# 2011 Vuelta a España

The 2011 Vuelta a España was held from 20 August to 11 September. The bicycle race began in Benidorm with a team time trial and ended, as is traditional, in Madrid. The 2011 Vuelta was the 66th edition of the race and was the first Vuelta in 33 years that visited the Basque Country. The 33-year absence from the region was due to fear of political protests.
Commentators claimed that it was a race well suited for climbers due to the short time trials and the large number of climbing kilometres. Nine of the twenty-one stages were ranked as Mountain stages, and six of them had a mountain-top finish (including the very steep uphill finish on the Alto de L'Angliru). Two other stages had steep uphill finishes, both of which were won by Katusha leader Joaquim Rodríguez.
This Vuelta saw the introduction of a combativity award, much like that in the Tour de France. The most combative rider in each stage was awarded a red back number which he wore for the next stage.
The victory was originally awarded to Juan José Cobo who had a race-winning margin of just 13 seconds over Briton Chris Froome. Neither rider had been marked as a pre-race favourite, and both had gone to the Vuelta as domestiques for their team leaders: Cobo for Denis Menchov, and Froome for Bradley Wiggins; their team leaders originally finished 5th and 3rd respectively. The race was the first time that two Britons had stood on the podium of a Grand Tour, and Froome's second-place finish was, at the time, the best result in a Grand Tour by a British rider, until Wiggins won the Tour de France the following year. Cobo also won the Combination Classification. The King of the Mountains competition was won for the fourth consecutive time by Frenchman David Moncoutié. The points classification was won by Dutch rider Bauke Mollema who finished 4th overall.
On 13 June 2019, the sport's governing body, the Union Cycliste International (UCI), announced that Cobo had been found guilty of an anti-doping violation, according to findings from his biological passport. As a result, the UCI penalised him with a three-year period of ineligibility. Cobo was officially stripped of the title on 18 June 2019. On 17 July 2019, as the time for Cobo to appeal the decision expired with no application, the UCI announced it recognised Chris Froome as the 2011 champion, making him retroactively the first Briton to win a Grand Tour. Froome was also promoted to the winning position in the combination classification. Wiggins was promoted to runner-up, his second promotion on a Grand Tour podium due to doping, and Mollema was promoted to the podium in third.
Froome, who had in the intervening time finally won the 2017 Vuelta a España, 'on the road', officially received the 2011 winner's trophy at the start of the final stage of the 2020 edition on 8 November 2020, ironically receiving his last of seven Grand Tour prizes for his first Grand Tour victory.

## Teams

The 18 teams in the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Proteam category were obliged to enter the race. Four UCI Professional Continental teams were also invited.
The full list of participating teams is:
| Ag2r–La Mondiale Andalucía–Caja Granada † Astana BMC Racing Team Cofidis † Euskaltel–Euskadi | Garmin–Cervélo Geox–TMC † HTC–Highroad Team Katusha Lampre–ISD Leopard Trek | Liquigas–Cannondale Movistar Team Omega Pharma–Lotto Quick-Step Rabobank | Team RadioShack Saxo Bank–SunGard Skil–Shimano † Team Sky Vacansoleil–DCM |
†: Invited Pro-continental teams.

## Pre-race favourites

2010 winner Vincenzo Nibali came to defend his Vuelta title and was seen as the favourite due to the better time-trial skills than climbers as Igor Antón, Joaquim Rodríguez and Michele Scarponi. Anton was regarded as the strongest climber in the 2010 race, but due to a crash he had to withdraw from the race. Ezequiel Mosquera did not start the race, the 2010 runner-up being suspended from racing by his team Vacansoleil–DCM due to an ongoing doping investigation.
Two other Grand Tour winners in the Vuelta peloton were Carlos Sastre (winner of the 2008 Tour de France) and Denis Menchov (two-time winner of the Vuelta and winner of the 2009 Giro d'Italia). Both riders of the Geox–TMC team were looking for better results after disappointing Giro campaigns. Sastre finished in thirtieth place, while Menchov finished eighth. Menchov had allergies and physical problems at the Giro d'Italia and was looking for a third Vuelta win. The Russian could count on one of the best team supports in the mountains with climbers as Sastre, Juan José Cobo and Fabio Duarte.
Other favourites for the podium had had a disappointing Tour de France and were looking to improve in the Vuelta. Janez Brajkovič, Bradley Wiggins and Jurgen van den Broeck crashed out of the Tour in the first week while Andreas Klöden withdrew from the race a week later, also due to injuries of a crash. Wiggins showed good form before the Tour and was seen as a podium candidate for the Tour. His accomplished time-trialling, together with his improved climbing skills, made him a favourite for the Vuelta victory.
Among the top ten contenders were several promising talents, including Dan Martin (winner of the 2010 Tour de Pologne, runner up of the 2011 Tour de Pologne and third overall at the 2011 Volta a Catalunya), Steven Kruijswijk (ninth in the 2011 Giro, third overall and a mountain stage win at the 2011 Tour de Suisse), Bauke Mollema (twelfth at the 2010 Giro d'Italia and fifth overall at the 2011 Tour de Suisse) and Rein Taaramäe (twelfth at the 2011 Tour de France, third overall at the 2011 Critérium International and fourth overall at the 2011 Paris–Nice. Other contenders for the top ten were Garmin's co-leader Christophe Le Mével and Ag2R's Nicolas Roche.

## Route and stages

The full route for the 2011 Vuelta was unveiled in Benidorm on January 12, 2011. The climbers immediately liked the route of the race with six mountain stages with uphill finishes and another two flat stages with steep uphill finishes. Among the uphill finishes were the infamous Alto de L'Angliru and the climb to the Sierra Nevada. Two finishes were on climbs that have never been featured in the Vuelta before. These are to Estacion de Montaña Manzaneda in Galicia on stage 11 and La Farrapona in the Asturias region on stage 14. Olympic Road Champion Samuel Sánchez pointed out that the lack of Time Trial kilometres make the race very interesting because there are not enough of them for GC riders with good time trialing ability to take advantage for the variety of mountain stages.
It was the first Vuelta since 33 years that visited the Basque Country. The 33-year absence of the region was due to fear of political protests. Separatists of the Basque Country were unhappy with the return of the Vuelta and calling the coming of the Vuelta 'A Waste of Money'. Although the criticism of several Separatists on the route of this year, the organizers of the Vuelta announced on 8 September that the 2012 event will start in the Navarrese city of Pamplona.
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Type | Winner |
| 1 | 20 August | Benidorm | 13.5 km (8.4 mi) | | Team time trial | Leopard Trek |
| 2 | 21 August | La Nucía – Playas de Orihuela | 175.5 km (109 mi) | | Flat stage | Christopher Sutton (AUS) |
| 3 | 22 August | Petrer – Totana | 163 km (101 mi) | | Flat stage | Pablo Lastras (ESP) |
| 4 | 23 August | Baza – Sierra Nevada | 170.2 km (105.8 mi) | | Mountain stage | Daniel Moreno (ESP) |
| 5 | 24 August | Sierra Nevada – Valdepeñas de Jaén | 187 km (116 mi) | | Medium mountain stage | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) |
| 6 | 25 August | Úbeda – Córdoba | 196.8 km (122 mi) | | Medium mountain stage | Peter Sagan (SVK) |
| 7 | 26 August | Almadén – Talavera de la Reina | 187.6 km (116.6 mi) | | Flat stage | Marcel Kittel (GER) |
| 8 | 27 August | Talavera de la Reina – San Lorenzo de El Escorial | 177.3 km (110.2 mi) | | Medium mountain stage | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) |
| 9 | 28 August | Villacastín – Sierra de Bejar. La Covatilla | 183 km (114 mi) | | Mountain stage | Dan Martin (IRL) |
| 10 | 29 August | Salamanca | 47 km (29.2 mi) | | Individual time trial | Tony Martin (GER) |
| | 30 August | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day |
| 11 | 31 August | Verín – Estación de Esquí Manzaneda | 167 km (104 mi) | | Mountain stage | David Moncoutié (FRA) |
| 12 | 1 September | Ponteareas – Pontevedra | 167.3 km (104.0 mi) | | Flat stage | Peter Sagan (SVK) |
| 13 | 2 September | Sarria – Ponferrada | 158.2 km (98.3 mi) | | Mountain stage | Michael Albasini (SUI) |
| 14 | 3 September | Astorga – La Farrapona. Lagos de Somiedo | 172.8 km (107.4 mi) | | Mountain stage | Rein Taaramäe (EST) |
| 15 | 4 September | Avilés – Angliru | 142.2 km (88.4 mi) | | Mountain stage | Juan José Cobo (ESP) Wout Poels (NED) |
| | 5 September | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day |
| 16 | 6 September | Villa Romana La Olmeda (Palencia) – Haro | 188.1 km (116.9 mi) | | Flat stage | Juan José Haedo (ARG) |
| 17 | 7 September | Faustino V (Oyón) – Peña Cabarga | 211 km (131 mi) | | Mountain stage | Chris Froome (GBR) |
| 18 | 8 September | Solares – Noja | 174.6 km (108.5 mi) | | Medium mountain stage | Francesco Gavazzi (ITA) |
| 19 | 9 September | Noja – Bilbao | 158.5 km (98.5 mi) | | Medium mountain stage | Igor Antón (ESP) |
| 20 | 10 September | Bilbao – Vitoria-Gasteiz | 185 km (115.0 mi) | | Medium mountain stage | Daniele Bennati (ITA) |
| 21 | 11 September | Circuito del Jarama – Madrid | 94.2 km (58.5 mi) | | Flat stage | Peter Sagan (SVK) |
| | TOTAL | TOTAL | 3319.8 km (2062.8 mi) | 3319.8 km (2062.8 mi) | 3319.8 km (2062.8 mi) | 3319.8 km (2062.8 mi) | 3319.8 km (2062.8 mi) |

## Race overview

For details see 2011 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11 and 2011 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21
The Vuelta began with a team time trial in Benidorm. The Leopard Trek squad won this stage. Danish General Classification contender Jakob Fuglsang passed the finish line as first and was the first cyclist to wear the red leaders jersey. Fuglsang lost the leaders jersey after just one day to team-mate Daniele Bennati in a sprinter's stage which was won by Christopher Sutton of Team Sky.
Stage 3 saw the first victory out of a break-away. Out of this break-away it was Pablo Lastras (Movistar Team) who attacked on the last climb and held a small margin until the finish line in Totana. Runner-up of the stage, Sylvain Chavanel (Quick-Step), was the third cyclist who was awarded the red leaders jersey.
No serious attacks were made by the GC contenders on the first mountain stage of the Vuelta. On the climb to the Sierra Nevada it was Daniel Moreno (Team Katusha) who attacked with Chris Anker Sørensen (Saxo Bank–SunGard) and who beat the Danish climber in the sprint. Chavanel was the first rider who was awarded the leaders jersey two days in a row.
Igor Antón (Euskaltel–Euskadi) won in the 2009 Vuelta a España the stage on the steep ascend of Valdepeñas de Jaén. The Basque lost much time on stage 4 and showed no good form in the Vuelta. He couldn't repeat his stage victory. Joaquim Rodríguez (Team Katusha), a specialist on very steep hills, won the stage before the surprisingly strong Dutchman Wout Poels (Vacansoleil–DCM) and team-mate Daniel Moreno. Leader Chavanel lost several seconds but managed to keep the lead in the race.
The Liquigas team of Vincenzo Nibali rode a strong descent in the final of stage 6 and managed to form a small break-away with four Liquigas riders and former stage winner Lastras. From the four Liquigas riders Peter Sagan took his first Grand-Tour victory. Nibali failed to gain bonification seconds due to miscommunication within the team. The 2010 winner took sixteen seconds on his direct concurrents for the overall victory. The next day Sagan sprinted again for the stage victory but couldn't beat German talent Marcel Kittel (Skil–Shimano) in a sprint which was characterized by a huge crash of American sprinter Tyler Farrar (Garmin–Cervélo) in which he didn't suffer any serious injuries.

## Doping

On 13 June 2019, the UCI announced that Cobo's biological passport had indicated the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the period between 2009 and 2011. He was therefore considered ineligible for results. Cobo had one month to lodge an appeal against the decision. On 17 July 2019, as the time for Cobo to appeal the decision expired with no application, the UCI announced that it recognised Chris Froome as the 2011 champion. Bradley Wiggins was promoted to second place, and Bauke Mollema promoted to third.

## Classification leadership table

| Stage | Winner | General classification | Points classification | Mountains classification | Combination Classification | Team classification | Combativity award |
| 1 | Leopard Trek | Jakob Fuglsang | no award | no award | no award | Leopard Trek | Fabian Cancellara |
| 2 | Christopher Sutton | Daniele Bennati | Christopher Sutton | Paul Martens | Jesús Rosendo | Leopard Trek | Adam Hansen |
| 3 | Pablo Lastras | Pablo Lastras | Pablo Lastras | Pablo Lastras | Pablo Lastras | Movistar Team | Sylvain Chavanel |
| 4 | Daniel Moreno | Sylvain Chavanel | Pablo Lastras | Daniel Moreno | Daniel Moreno | Team RadioShack | Thomas Rohregger |
| 5 | Joaquim Rodríguez | Sylvain Chavanel | Daniel Moreno | Daniel Moreno | Daniel Moreno | Team RadioShack | Michael Albasini |
| 6 | Peter Sagan | Sylvain Chavanel | Joaquim Rodríguez | Daniel Moreno | Daniel Moreno | Team RadioShack | Martin Kohler |
| 7 | Marcel Kittel | Sylvain Chavanel | Peter Sagan | Daniel Moreno | Daniel Moreno | Team RadioShack | Luis Ángel Maté |
| 8 | Joaquim Rodríguez | Joaquim Rodríguez | Joaquim Rodríguez | Daniel Moreno | Daniel Moreno | Team RadioShack | Adrián Palomares |
| 9 | Daniel Martin | Bauke Mollema | Joaquim Rodríguez | Daniel Martin | Bauke Mollema | Geox–TMC | Sebastian Lang |
| 10 | Tony Martin | Chris Froome | Joaquim Rodríguez | Daniel Martin | Bauke Mollema | Leopard Trek | Tony Martin |
| 11 | David Moncoutié | Bradley Wiggins | Joaquim Rodríguez | Matteo Montaguti | Bauke Mollema | Team RadioShack | Adrián Palomares |
| 12 | Peter Sagan | Bradley Wiggins | Joaquim Rodríguez | Matteo Montaguti | Bauke Mollema | Team RadioShack | Adam Hansen |
| 13 | Michael Albasini | Bradley Wiggins | Joaquim Rodríguez | David Moncoutié | Daniel Moreno | Team RadioShack | Amets Txurruka |
| 14 | Rein Taaramäe | Bradley Wiggins | Joaquim Rodríguez | David Moncoutié | Bauke Mollema | Geox–TMC | David de la Fuente |
| 15 | Juan José Cobo Wout Poels | Juan José Cobo | Joaquim Rodríguez | David Moncoutié | Juan José Cobo | Geox–TMC | Simon Geschke |
| 16 | Juan José Haedo | Juan José Cobo | Joaquim Rodríguez | David Moncoutié | Juan José Cobo | Geox–TMC | Jesús Rosendo |
| 17 | Chris Froome | Juan José Cobo | Bauke Mollema | David Moncoutié | Juan José Cobo | Geox–TMC | Johannes Fröhlinger |
| 18 | Francesco Gavazzi | Juan José Cobo | Joaquim Rodríguez | David Moncoutié | Juan José Cobo | Geox–TMC | Sérgio Paulinho |
| 19 | Igor Antón | Juan José Cobo | Joaquim Rodríguez | David Moncoutié | Juan José Cobo | Geox–TMC | Igor Antón |
| 20 | Daniele Bennati | Juan José Cobo | Joaquim Rodríguez | David Moncoutié | Juan José Cobo | Geox–TMC | Carlos Barredo |
| 21 | Peter Sagan | Juan José Cobo | Bauke Mollema | David Moncoutié | Juan José Cobo | Geox–TMC | no award |
| Final | Final | Juan José Cobo Chris Froome | Bauke Mollema | David Moncoutié | Juan José Cobo Chris Froome | Geox–TMC | Adrián Palomares |

## Standings
### General classification

| | Rider | Team | Time |
| DSQ | Juan José Cobo (ESP) | Geox–TMC | 84:59:31 |
| 1 | Chris Froome (GBR) | Team Sky | 84:59:44 |
| 2 | Bradley Wiggins (GBR) | Team Sky | + 1' 26" |
| 3 | Bauke Mollema (NED) | Rabobank | + 1' 50" |
| 4 | Denis Menchov (RUS) | Geox–TMC | + 3' 35" |
| 5 | Maxime Monfort (BEL) | Leopard Trek | + 4' 00" |
| 6 | Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) | Liquigas–Cannondale | + 4' 18" |
| 7 | Jurgen Van den Broeck (BEL) | Omega Pharma–Lotto | + 4' 32" |
| 8 | Daniel Moreno (ESP) | Team Katusha | + 5' 07" |
| 9 | Mikel Nieve (ESP) | Euskaltel–Euskadi | + 5' 20" |

### Points classification

| | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | Bauke Mollema (NED) | Rabobank | 122 |
| 2 | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | Team Katusha | 115 |
| 3 | Daniele Bennati (ITA) | Leopard Trek | 101 |
| 4 | Peter Sagan (SVK) | Liquigas–Cannondale | 100 |
| DSQ | Juan José Cobo (ESP) | Geox–TMC | 92 |
| 5 | Chris Froome (GBR) | Team Sky | 88 |
| 6 | Daniel Moreno (ESP) | Team Katusha | 83 |
| 7 | Wout Poels (NED) | Vacansoleil–DCM | 71 |
| 8 | Dan Martin (IRL) | Garmin–Cervélo | 70 |
| 9 | Bradley Wiggins (GBR) | Team Sky | 69 |

### King of the Mountains classification

| | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | David Moncoutié (FRA) | Cofidis | 63 |
| 2 | Matteo Montaguti (ITA) | Ag2r–La Mondiale | 56 |
| DSQ | Juan José Cobo (ESP) | Geox–TMC | 42 |
| 3 | Dan Martin (IRL) | Garmin–Cervélo | 33 |
| 4 | Daniel Moreno (ESP) | Team Katusha | 32 |
| 5 | David de la Fuente (ESP) | Geox–TMC | 24 |
| 6 | Nico Sijmens (BEL) | Cofidis | 22 |
| 7 | Chris Froome (GBR) | Team Sky | 21 |
| 8 | Chris Anker Sørensen (DEN) | Saxo Bank–SunGard | 20 |
| 9 | Koen de Kort (NED) | Skil–Shimano | 19 |

### Combination classification

| | Rider | Team | Total |
| DSQ | Juan José Cobo (ESP) | Geox–TMC | 9 |
| 1 | Chris Froome (GBR) | Team Sky | 16 |
| 2 | Bauke Mollema (NED) | Rabobank | 17 |
| 3 | Daniel Moreno (ESP) | Team Katusha | 21 |
| 4 | Dan Martin (IRL) | Garmin–Cervélo | 26 |
| 5 | Wout Poels (NED) | Vacansoleil–DCM | 38 |
| 6 | Bradley Wiggins (GBR) | Team Sky | 39 |
| 7 | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | Team Katusha | 48 |
| 8 | Chris Anker Sørensen (DEN) | Saxo Bank–SunGard | 51 |
| 9 | Denis Menchov (RUS) | Geox–TMC | 52 |

### Team classification

| Pos. | Team | Time |
| 1 | Geox–TMC | 254h 32′ 28" |
| 2 | Leopard Trek | + 10′ 19" |
| 3 | Euskaltel–Euskadi | + 16′ 44" |
| 4 | Team Katusha | + 43' 18" |
| 5 | Ag2r–La Mondiale | + 43′ 27″ |
| 6 | Rabobank | + 54′ 32″ |
| 7 | Astana | + 58′ 56″ |
| 8 | Liquigas–Cannondale | + 1h 01′ 51" |
| 9 | Movistar Team | + 1h 05′ 11″ |
| 10 | Team Sky | + 1h 09′ 45″ |
The UCI disqualified Juan José Cobo and Carlos Barredo from the race. If you ignore them in the daily results, Geox–TMC would drop to 3rd place, Rabobank would end up 13th, and Team RadioShack would be 10th.

### World rankings points

The Vuelta was one of 27 events throughout the season that contributed points towards the 2011 UCI World Tour. Points were awarded to the top 20 finishers overall, and to the top five finishers in each stage. Only riders on UCI ProTour teams were eligible to receive rankings points, so winner Juan Cobo was not rewarded in this table.
Points earned in the Vuelta :
| Name | Team | Points |
| Chris Froome (GBR) | Team Sky | 157 |
| Bradley Wiggins (GBR) | Team Sky | 108 |
| Bauke Mollema (NED) | Rabobank | 108 |
| Maxime Monfort (BEL) | HTC–Highroad | 70 |
| Daniel Moreno (ESP) | Team Katusha | 68 |
| Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) | Liquigas–Cannondale | 62 |
| Peter Sagan (SVK) | Liquigas–Cannondale | 56 |
| Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) | Omega Pharma–Lotto | 54 |
| Dan Martin (IRE) | Garmin–Cervélo | 44 |
| Mikel Nieve (ESP) | Euskaltel–Euskadi | 38 |
| Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | Team Katusha | 38 |
Top ten of the individual standings after the Vuelta :
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Team | Points |
| 1 | 2 | Philippe Gilbert (BEL) | Omega Pharma–Lotto | 698 |
| 2 | 1 | Cadel Evans (AUS) | BMC Racing Team | 574 |
| 3 | 3 | Alberto Contador (ESP) | Saxo Bank–SunGard | 471 |
| 4 | 5 | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | Team Katusha | 366 |
| 5 | 4 | Michele Scarponi (ITA) | Lampre–ISD | 357 |
| 6 | 6 | Samuel Sánchez (ESP) | Euskaltel–Euskadi | 307 |
| 7 | 16 | Bradley Wiggins (GBR) | Team Sky | 289 |
| 8 | 7 | Fränk Schleck (LUX) | Leopard Trek | 284 |
| 9 | 13 | Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) | Liquigas–Cannondale | 272 |
| 10 | 17 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) | Team Sky | 260 |