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By Barry Boyce, CyclingRevealed Historian
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The Last Vuelta Before the Spanish Civil War
The second edition of the Vuelta a Espana start under a very volatile political and social atmosphere. The new Popular Front (socialist) government, elected in February 1936 and Interior Minister Santiago Casares Quiroga wanted this event to be a symbol of Spanish unity. With the ‘winds of civil wars' swirling, riots broke out in Barcelona one day prior to the Vuelta's first stage in Madrid. The scheduled ‘Grand Departure' was in doubt until the final hours before the actual start of the race on May 5, 1936.
This year the race had a new format. It had fewer 'long' stages (more than 250 km) and increased number of stages (21 stages instead of 14) over a longer period of time (26 days of racing instead of 14). All of Spain anticipated the renewal of the great racing battle of 1935 between defending champion Gustaaf Deloor and Spaniard Mariano Canardo.
Stage 2 was contested under adverse weather conditions with heavy rain and wind making the roads treacherous. Mariano Canardo's effort suffered a major blow when a dog ran in front of the peloton and caused a large crash. Gustaaf Deloor managed to avoid the mishap and rode to the stage win. The Spaniard fell very heavily and suffered injury to his legs and head. He was able to continue and finish the stage, but lost almost 16 minutes to stage winner Deloor. Canardo's chances in the General Classification were gone. The Belgian race leader had the GC under solid full control and worked hard to help his brother Alfons Deloor move into second place overall.
Belgian Gustaaf Deloor cruised to his second consecutive victory in the Vuelta a Espana. Pre-race Spanish favorite Mariano Canardo met with misfortune and finished a distant 10th overall. Spain did see the emergence of a new, young star Julian Berrendero.
SPECIAL NOTE: Shortly after the end of the Vuelta, Spain was thrust into a civil war. Riots continued and murders of prominent citizens occurred only weeks after the race had passed. For the next 4 years the Vuelta a Espana was suspended. In June of 1941, this grand event would re-start.
| Stage and Distance |
Stage Winner |
Race Leader |
Stage 1 Madrid-Salamanca, 210 km |
Joseph Huts (Bel) |
Joseph Huts (Bel) |
Stage 2 Salamanca-Caceres, 214 km |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 3 Caceres-Sevilla, 270 km |
Vicente Carretero (Spa) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 4 Sevilla-Malaga, 212 km |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 5 Malaga-Granada, 132 km |
Vicente Carretero (Spa) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 6 Granada-Almeria, 185 km |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 7 Almeria-Alicante, 306 km |
Mariano Canardo (Spa) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 8 Alicante-Valencia, 184 km |
Antonio Bertola (Spa) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 9 Valencia-Tarragona, 279 km |
Salvador Cardona (Spa) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 10 Tarragona-Barcelona, 139 km |
Vicente Carretero (Spa) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 11 Barcelona-Zaragoza, 293 km |
Alphonse Schepers (Bel) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 12 Zaragoza-San Sebastian, 265 km |
Alphonse Schepers (Bel) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 13 San Sebastian-Bilbao, 160 km |
Vicente Carretero (Spa) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 14 Bilbao-Santander, 199 km |
Alfons Deloor (Bel) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 15 Santander-Gijon, 194 km |
Mariano Canardo (Spa) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 16 Gijon-Ribadeo, 155 km |
Rafael Ramos (Spa) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 17 Ribadeo-La Coruna, 157 km |
Alphonse Schepers (Bel) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 18 La Coruna-Vigo, 175 km |
Vicente Carretero (Spa) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 19 Vigo-Verin, 178 km |
Fermin Trueba (Spa) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
Stage 20 Verin-Zamora, 207 km |
Antonio Bertola (Ita) |
Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
| Stage 21 Zamora-Madrid, 250 km |
Emiliano Alvarez (Spa) |
 Gustaaf Deloor (Bel) |
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Mountain Prize |
Salvador Molina (Spa) |
| VaE May 5 - May 31, 1936 |
| 4,364 Km |
1.
Gustaaf DELOOR (Bel) 150h07'54" |
2.
Alfons Deloor (Bel) +11'39" |
3.
Antonio Bertola (Ita) +17'54" |
Starters: 51 |
Finishers: 26 |
Average Speed: 29.068 km/h |
VaE 1935
VaE 1941
Return to the Timeline ToC x x
Return to the Race Snippets ToC |
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2nd Vuelta a Espana 1936
