xx 6th Vuelta a Espana 1946

Foreigners Return to Spain

The 6th edition of the Vuelta a Espana in 1946 saw Europe struggling to recover from the devastation of World War 2. Last year's Vuelta podium was a totally Iberian competition without the participation of the great foreign riders, but this year the Vuelta welcomed the return of riders from Northern Europe.

The race covered the 3,847 km course over 23 stages.

Teams:

This year’s Vuelta start list had 48 riders, 32 from Spain and 16 foreign riders raced the 3,816 km Vuelta course over 23 stages.

Race Summary:

Stage 4: Like the 1945 Vuelta, the early-stage breakaways of ‘flatlanders’ gained big time gaps on the favorites. Superstar sprinter Delio Rodriguez took the Maillot Blanco (Race leader’s White Jersey) on stage 4.

Stage 5: The state of the Spanish roads were so bad that numerous riders suffered punctures and contenders lost precious time. Rainy weather and the bad roads gave a group of 5 riders a breakaway with only 35 km into the stage finish. Race leader Rodriguez made the breakaway group but experienced misfortune. Dutch rider John Lambrichs and Spaniard Manuel Costa escaped the group in the closing kilometers. The two rode steadily away and arrived at the finish in Granada over 22 minutes on the race favorite Dalmacio Langarica and 24 minutes on Spanish hero Julian Berrendero. Costa earned the race leader’s White Jersey.

Stage 12: Dalmacio Langarica slowly chipped away at the race lead of Manuel Costa and provided major excitement on the 215 km Stage 12 from Tortosa to Barcelona. A breakaway of 5 riders led by Langarica included the White Jersey. Midway through the stage, bad road conditions AGAIN caused the aggressive Langarica to have problems. A puncture slowed his effort, and the repairs took almost 3 minutes. Undaunted Langarica remounted and started an all-out solo chase. He regained the 3 minutes and joined the breakaway group near Barcelona. With a display of great fitness launched the sprint and won the stage in Montjuich. Costa retained the White Jersey.

Stage 16: The race began to unravel for Manuel Costa on Stage 16. The race leader experienced a terrible succession of events. Langarica and Costa climbed the Urkiola together in company of the Swiss rider Georges Aeschlimann, Emilio Rodriguez (Spa), and Bernardo Ruiz (Spa). Suddenly Costa broke a wheel. Quickly Costa reacted and committed a fatal error. Rather than waiting for the team car he exchanged bikes with teammate Joaquim Olmos. The exchange was illegal, and Costa was assessed a 10 minute penalty. At the finish in Bilbao Langarica gained his third stage win. Race leader Costa lost another 3'59”, but he retained his overall lead by only 1'40” over the hard charging Langarica.

Stage 18: The penultimate stage came on the tough 110 km eighteenth stage from Santander to Reinosa. A decisive attack by Langarica and Emilio Rodriguez came on the climb of the Col de Castillo Pedroso. Slowly Costa's downward spiral continued, and the race leader dropped from the lead group. Costa's time deficit was 4'09” to the stage winner in Reinosa. Langarica gained the race lead.

Stage 22: After the 22nd stage Jan Lambrichts was in second place. His Dutch team received a threatening letter saying that Lambrichts must give up his second place or he would reach the finish in Madrid in an ambulance. The team manager decided not to tell Lambrichts about this threat but gave him extra security.

Stage 23: During the final stage, GC’s 4th placed Julian Berrendero broke away solo leaving all the contenders behind including Lambrichs. His time gain put him into second place. The next day, the Dutch team received a box of Cuban cigars from the unknown person, who had sent the original threat.

Dalmacio Langarica (L) and Delio Rodriguez (R)

Dalmacio Langarica´s excellent fitness allowed him to come back from a large, early time deficits to gain the lead in the GC by stage 18. He arrived in Madrid as the 1946 Vuelta champion. Emilio Rodriguez was the winner of the Mountain Classification.

SPECIAL NOTE: Delio Rodriguez achieved five more stage wins and increased his record number of stage wins to 31.

General Classification:

VaE 1945

VaE 1947

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