Vuelta: Carapaz wins stage 12, Brenner shines, Evenepoel defends red despite a crash

Large breakaway group on stage 12

Richard Carapaz has returned to the Vuelta with a stage win after having to bury his ambitions in the overall classification early on in the race. The professional from Ineos Grenadiers was part of a large breakaway group on the 12th stage, which had broken away on the way from Salobrena to the mountain arrival in Penas Blancas.

• The result of the stage & the overall standings

In the final ascent, Carapaz had left his remaining rivals behind with around two kilometres to go and after 192.7 kilometres, he finished nine seconds ahead of Wilco Kelderman (Bora-Hansgrohe) and 24 seconds ahead of Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates). Behind him, 20-year-old Marco Brenner (Team DSM) finished a strong fifth, 34 seconds behind.

Evenepoel crashes but defends red jersey

Remco Evenepoel crashed on a descent during the stage, but was able to continue the race and defend the overall lead. Although the Belgian rider from Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl had to fend off a few attacks from his rivals on the final climb, he never got into trouble.

• After crash at Vuelta: Team gives update on Alaphilippe

Evenepoel reached the finish line together with Enric Mas (Movistar), Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) and Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates).

Profile & final climb: This was the 12th stage of the Vuelta

The stages of the Vuelta in detail

• Stage 1
• Stage 2
• Stage 3
• Stage 4
• Stage 5
• Stage 6
• Stage 7
• Stage 8
• Stage 9
• Stage 10
• Stage 11
• Stage 13
• Stage 14
• Stage 15
• Stage 16
• Stage 17
• Stage 18
• Stage 19
• Stage 20
• Stage 21

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.

• To the regulations

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.

• To the Vuelta start list

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.

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).