The final stage of the Vuelta a Espana 2022 ended after 96.7 kilometres with a bunch sprint in Madrid, which was won by Juan Sebastian Molano. The Colombian, who works as a rider for Pascal Ackermann at UAE Team Emirates, also led the sprint for the German in the Spanish capital, but he was unable to pass him and finished third. Second place went to Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo).
Evenepoel ends the Belgians' dry spell
As expected, Remco Evenepoel left nothing to be desired in the overall standings. The 22-year-old finished in the peloton and won his first Grand Tour. It is also the first overall victory for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl in a Grand Tour. Giro d'Italia, Tour de France or the Tour of Spain and the first Grand Tour victory by a Belgian since 1978, when Johan De Muynck won the Giro.
Second overall was Enric Mas (Movistar), 2:02 minutes behind, with 19-year-old Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates/+4:57) completing the podium. The points classification was won by Mads Pedersen, the mountains jersey by Richard Carapaz, the young rider classification also went to Evenepoel and UAE Team Emirates came out on top in the team classification. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) was voted the most combative rider of the Tour of Spain.
Profile: This was the 21st stage of the 2022 Vuelta
The stages of the Vuelta in detail
Unlike in the Tour de France, the leader's jersey in the Vuelta is not yellow, but red. We have summarised which other leader's jerseys and special classifications there are in the Tour of Spain in our text on the rules.
Numerous top cycling stars will be at the start of the 2022 Vuelta. TOUR has compiled an overview of the line-ups of the 23 teams.
Tour of Spain for women
In addition to the men's race, there will also be another Vuelta for women in 2022, the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta. It will take place from 7 to 11 September with a total of five stages.
The first stage starts in Marina de Cudeyo in Cantabria, with the final section finishing four days later in the Spanish capital Madrid.
History of the Vuelta
The men's Vuelta a Espana is back after the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France the third of the three major national tours (Grand Tours), which will be held in 2022. The Tour of Spain was held for the first time in 1935 and is therefore younger than its Italian and French counterparts.
Until the 1990s, the Vuelta traditionally took place in spring. The date was then moved to August or September. There was one exception in 2020, when the Vuelta was moved to October and November due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Click through: The Vuelta winners since 2010
The record winner is the Spaniard Roberto Heras with four titles. Three Germans have won the race so far: Rudi Altig (1962), Rolf Wolfshohl (1965) and Jan Ullrich (1999).
