14th Vuelta a Espana 1959

A Very Animated Spanish Grand Tour

Organizers of the 14th edition of the Vuelta a Espana presented a major change in 1959. After the in-fighting of Spanish National team in 1958 the Vuelta organizers changed the race to a trade team format. Federico Bahamontes and Jesus Loroño were now free to race for themselves.

The early stages were controlled by Bahamontes's KAS teammate Antonio Karmany. After Stage 6 Karmany had solid control of the GC and led Rik Van Looy (Bel) by 5'44” and Antonio Suarez (Spa) by 6'13”.

The race began to unravel for the contenders on Stage 7 from Alicante to Castillon. A lethargic peloton allowed a group of 11 riders to escape and gain significant time (20+ minutes). Team Boxing's Antonio Barrutia (Spa) won the breakaway sprint for the stage win. The best place rider in the breakaway was Josef Vloebergh (Bel) and he earned the race lead. Karmany now trailed by 23'16", Bahamontes 24'11", Suarez 25'03", Rik Van Looy 27'08", Roger Riviere 28'30", and aging superstar Fausto Coppi 40'48". This was a disaster for the contenders!

The race turned on Stage 10 and 11. After an aggressive Stage 10, which saw Antonio Suarez gain nearly 15 minutes on the race leader, Suarez attacked again on Stage 11. A six rider breakaway formed and gained another 13'23” for Suarez. Rik Van Looy won the stage after two untimely punctures by talented Frenchman Roger Riviere. A late in the race time gain allowed Jose Segu to obtain the Amarillo Jersey, but Suarez was 3'20” behind in second place in the GC.

The ultimate test came on the Stage 14 individual time trial. Roger Riviere won the stage but could only gain 1'54” on the Suarez. The Spaniard easily took the race lead.

The final stage presented a brutal profile with six categorized climbs. A tired Suarez, who lost 4'30” on stage 16, needed an exceptional effort to get the Vuelta victory. Over the first 5 climbs of the day Suarez matched every rivals ‘pedal stroke for pedal stroke'. The race was well in control for Suarez and the only thing left to be decided was the “Mountains” Classification.

Belgian Richard Van Genechten held a 3 point lead over Antonio Karmany and a 4 point lead over Suarez with only the Category 1 climb of the Sollube remaining. Fernando Manzaneque, a Suarez Team Licor teammate, chased an escaped group and brought the tired race leader to the top of the climb. Suarez distanced Van Genechten and Karmany and scored enough points to win the “Mountains” prize.

In Bilbao Manzaneque won the final stage and helped Antonio Suarez achieve the 1959 Vuelta a Espana victory.

VaE 1958

VaE 1960

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