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By Barry Boyce,
CyclingRevealed Historian
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Closest Finish in Vuelta History
The popularity of the Vuelta a Espana (VaE) began to expand in 1956. The big stars of professional cycling come to compete for the Vuelta Championship with a very talented field of Spanish riders.
Stage 1 from Bilbao to Santander experienced ‘Belgian type' weather with cold temperatures, high wind, and even some snow. Several major contenders including Emilio Rodriguez were hampered by the weather and lost valuable time on the stage. Belgian Rik Van Steenbergen welcomed the adverse weather and sprinted to the stage win and the race leader's jersey.
Again this year the very talented Spanish team was experiencing internal problems. Team director Luis Puig structured the team with Miguel Poblet and Miguel Bover riding for stage the wins, Federico Bahamontes and Jesus Lorono competing for the King of the Mountains, and Salvador Botella trying for General Classification (GC). The friction started when Lorono did not appreciate the director's choice. He stated: "I beat Botella to the Grand Prix d'Eibar. I have more fitness and should be the team leader for the GC".
The full drama began to unfold on Stage 2 from Santander to Oviedo. Shortly after the departure a 3 rider breakaway formed and began to build a gap. Quickly Italian Angelo Conterno saw the opportunity and bridged up to the breakaway. The group steadily built the lead to 3'05” lead before Conterno again attacked the breakaway group. He soloed to the stage win. His time gain gave the Italian the race lead, but with 17 stages to go no one seemed concerned.
Conterno battled to hold an 8 second lead going into the final 4 stage. Federico Bahamontes was poised to attack the race leader in the mountains. Stage 15 from San Sebastian to Bilbao featured the brutal climb of the Urkiola. Bahamontes escaped the peloton and became the “race leader on the road”. The solo Bahamontes suffered a seies of puncure and on the descent of the Urkiola Jesus Lorono with a tired Conterno chased him down. Spanish help had Conterno maintaining his fragile race lead.
The final opportunity came on a rain soaked Stage 16, Bahamontes was again on the attack. He suffered several more punctures and a hard crash. He lost 4 minutes on the lead group. Jesus Lorono was the next challenger to attack. Over the final climb of the 1956 Vuelta, the Sollube, Lorono broke clear of Conterno. An international coalition formed to help with the chase and saved the Italian's lead. The race officials penalized Conterno 30 seconds for a rules infraction, but Lorono's GC time gap at the end of Stage 16 was 43 seconds (after the penalty it became 13").
Angelo Conterno rode into Bilbao to claim a 13 second Vuelta a Espana victory over Jesus Lorono.
| Stage and Distance |
Stage Winner |
Race Leader |
Stage 1 Bilbao-Santander, 203 km |
Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel) |
Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel) |
Stage 2 Santander-Oviedo, 248 km |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 3 Oviedo-Valladolid, 175 km |
Miguel Poblet (Spa) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 4 Valladolid-Madrid, 212 km |
Claude Le Ber (Fra) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 5 Madrid-Albacete, 241 km |
Miguel Poblet (Spa) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 6 Albacete-Alicante, 227 km |
Miguel Poblet (Spa) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 7 Alicante-Valence, 182 km |
Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 8 Valence-Tarragone, 249 km |
Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 9 Tarragona-Barcelone, 163 km |
Hugo Koblet (Sui) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 10a Barcelona/Montjuich, 21 km TTT |
FRANCE |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 10b Barcelone-Tarrega, 112 km |
Gilbert Bauvin (Fra) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 11 Tarrega-Zaragoza, 238 km |
Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 12 Zaragoza-Bayonne, 274 km |
Giancarlo Astrua (Spa) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 13a Bayonne-Irun, 43 km ITT |
Claude Le Ber (Fra) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 13b Irun-Pamplona, 111 km |
Roger Walkowiak (Fra) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 14 Pamplona-San Sebastian, 195 km |
Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 15 San Sebastian-Bilbao, 225 km |
Nino Defilippis (Ita) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 16 Bilbao-Vitoria, 207 km |
Benigno Azpuru (Spa) |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Stage 17 Vitoria-Bilbao, 190 km |
Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel) |
 Angelo Conterno (Ita)
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BEST CLIMBER PRIZE |
 Nino Defilippis (Ita) |
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POINTS COMPETITION |
 Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel) |
| VaE April 26 - May 11, 1956 |
| 3,735 Km |
1.
Angelo CONTERNO (Ita) 105h37'52" |
2.
Jesus Lorono (Spa) +13" |
3.
Raymond Impanis (Bel) +1'54" |
Starters: 90 |
Finishers: 40 |
Average Speed: 33.484 km/h |
VaE 1955
VaE 1957
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11th Vuelta a Espana 1956
