The 23rd edition of Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 25 April to 12 May 1968. It consisted of 18 stages covering a total of 3,014 km (1,873 mi), and was won by Felice Gimondi of the Salvarani cycling team. With this win in the 1968 Vuelta a España, the 1967 Giro d’Italia and the 1965 Tour de France, Gimondi became the second cyclist after Jacques Anquetil to win all three grand tours in his career. Defending champion Jan Janssen won the points competition and 1966 champion Francisco Gabica won the mountains classification.
Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dates | 25 April – 12 May | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stages | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance | 3,014 km (1,873 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Winning time | 78h 29′ 00″ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
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1a | 25 April | Zaragoza – Zaragoza | 130 km (81 mi) | |||
1b | 25 April | Zaragoza – Zaragoza | 4 km (2 mi) | Individual time trial | ||
2 | 26 April | Zaragoza – Lleida | 195 km (121 mi) | |||
3a | 27 April | Lleida – Barcelona | 165 km (103 mi) | |||
3b | 27 April | Barcelona – Barcelona | 38 km (24 mi) | |||
4 | 28 April | Barcelona – Salou | 108 km (67 mi) | |||
5 | 29 April | Salou – Vinaròs | 106 km (66 mi) | |||
6 | 30 April | Vinaròs – Valencia | 148 km (92 mi) | |||
7 | 1 May | Valencia – Benidorm | 144 km (89 mi) | |||
8 | 2 May | Benidorm – Almansa | 167 km (104 mi) | |||
9 | 3 May | Almansa – Alcázar de San Juan | 230 km (143 mi) | |||
10 | 4 May | Alcázar de San Juan – Madrid | 173 km (107 mi) | |||
11 | 5 May | Madrid – Palencia | 242 km (150 mi) | |||
12 | 6 May | Villalón de Campos – Gijón | 236 km (147 mi) | |||
13 | 7 May | Gijón – Santander | 203 km (126 mi) | |||
14 | 8 May | Santander – Vitoria | 244 km (152 mi) | |||
15 | 9 May | Vitoria – Pamplona | Annulled | |||
16 | 10 May | Pamplona – San Sebastián | 204 km (127 mi) | |||
17 | 11 May | San Sebastián – Tolosa | 67 km (42 mi) | Individual time trial | ||
18 | 12 May | Tolosa – Bilbao | 206 km (128 mi) | |||
Total | 3,014 km (1,873 mi) |
Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
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1 | Salvarani | 78h 29′ 00″ | |
2 | Kas-Kaskol | + 2′ 15″ | |
3 | Fagor | + 5′ 08″ | |
4 | Fagor | + 5′ 19″ | |
5 | Faema | + 5′ 26″ | |
6 | Pelforth | + 5′ 43″ | |
7 | Kas-Kaskol | + 5′ 55″ | |
8 | Kas-Kaskol | + 6′ 00″ | |
9 | Bic | + 6′ 40″ | |
10 | Faema | + 7′ 50″ | |
11 | Fagor | ||
12 | Pelforth | ||
13 | Fagor | ||
14 | Bic | ||
15 | Ferrys | ||
16 | Fagor | ||
17 | Fagor | ||
18 | Salvarani | ||
19 | Kas-Kaskol | ||
20 | Bic | ||
21 | Karpy | ||
22 | Salvarani | ||
23 | Faema | ||
24 | Fagor | ||
25 | Kas-Kaskol |