The 37th Edition Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 20 April to 9 May 1982. It consisted of 19 stages covering a total of 3,456 km (2,147 mi), and was won by Marino Lejarreta of the Teka cycling team.
The Reynolds team controlled the race after team leader Ángel Arroyo took the leader’s jersey on the tenth stage. Arroyo kept the jersey until the finish of the race where he won the final individual time trial. Arroyo won the grand tour ahead of Marino Lejarreta and Michel Pollentier. However 48 hours after his win, it emerged that in the doping control that was conducted after the stage 17 Arroyo tested positive. Three other riders also failed the doping test after stage 17: Alberto Fernández, Vicente Belda and Pedro Muñoz.
The four riders were said to have tested positive for Methylphenidate (which is also known as Ritalin) a stimulant. Methylphenidate was a popular drug for doping in cycling at that time. Arroyo and his team denied the allegations and asked for a second analysis of the sample. The B analysis confirmed the first positive test.
Arroyo was assigned a 10-minute penalty and stripped of his Vuelta win which was given to Lejarreta. With the 10-minute penalty Arroyo went down to 13th place in the classification.
The disqualification of the winner of the Vuelta has been called the worst scandal that has ever hit the race on the official La Vuelta website.
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 20 April – 9 May | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 19 + Prologue, including 2 split stages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,456 km (2,147 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 95h 47′ 23″ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 20 April | Santiago de Compostela – Santiago de Compostela | 6.7 km (4 mi) |  |
Individual time trial |  Marc Gomez (FRA) |
| 1a | 21 April | Santiago de Compostela – A Coruña | 97 km (60 mi) |  Eddy Planckaert (BEL) |
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| 1b | 21 April | A Coruña – Lugo | 97 km (60 mi) | Eddy Planckaert (BEL) |
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| 2 | 22 April | Lugo – Gijón | 240 km (149 mi) | Eddy Planckaert (BEL) |
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| 3 | 23 April | Gijón – Santander | 208 km (129 mi) | Eddy Planckaert (BEL) |
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| 4 | 24 April | Santander – Reinosa | 196 km (122 mi) |  Antonio Coll (ESP) |
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| 5 | 25 April | Reinosa – Logroño | 230 km (143 mi) | Ángel Camarillo (ESP) |
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| 6 | 26 April | Logroño – Zaragoza | 190 km (118 mi) | José Luis Laguía (ESP) |
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| 7 | 27 April | Zaragoza – Sabiñánigo | 146 km (91 mi) | Enrique Martínez Heredia (ESP) |
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| 8 | 28 April | Sabiñánigo – Lleida | 216 km (134 mi) | Jesús Hernández Úbeda (ESP) |
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| 9 | 29 April | Artesa de Segre – Puigcerdà | 182 km (113 mi) | José Luis Laguía (ESP) |
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| 10 | 30 April | Puigcerdà – Sant Quirze del Vallès | 181 km (112 mi) |  Sven-Åke Nilsson (SWE) |
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| 11 | 1 May | Sant Quirze del Vallès – Barcelona | 143 km (89 mi) | José Luis Laguía (ESP) |
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| 12 | 2 May | Salou – Nules | 200 km (124 mi) | Eddy Planckaert (BEL) |
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| 13 | 3 May | Nules – Antella | 195 km (121 mi) | José Recio (ESP) |
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| 14 | 4 May | Antella – Albacete | 153 km (95 mi) | Dominique Arnaud (FRA) |
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| 15a | 5 May | Albacete – Tomelloso | 119 km (74 mi) | Eddy Vanhaerens (BEL) |
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| 15b | 5 May | Tomelloso – Campo de Criptana | 35 km (22 mi) | |
Individual time trial | Ángel Arroyo (ESP) |
| 16 | 6 May | Campo de Criptana – San Fernando de Henares | 176 km (109 mi) | Willy Sprangers (BEL) |
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| 17 | 7 May | San Fernando de Henares – Navacerrada | 178 km (111 mi) | Marino Lejarreta (ESP) |
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| 18 | 8 May | Palazuelos de Eresma (Destilerías DYC) – Palazuelos de Eresma (Destilerías DYC) | 184 km (114 mi) | Juan Fernández (ESP) |
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| 19 | 9 May | Madrid – Madrid | 84 km (52 mi) | Eddy Vanhaerens (BEL) |
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| Total | 3,456 km (2,147 mi) | |||||
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marino Lejarreta |
Teka | 95h 47′ 23″ |
| 2 | Michel Pollentier |
Safir-Concorde | + 18″ |
| 3 | Sven-Åke Nilsson |
Wolber-Spidel | + 1′ 17″ |
| 4 | Faustino Ruperez Rincon |
Zor-Helios | + 2′ 14″ |
| 5 | José Luis Laguía |
Reynolds-Galli | + 2′ 37″ |
| 6 | Pierre-Raymond Villemiane |
Wolber-Spidel | + 2′ 43″ |
| 7 |  Stefan Mutter |
Puch-Eurotex | + 4′ 18″ |
| 8 | Jaime Vilamajo Ipiens |
Kelme-Merckx | + 4′ 19s |
| 9 | Marc Durant |
Wolber-Spidel | + 5′ 10″ |
| 10 | Álvaro Pino |
Zor-Helios | + 5′ 53″ |
| 11 | Enrique Martinez Heredia |
Kelme-Merckx | |
| 12 | Celestino Prieto Rodriquez |
Kelme-Merckx | |
| 13 | Ángel Arroyo |
Reynolds-Galli | |
| 14 | Eduardo Chozas |
Zor-Helios | |
| 15 | Alberto Fernandez |
Teka | |
| 16 | Paul Wellens |
Splendor-Wickes | |
| 17 | Bernardo Alfonsel Lopez |
Teka | |
| 18 | Vicente Belda |
Kelme-Merckx | |
| 19 | Ismael Lejarreta |
Teka | |
| 20 | Juan Fernández |
Kelme-Merckx | |
| 21 |  Jo Maas |
Splendor-Wickes | |
| 22 | Dominique Arnaud |
Wolber-Spidel | |
| 23 | Luis-Vicente Otin |
Hueso | |
| 24 | Benny Van Brabant |
Splendor-Wickes | |
| 25 | Pedro Munoz Rodriguez |
Zor-Helios |
