# 1946 Vuelta a España

The 6th Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 7 to 30 May 1946. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of 3,836 km (2,384 mi), and was won by Dalmacio Langarica. Emilio Rodríguez won the mountains classification.
After the 22nd stage, Jan Lambrichs was in second place. The Dutch team then received a letter, saying that Lambrichs should give up his second place, otherwise he would reach the finish in Madrid in an ambulance. The team manager decided not to tell Lambrichs about this threat, but gave him extra security. In the final stage, Berrendero escaped and left everybody behind, including Lambrichs, and took over the second place. The next day, the Dutch team received a box of Cuban cigars from the unknown person who had sent the threat.

## Route

List of stages :
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Type | Winner |
| 1 | 7 May | Madrid – Salamanca | 212 km (132 mi) | | | Joaquín Olmos (ESP) |
| 2 | 8 May | Salamanca – Béjar | 73 km (45 mi) | | Individual time trial | Miguel Gual (ESP) |
| 3 | 8 May | Béjar – Cáceres | 141 km (88 mi) | | | Antonio Andrés Sancho (ESP) |
| 4 | 9 May | Cáceres – Badajoz | 132 km (82 mi) | | | Ignacio Orbaiceta (ESP) |
| 5 | 10 May | Badajoz – Seville | 218 km (135 mi) | | | Julián Berrendero (ESP) |
| 6 | 12 May | Seville – Granada | 251 km (156 mi) | | | Jan Lambrichs (NED) |
| 7 | 13 May | Granada – Baza | 107 km (66 mi) | | | Dalmacio Langarica (ESP) |
| 8 | 14 May | Baza – Murcia | 178 km (111 mi) | | | João Lourenço (POR) |
| 9 | 15 May | Murcia – Valencia | 264 km (164 mi) | | | Alejandro Fombellida [es] (ESP) |
| 10 | 17 May | Valencia – Castellón | 67 km (42 mi) | | Team time trial | Holland |
| 11 | 17 May | Castellón – Tortosa | 123 km (76 mi) | | | Alejandro Fombellida [es] (ESP) |
| 12 | 18 May | Tortosa – Barcelona | 215 km (134 mi) | | | Dalmacio Langarica (ESP) |
| 13 | 19 May | Barcelona – Lleida | 162 km (101 mi) | | | Delio Rodríguez (ESP) |
| 14 | 20 May | Lleida – Zaragoza | 144 km (89 mi) | | | Delio Rodríguez (ESP) |
| 15 | 21 May | Zaragoza – San Sebastián | 276 km (171 mi) | | | Delio Rodríguez (ESP) |
| 16 | 23 May | San Sebastián – Bilbao | 207 km (129 mi) | | | Dalmacio Langarica (ESP) |
| 17 | 24 May | Bilbao – Santander | 226 km (140 mi) | | | Delio Rodríguez (ESP) |
| 18 | 25 May | Santander – Reinosa | 110 km (68 mi) | | | Dalmacio Langarica (ESP) |
| 19 | 26 May | Reinosa – Gijón | 204 km (127 mi) | | | Delio Rodríguez (ESP) |
| 20 | 28 May | Gijón – Oviedo | 53 km (33 mi) | | Individual time trial | Dalmacio Langarica (ESP) |
| 21 | 28 May | Oviedo – León | 119 km (74 mi) | | | Julián Berrendero (ESP) |
| 22 | 29 May | León – Valladolid | 134 km (83 mi) | | | Alejandro Fombellida [es] (ESP) |
| 23 | 30 May | Valladolid – Madrid | 200 km (124 mi) | | | Julián Berrendero (ESP) |
| | Total | Total | 3,836 km (2,384 mi) | 3,836 km (2,384 mi) | 3,836 km (2,384 mi) | 3,836 km (2,384 mi) |

## Results
### Final General Classification

| Rank | Rider | Time |
| 1 | Dalmacio Langarica | 137h 10' 38" |
| 2 | Julián Berrendero | + 17' 32" |
| 3 | Jan Lambrichs | + 23' 54" |
| 4 | Manuel Costa | + 24' 19" |
| 5 | Delio Rodríguez | + 45' 04" |
| 6 | Alejandro Fombellida | + 46' 09" |
| 7 | Antonio-Andres Sancho | + 1h 00' 10" |
| 8 | Emilio Rodríguez | + 1h 03' 45" |
| 9 | José Gutierrez | + 1h 18' 48" |
| 10 | Joao Rebelo | + 1h 53' 37" |
| 11 | Georges Aeschlimann | |
| 12 | Cipriano Aguirrezabal | |
| 13 | Bernardo Ruiz | |
| 14 | Pastor Rodríguez | |
| 15 | Joaquim Olmos | |
| 16 | Antonio Martin | |
| 17 | Ernest Kuhn | |
| 18 | Vicente Miro | |
| 19 | José Lopez Gandara | |
| 20 | Frans Pauwels | |
| 21 | Joaquim Jiménez | |
| 22 | Pedro Font | |
| 23 | Cees Joosen | |
| 24 | Gabriel Palmer | |
| 25 | Theo Perret | |