1976 Vuelta a España
# 1976 Vuelta a España

The 31st Edition Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 27 April to 16 May 1976. It consisted of 19 stages covering a total of 3,340 km (2,080 mi), and was won by José Pesarrodona of the Kas-Campagnolo cycling team. Andres Oliva won the mountains classification while Dietrich Thurau won the points classification.

## Route

List of stages :

| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Type | Winner |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| P | 27 April | Estepona – Estepona | 3.2 km (2 mi) | | Individual time trial | Dietrich Thurau (FRG) |
| 1 | 28 April | Estepona – Estepona | 135 km (84 mi) | | | José De Cauwer (BEL) |
| 2 | 29 April | Estepona – Priego de Córdoba | 224 km (139 mi) | | | Roger Gilson (LUX) |
| 3 | 30 April | Priego de Córdoba – Jaén | 177 km (110 mi) | | | Theo Smit (NED) |
| 4 | 1 May | Jaén – Baza | 166 km (103 mi)| | | | Hennie Kuiper (NED) |
| 5 | 2 May | Baza – Cartagena | 201 km (125 mi) | | | Theo Smit (NED) |
| 6 | 3 May | Cartagena – Cartagena | 14 km (9 mi) | | Individual time trial | Joaquim Agostinho (POR) |
| 7 | 4 May | Cartagena – Murcia | 136 km (85 mi) | | | Ferdi Van Den Haute (BEL) |
| 8 | 5 May | Murcia – Almansa | 219 km (136 mi) | | | Georges Pintens (BEL) |
| 9 | 6 May | Almansa – Nules | 208 km (129 mi) | | | Dietrich Thurau (FRG) |
| 10 | 7 May | Castellón – Cambrils | 226 km (140 mi) | | | José Antonio González (ESP) |
| 11 | 8 May | Cambrils – Barcelona | 151 km (94 mi) | | | Antonio Vallori (ESP) |
| 12 | 9 May | Pamplona – Logroño | 168 km (104 mi) | | | Gerben Karstens (NED) |
| 13 | 10 May | Logroño – Palencia | 209 km (130 mi) | | | Dirk Ongenae [fr] (BEL) |
| 14 | 11 May | Paredes de Nava – Gijón | 249 km (155 mi) | | | Cees Priem (NED) |
| 15 | 12 May | Gijón – Cangas de Onís | 141 km (88 mi) | | | Vicente López Carril (ESP) |
| 16 | 13 May | Cangas de Onís – Reinosa | 156 km (97 mi) | | | Dietrich Thurau (FRG) |
| 17 | 14 May | Reinosa – Bilbao | 183 km (114 mi) | | | Arthur Van De Vijver (BEL) |
| 18 | 15 May | Galdácano – Santuario de Oro (Zuia) | 204 km (127 mi) | | | Dietrich Thurau (FRG) |
| 19a | 16 May | Murgia (Zuia) – San Sebastián | 139 km (86 mi) | | | Dirk Ongenae [fr] (BEL) |
| 19b | 17 May | San Sebastián – San Sebastián | 31.7 km (20 mi) | | Individual time trial | Dietrich Thurau (FRG) |
| | Total | Total | 3,340 km (2,075 mi) | 3,340 km (2,075 mi) | 3,340 km (2,075 mi) | 3,340 km (2,075 mi) |

## Doping cases

When Belgian cyclist Eric Jacques finished in second place in the eighth stage, he became the new leader. Later, it became known that he tested positive for doping after that stage, and he received a penalty of ten minutes. Previously, Günter Haritz had been penalized for the same offence, and had left the race.

## Results

### Final General Classification

| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | José Pesarrodona | Kas-Campagnolo | 93h 19' 10" |
| 2 | Luis Ocaña | Super Ser Zeus | + 1' 03" |
| 3 | José Nazabal Merendia | Kas-Campagnolo | + 1' 41" |
| 4 | Dietrich Thurau | TI–Raleigh | + 1' 44" |
| 5 | Vicente Lopez | Kas-Campagnolo | + 1' 50" |
| 6 | Hennie Kuiper | TI–Raleigh | + 2' 00" |
| 7 | Joaquim Agostinho | Teka | + 3' 16" |
| 8 | Joseph Fuchs | Super Ser Zeus | + 3' 45" |
| 9 | Pedro Torres | Super Ser Zeus | + 4' 43" |
| 10 | José Antonio Gonzalez | Kas-Campagnolo | + 7' 18" |
| 11 | Ludo Loos | Ebo | |
| 12 | Enrique Martinez | Kas-Campagnolo | |
| 13 | Andres Oliva | Kas-Campagnolo | |
| 14 | Gonzalo Aja Barguin | Teka | |
| 15 | José Martins Freitas | Kas-Campagnolo | |
| 16 | Eric Jacques | Ebo | |
| 17 | Domingo Perurena | Kas-Campagnolo | |
| 18 | Jean-Pierre Baert | Miko-De Gribaldy | |
| 19 | José Enrique Cima | Novostil | |
| 20 | Fernardo Mendes Dos | Teka | |
| 21 | Ventura Diaz | Teka | |
| 22 | Santiago Lazcano | Super Ser Zeus | |
| 23 | Julian Andiano | Teka | |
| 24 | Manuel Esparza | Teka | |
| 25 | Jesus Manzaneque | Super Ser Zeus | |
