xx 3rd Vuelta a Espana 1941

The Return of the Vuelta!!!

The year of 1941 marked the return of the Vuelta a Espana after the brutal Spanish Civil War that devastated the country. This edition was organized by the "Educacion y Descanco" (Central Delegation was an organization in the Franco dictatorship with the goal to promote arts, culture, and sports) in collaboration with the athletic newspaper "Gol". World War 2 was still raging across northern Europe, but Spain rushes to display a return to a normal way of life. The number of foreign riders were greatly reduced in 1941.

SPECIAL NOTE: This edition of the Vuelta a Espana will go down in history as the first triumph achieved by a Spanish rider, as well as the emergence of one of the best sprinters in the history of Spanish cycling, Delio Rodriguez who had twelve stages wins.

Julian Berrendero 1941

Teams:

Teams from Belgium, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands were invited to send a team of four riders, but these countries were involved in World War 2 and unwilling (or unable) to do so. Only riders from Spain and a politically neutral Switzerland competed in the race.

Two Spanish teams competing for the Vuelta championship:

1. the "blue and white" athletic Spanish Real Club (Julian Berrendero, Delio Rodriguez, Fermin Trueba),

2. the “blue and red” of F.C. Barcelona (Vicente Carretero, Antonio Escuriet).

Julian Berrendero, a prisoner during the civil war, and Fermin Trueba treated the Spanish cycling fans to a spectacular duel from start to finish.

Race Summary:

Stage 1: Julian Berrendero, nicknamed "El Negro" (the black one), seizes the new race leader's White Jersey on the first day.

Stage 2: His teammate, sprinter Delio Rodriguez, assumed the race lead on stage 2 and held it until the tough mountains of Andalusia.

Stage 4: Rodriguez lost the jersey on stage 4 from Seville to Malaga when veteran Basque climber Fermin Trueba gained the race lead by 23 second over Berrendero and 11 minute 13 seconds over Rodriguez. Trueba kept the race lead for twelve stages.

SPECIAL NOTE: The question arose: after several tries, "Is this the year that Fermin Trueba will register his name to the list of winners of his National tour?"

Stage 14: Teammates Trueba and Berrendero battle steadfastly though the mountain stages. The fourteenth stage from Bilbao to Santander provided great excitement, when Trueba and Berrendero deliver an epic battle. Race leader Trueba gained almost 9 minutes on Berrendero over the summit of the Col de Braguia. An unfortunate Berrendero suffered five punctures. Berrendero, feared losing the Vuelta, and launched a frantic descent. He took back 6 minutes on Trueba coming off the Braguia and arrived at the finish only 2’09” behind the Trueba. His chances to win the Vuelta were saved… for the moment?

SPECIAL NOTE: One of the major innovations in 1941 was the inclusion of the Individual Time Trial. This first Vuelta “race against the clock” was on a 53 km course from Gijon to Oviedo on stage 16a. The winner of the stage was sprinter extraordinaire Delio Rodriguez.

Canardo also rode a brilliant final stage. Going into the stage he was trailing Belgian Antoine Dignef by more than 3 minutes in his battle for second place. Canardo broke away from the peloton with Bulla and finished more than 10 minutes ahead of Dignef to move into second place overall.

Post-Vuelta Notes:

Great Spanish climber Fermin Trueba´s victory in the penultimate climbing stage 14 to Santander was not enough to give him the final victory. It did give him the leadership in the Mountain Classification. He took a slim one-point KoM victory over Berrendero.

Delio Rodriguez's 12 stage wins established the Spanish sprinter as a rider to reckon with in the future.

General Classification:

VaE 1936

VaE 1942

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