# 1988 Vuelta a España

The 1988 Vuelta a España was the 43rd Edition Vuelta a España, taking place from 25 April to 15 May 1988. It was a bicycle race which consisted of 20 stages over 3,425 km (2,128 mi), ridden at an average speed of 38.506 km/h (23.927 mph). Sean Kelly started the race as the principal favourite after performance in the 1987 Vuelta a España in which he was leading the General classification with several days remaining in the race when he was forced to withdraw due to injury. Luis "Lucho" Herrera returned to defend his title while 1985 Vuelta winner Pedro Delgado had decided to ride the 1988 Giro d'Italia in preparation for the 1988 Tour de France. The BH team directed by Javier Mínguez, presented solid opposition with the strong climbers Álvaro Pino (winner of the 1986 Vuelta a España) and Anselmo Fuerte. In the end, Kelly won the race and became the first Irish winner of the Vuelta a España, completing a hat-trick of consecutive Irish Grand Tour victories: Stephen Roche having won the 1987 Giro d'Italia and the 1987 Tour de France.

## Route

The first stage introduced an innovative format of five heats, each with two riders per team, with the team leaders appearing in the final heat.
List of stages :
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Type | Winner | GC leader |
| 1 | 25 April | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 17.4 km (10.8 mi) | | Individual time trial | Ettore Pastorelli (ITA) | Ettore Pastorelli (ITA) |
| 2 | 26 April | San Cristóbal de La Laguna– Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 210 km (130 mi) | | | Iñaki Gastón (ESP) | Laudelino Cubino (ESP) |
| 3 | 27 April | Las Palmas–Las Palmas | 34 km (21 mi) | | Team time trial | BH | Laudelino Cubino (ESP) |
| 4 | 28 April | Alcalá del Río–Badajoz | 210 km (130 mi) | | | Mathieu Hermans (NED) | Laudelino Cubino (ESP) |
| 5 | 29 April | Badajoz–Béjar | 234 km (145 mi) | | | Francisco Navarro (ESP) | Laudelino Cubino (ESP) |
| 6 | 30 April | Béjar–Valladolid | 202 km (126 mi) | | | Mathieu Hermans (NED) | Laudelino Cubino (ESP) |
| 7 | 1 May | Valladolid–León | 160 km (99 mi) | | | Mathieu Hermans (NED) | Laudelino Cubino (ESP) |
| 8 | 2 May | León–Brañillín [es] | 176.7 km (109.8 mi) | | | Álvaro Pino (ESP) | Laudelino Cubino (ESP) |
| 9 | 3 May | Oviedo–Monte Naranco | 6.8 km (4.2 mi) | | Individual time trial | Álvaro Pino (ESP) | Laudelino Cubino (ESP) |
| 10 | 4 May | Oviedo–Santander | 197.3 km (122.6 mi) | | | Mathieu Hermans (NED) | Laudelino Cubino (ESP) |
| 11 | 5 May | Santander–Valdezcaray | 217.2 km (135.0 mi) | | | Sean Kelly (IRL) | Laudelino Cubino (ESP) |
| 12 | 6 May | Logroño–Jaca | 197.5 km (122.7 mi) | | | Sean Yates (GBR) | Laudelino Cubino (ESP) |
| 13 | 7 May | Jaca–Cerler | 178.2 km (110.7 mi) | | | Fabio Parra (COL) | Laudelino Cubino (ESP) |
| 14 | 8 May | Benasque–Andorra | 190.3 km (118.2 mi) | | | Iñaki Gastón (ESP) | Laudelino Cubino (ESP) |
| 15 | 9 May | La Seu d'Urgell–Sant Quirze del Vallès | 166 km (103 mi) | | | Johnny Weltz (DEN) | Laudelino Cubino (ESP) |
| 16 | 10 May | Valencia–Albacete | 192 km (119 mi) | | | Mathieu Hermans (NED) | Anselmo Fuerte (ESP) |
| 17 | 11 May | Albacete–Toledo | 244.4 km (151.9 mi) | | | Malcolm Elliott (GBR) | Anselmo Fuerte (ESP) |
| 18 | 12 May | Toledo–Ávila | 212.5 km (132.0 mi) | | | Juan Martínez Oliver (ESP) | Anselmo Fuerte (ESP) |
| 19 | 13 May | Ávila–Segovia | 150 km (93 mi) | | | Ángel Ocaña (ESP) | Anselmo Fuerte (ESP) |
| 20 | 14 May | Las Rozas–Villalba | 30 km (19 mi) | | Individual time trial | Sean Kelly (IRL) | Sean Kelly (IRL) |
| 21 | 15 May | Villalba–Madrid | 202 km (126 mi) | | | Mathieu Hermans (NED) | Sean Kelly (IRL) |
| | Total | Total | 3,425 km (2,128 mi) | 3,425 km (2,128 mi) | 3,425 km (2,128 mi) | 3,425 km (2,128 mi) | 3,425 km (2,128 mi) |

## Results
### Final General classification

| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Sean Kelly | Kas-Mavic | 89h 19' 23" |
| 2 | Reimund Dietzen | Teka-Mavi-Alanc | + 1' 27" |
| 3 | Anselmo Fuerte | BH | + 1' 29" |
| 4 | Laudelino Cubino | BH | + 2' 17" |
| 5 | Fabio Parra Pinto | Kelme | + 2' 25" |
| 6 | Robert Millar | Fagor-MBK | + 3' 22" |
| 7 | Jesús Blanco Villar | Teka-Mavi-Alanc | + 8' 19" |
| 8 | Álvaro Pino | BH | + 8' 25" |
| 9 | Eddy Schepers | Fagor-MBK | + 9' 45" |
| 10 | Roberto Córdoba Asensi | BH | + 10' 28" |
| 11 | Éric Caritoux | Kas-Mavic | |
| 12 | William Palacio Navarro | Reynolds-Pinarello | |
| 13 | Federico Echave Musatadi | BH | |
| 14 | Jokin Mújika Aramburu | Caja Rural–Orbea | |
| 15 | Franco Votolo | Carrera Jeans–Vagabond | |
| 16 | Martín Ramírez | Café de Colombia | |
| 17 | José Luis Laguía | Reynolds-Pinarello | |
| 18 | Mariano Sanchez Martinez | Teka-Mavi-Alanc | |
| 19 | Martin Earley | Kas-Mavic | |
| 20 | Luis Herrera | Café de Colombia | |
| 21 | Carlos Jaramillo | Postobón | |
| 22 | Luc Suykerbuyk | Zahor Chocolates | |
| 23 | Pello Ruiz Cabestany | Kas-Mavic | |
| 24 | Vicente Ridaura | Caja Rural–Orbea | |
| 25 | Juan Tomas Martinez Gutierrez | Zahor Chocolates | |

### KOM Classification

| | Cyclist | Team | Points |
| 1 | Álvaro Pino | BH | 100 |
| 2 | Anselmo Fuerte | BH | 62 |
| 3 | Sean Kelly | KAS | 60 |

### Points Classification

| | Cyclist | Team | Points |
| 1 | Sean Kelly | KAS | 248 |
| 2 | Mathieu Hermans | CAJ | 166 |
| 3 | Benny Van Brabant | ZAH | 138 |

### Team classification

| | Team | Country | Time |
| 1 | BH | Spain | - |

### Best First Year Professional

| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Carlos Muñiz Menéndez | CLAS | |