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By Barry Boyce,
CyclingRevealed Historian
 Freddy Maertens
VaE April 26 - May 15, 1977 |
2,785.1 Km |
Starters: 70 |
Finishers: 54 |
Average Speed: 35.294 km/h x
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Bahamontes Tantrum, a Belgian Takes the Victory
The 32nd Edition Vuelta a Espana raced from April 26 to May 15, 1977.
"I come only to win!” These were the words of Belgium sprinter Freddy Maertens before the start of the 1977 Vuelta a Espana. The race was marked by the complete supremacy of Maertens.
SPECIAL NOTE: * The Vuelta organizers decided to finish the race in Miranda de Ebro instead of Guipuzcoa. Entry of the race into the Basque Country was considered dangerous because of on-going social and political protest events in the region.
SPECIAL NOTE: Vuelta organizers changed the race leader's Amarillo Jersey to an Orange Jersey. They change back to the Amarillo Jersey in 1978. (see Vuelta Jersey Colors)
1977 Vuelta a Espana Race Route Details |
Teams:
- Ebo-Superia
- Flandria-Velda-Latina Assi
- Frisol-Gazelle-Thirion
- KAS-Campagnolo
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- Magniflex-Torpado
- Novostil-Transmallorca-Gios
- Teka
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Race Summary:
Prologue: After winning the 8 km Prologue Time Trial Freddy Maertens would crank-off twelve more stage wins and hold the overall lead in the General Classification for every stage.
Freddy Maertens winning the Prologue TT
Stage 4: The victory did not come without a minor scare on stage 4. In the 8.3 km Individual Time Trial Maertens “over-cooked” a corner and crashed. He quickly remounted and started riding again, but the fall cost him 40”. His teammate Michel Pollentier won the stage by +23”, ahead of Miguel-Maria Lasa. Maertens retained the race lead.
Stage 9: The ninth stage, from Tortosa to Salou, mark aggressive racing by team Kas. Teammates Maertens and Pollentier launched an attack and escaped at kilometer 83. KAS leads a 23-rider group to catch the 2 Belgians. Luis Ocana and Agostinho were victims of the hard pace and were not part of the lead group. They both lost valuable time in the GC. At the finish in Salou Maertens win another stage. Ocana lost 14’40” (trialed in the GC by 36’33”) and Agostinho lost 6’05” (trialed in the GC by 17’44”).
Eilte breakaway: (R to L) Maertens (Flandria), Lasa (Teka), Perurena (KAS)
Stage 19: Freddy Maertens sprinted to his final stage win in Miranda de Ebro and claimed the 1977 Vuelta a Espana victory.
Post-Race Notes:
Reigning World Road Champion Freddy Maertens’ domination of the race was so extreme that he had:
- He scored 13 stages wins, breaking the Vuelta’s 1941 record of Delio Rodriguez, who had 12 stage wins.
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- He led the General Classification from start to finish!!! This race lead domination has only been achieved by Julian Berrendero (1942) and Jacques Anquetil (1963).
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- He won the Blue Jersey’s Points Classification.
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Grand Spanish Champion Luis Ocana bravely finished the race in a distant 22nd place, +43’00” behind Maertens. He retired at the end of the 1977 racing season after finishing 25th in the 1977 Tour de France.
Stage and Distance |
Stage Winner |
Race Leader |
Prologue Dehesa de Campoamor, 8 km ITT |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stg 1 Dehesa/Campoamor-La Manga, 115 km |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stg 2 La Manga del Mar Menor-Murcia, 161 km |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 3 Murcia-Benidorm, 200 km |
Fedor Den Hertog (Ned) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 4 Benidorm, 8.3 km ITT |
Michel Pollentier (Bel) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 5 Benidorm-El Saler, 159 km |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 6 Valencia-Teruel, 170 km |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 7 Teruel-Las Fuentes, 204 km |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 8 Las Fuentes-Tortosa, 141 km |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 9 Tortosa-Salou, 144 km |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 10 Salou-Barcelona, 144 km |
Cees Priem (Ned) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 11a Montjuich, 3.8 km ITT |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 11b Montjuich, 45 km |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stg 12 Barcelona-La Tossa/Montbui, 198 km |
Giuseppe Perletto (Ita) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 13 Igualada-Seo de Urgel, 135 km |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 14 Seo de Urgel-Monzon, 200 km |
Carlos Melero (Spa) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 15 Monzon-El Formigal, 166 km |
Pedro Torres (Spa) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 16 El Formigal-Cordovilla, 170 km |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 17 Cordovilla-Bilbao, 183 km |
Luis-Alberto Ordiales (Spa) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stage 18 Bilbao-Alto de Urquiola, 126 km |
Jose Nazabal (Spa) |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
Stg 19 Durango-Guipuzcoa (Cancelled) *, 104 km |
Freddy Maertens (Bel) |
 Freddy Maertens (Bel)
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* Stage 19 finish moved to Miranda de Ebro |
BEST CLIMBER PRIZE |
 Pedro Torres (Spa)
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POINTS COMPETITION |
 Freddy Maertens (Bel)
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General Classification:
Final General Classification |
Rank |
Name |
Team |
Time |
1 |
Freddy MAERTENS (Bel) |
Flandria-Velda-Latina Assi |
78h 54' 36" |
2 |
Miguel-Maria Lasa (Spa) |
Teka |
2'51" |
3 |
Klaus-Peter Thaler (Ger) |
Teka |
3'23" |
4 |
Domingo Perurena (Spa) |
Kas-Campagnolo |
4'45" |
5 |
Jose-Luis Viejo (Spa) |
Kas-Campagnolo |
5'14" |
6 |
Michel Pollentier (Bel) |
Flandria-Velda-Latina Assi |
5'35" |
7 |
Gary Clively (Aus) |
Magniflex-Torpado |
7'06" |
8 |
Jose Pesarrodona (Spa) |
Kas-Campagnolo |
9'32" |
9 |
Pedro Torres (Spa) |
Teka |
10'29" |
10 |
Jose-A Gonzalez-Linares (Spa) |
Kas-Campagnolo |
11'18" |
11 |
Agustin Tamames (Spa) |
11'48" |
34 |
Jesus Manzaneque (Spa) |
1h04'03" |
12 |
Jose-Manuel Garcia (Spa) |
13'07" |
35 |
Albert Van Vlierberghe (Bel) |
1h04'36" |
13 |
Fernando Mendes (Por) |
14'31" |
36 |
Wilmo Francioni (Ita) |
1h07'43" |
14 |
Ludo Loos (Bel) |
16'45" |
37 |
Henry Vandenbrande (Bel) |
1h07'55" |
15 |
Joaquim Agostinho (Por) |
18'09" |
38 |
Benny Schepmans (Bel) |
1h10'25" |
16 |
Ismael Lejarreta (Spa) |
20'57" |
39 |
Bernardo Alfonsel (Spa) |
1h10'38" |
17 |
Andres Oliva (Spa) |
22'51" |
40 |
Hugo Van Gastel (Bel) |
1h11'34" |
18 |
Rafael Ladron (Spa) |
27'04" |
41 |
Mariano Martinez (Fra) |
1h14'54" |
19 |
Eulalio Garcia (Spa) |
34'10" |
42 |
Jorge Fortia (Spa) |
1h27'58" |
20 |
Carlos Ocana (Spa) |
42'00" |
43 |
Jos Van de Poel (Bel) |
1h28'38" |
21 |
Jose Nazabal (Spa) |
42'29" |
44 |
Ferdi Van den Haute (Bel) |
1h37'02" |
22 |
Luis Ocana (Spa) |
43'00" |
45 |
Jean-Luc Fabbri (Fra) |
1h41'52" |
23 |
Carlos Melero (Spa) |
43'54" |
46 |
Roger Loysch (Bel) |
1h45'09" |
24 |
Javier Elorriaga (Spa) |
47'33" |
47 |
Thierry Bolle (Sui) |
1h46'59" |
25 |
Giuseppe Perletto (Ita) |
50'11" |
48 |
Roger Verschaeve (Bel) |
1h55'02" |
26 |
Jean-Pierre Baert (Bel) |
50'24" |
49 |
Isidro Juarez (Spa) |
1h56'58" |
27 |
Luis-Alberto Ordiales (Spa) |
50'49" |
50 |
Daniele Tinchella (Ita) |
1h58'40" |
28 |
Paul Wellens (Bel) |
53'52" |
51 |
Alain Desaever (Bel) |
2h03'47" |
29 |
Andre Romero (Fra) |
57'09" |
52 |
Julien Stevens (Bel) |
2h12'38" |
30 |
Paul Verschuere (Bel) |
57'36" |
53 |
Ignacio Macho (Spa) |
2h17'58" |
31 |
Custodio Mazuela (Spa) |
59'31" |
54 |
Frank Arijs (Bel) |
2h32'02" |
32 |
Andres Gandarias (Spa) |
1h01'22" |
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33 |
Marc Demeyer (Bel) |
1h01'27" |
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Final Mountains Classification |
Rank |
Name |
Team |
Points |
1 |
Pedro TORRES (Spa) |
Teka |
134 |
2 |
Andres Oliva (Spa) |
Kas-Campagnolo |
115 |
3 |
Ludo Loos (Bel) |
Ebo-Superia |
91 |
4 |
Fernando Mendes (Por) |
Teka |
61 |
5 |
Jose-Luis Viejo (Spa) |
Kas-Campagnolo |
52 |
6 |
Domingo Perurena (Spa) |
Kas-Campagnolo |
43 |
7 |
Ismael Lejarreta (Spa) |
Kas-Campagnolo |
42 |
8 |
Michel Pollentier (Bel) |
Flandria-Velda-Latina Assi |
38 |
Final Points Classification |
Rank |
Name |
Team |
Points |
1 |
Freddy MAERTENS (Bel) |
Flandria-Velda-Latina Assi |
369 |
2 |
Klaus-Peter Thaler (Ger) |
Teka |
173 |
3 |
Jose-Luis Viejo (Spa) |
Kas-Campagnolo |
131 |
4 |
Benny Schepmans (Bel) |
Frisol-Gazelle-Thirion |
128 |
5 |
Miguel-Maria Lasa (Spa) |
Teka |
127 |
6 |
Daniele Tinchella (Ita) |
Magniflex-Torpado |
116 |
VaE 1976
VaE 1978
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