baffi (ITA) |
| 20 | 23 September | Alcalá de Henares | 41.6 km (25.8 mi) | | Individual time trial | Abraham Olano (ESP) |
| 21 | 24 September | Alcalá de Henares to Madrid | 147.5 km (91.7 mi) | | Plain stage | Marcel Wüst (GER) |
| | Total | Total | 3,750 km (2,330 mi) | 3,750 km (2,330 mi) | 3,750 km (2,330 mi) | 3,750 km (2,330 mi) |

## Race overview

The race started with a prologue time trial in Zaragoza, won by Olano, two seconds ahead of Jalabert. The latter would move into the leader's golden jersey after stage 3, based on a stage win at Alto del Naranco. Olano moved closer in the general classification after the stage-7 time trial in Salamanca, but only gained 23 seconds on Jalabert due to a fall and a puncture along the route. On stage 8 to Ávila, Jalabert attacked almost from the beginning. Olano, left isolated, lost 4:40 minutes and all hopes of winning the Vuelta. Over the course of the two time trials, Olano gained 2:42 minutes on Jalabert, enough to make up for his losses on all stages but the one to Ávila. From this point on, Jalabert only attacked the field close to the finish line, collecting few advantages and some bonus seconds. His lead was so comfortable that he was able to abort an attack on the way to Sierra Nevada and gift the stage win to escapee Bert Dietz (Team Telekom).

## Classification leadership

Classification leadership by stage :
| Stage | Winner | General classification | Points classification | Mountains classification |
| P | Abraham Olano | Abraham Olano | Abraham Olano | not awarded |
| 1 | Nicola Minali | Abraham Olano | Laurent Jalabert | Marco Artunghi |
| 2 | Gianluca Pianegonda | Gianluca Pianegonda | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 3 | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 4 | Marcel Wüst | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 5 | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 6 | Nicola Minali | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 7 | Abraham Olano | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 8 | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 9 | Jesper Skibby | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 10 | Jeroen Blijlevens | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 11 | Nicola Minali | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 12 | Bert Dietz | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 13 | Christian Henn | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 14 | Marcel Wüst | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 15 | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 16 | Alex Zülle | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 17 | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 18 | Asiat Saitov | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 19 | Adriano Baffi | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 20 | Abraham Olano | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| 21 | Marcel Wüst | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |
| Final | Final | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert | Laurent Jalabert |

## Final classification

| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Laurent Jalabert (FRA) | ONCE | 95h 30' 33s |
| 2 | Abraham Olano (ESP) | Mapei–GB–Latexco | 4' 22s |
| 3 | Johan Bruyneel (BEL) | ONCE | 6' 48s |
| 4 | Melcior Mauri (ESP) | ONCE | 8' 04s |
| 5 | Richard Virenque (FRA) | Festina–Lotus | 11' 38s |
| 6 | Roberto Pistore (ITA) | Polti–Vaporetto | 11' 54s |
| 7 | David García (ESP) | Banesto | 13' 50s |
| 8 | Daniel Clavero (ESP) | Artiach | 15' 03s |
| 9 | Michele Bartoli (ITA) | Mercatone Uno–Saeco | 19' 14s |
| 10 | Stefano Della Santa (ITA) | Mapei–GB | 19' 42s |