Vuelta a Espana, Grand Tour

Spain, September 4-26, 1999

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Spanish rider Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Vitalicio) won the prologue in the Vuelta over a flat 6.1 kms course in the streets of Murcia in the south east of Spain. He beat one of the favourites Abraham Olano (ONCE), the winner of last year's race. His time of 6.58 was sufficient to take the gold leader's jersey (the gold replacing the yellow used in previous editions). He was a second in front of Olano in humid and wet conditions.

He was one of the first to ride and benefitted from the dry roads. The rain which came later definitely slowed the favourites like Olano, who was wearing his World Champion's jersey and did not ride until 20.30. Olano said afterwards: "I took the first two corners with precaution. The lost time was impossible to make up over only 6 kms."

The podium was completed by Olano's teammate Miguel Angel Martin Pedriguero.

This was Gonzalez de Galdeano's first important victory. Like his brother Alvaro he joined Vitalicio after learning his trade in the Basque team Euskaltel-Euskadi. Behind him were the favourites - Laurent Jalabert, Alex Zülle and Jan Ullrich - who all took it carefully for fear of falling on the corners. Laurent Jalabert was making his comeback after a month off with injury and lost 10 seconds. Ullrich lost 11 seconds and Alex Zülle came in at 15 seconds in the same sort of wet roads that Olano faced.

Prologue, Murcia - Murcia, 6 kms:

  1. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros           6.58.500
  2. Abraham Olano Manzano (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank           0.01.064
  3. Miguel A. Martin Perdiguero (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank     0.02.815
  4. Frank Hoj (Den) US Postal Service                        0.04.456
  5. Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank                          0.04.487
  6. Jorge M. Santos Silva (Por) Sport Lisboa Benfica         0.04.739
  7. Toni Tauler (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                     0.05.252
  8. Ińigo Cuesta Lopez (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank              0.05.527
  9. Victor Peńa (Col) Vitalicio Seguros                      0.05.651
 10. William Chann McRae (USA) Mapei-Quick Step               0.05.975
 11. Rolf Sörensen (Den) Rabobank                             0.06.477
 12. Laurent Brochard (Fra) Lotus-Festina                     0.06.639
 13. Glenn Magnusson (Swe) US Postal Service                  0.07.382
 14. Alvaro Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros         0.08.173
 15. Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom               0.08.591
 16. Dario Frigo (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale                       0.08.608
 17. Julian Dean (NZl) US Postal Service                      0.09.465
 18. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                0.10.183
 19. Nico Mattan (Bel) Cofidis                                0.10.359
 20. Rossano Brasi (Ita) Team Polti                           0.10.612
 21. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom                  0.10.644
 22. Peter van Petegem (Bel) TVM-Farm Frites                  0.10.903
 23. Marty Jemison (USA) US Postal Service                    0.10.908
 24. Rafael Diaz Justo (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank               0.11.108
 25. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom                 0.11.467
 26. Jacky Durand (Fra) Lotto-Mobistar                        0.11.836
 27. Serguei Smetanine (Rus) Vitalicio Seguros                0.12.886
 28. Stefano Verziagi (Ita) Fuenlabrada                       0.13.407
 29. Michel Lafis (Swe) TVM-Farm Frites                       0.13.907
 30. Andrei Zintchenko (Rus) Vitalicio Seguros                0.14.036
 31. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Rabobank                             0.14.207
 32. Ralf Grabsch (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom                 0.14.222
 33. Cesar Solaun Solana (Spa) Banesto                        0.14.555
 34. Andrea Noe (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step                        0.14.790
 35. Enrico Cassani (Ita) Team Polti                          0.14.857
 36. David George (RSA) US Postal Service                     0.14.974
 37. Alex Zülle (Swi) Banesto                                 0.15.157
 38. Bobby Julich (USA) Cofidis                               0.15.205
 39. Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Team Polti                          0.15.396
 40. Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) Cofidis                         0.15.659
 41. Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step                  0.15.811
 42. Pedro Diaz Lobato (Spa) Fuenlabrada                      0.15.999
 43. Luis Perez Rodriguez (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank            0.16.080
 44. Jon Odriozola Mugarza (Spa) Banesto                      0.16.461
 45. Cristian Salvato (Ita) Team Polti                        0.16.473
 46. Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank                           0.16.960
 47. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Team Polti                         0.17.227
 48. Remco Van Der Ven (Ned) TVM-Farm Frites                  0.17.306
 49. Ivan Parra (Col) Vitalicio Seguros                       0.17.517
 50. Angel Casero (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros                     0.18.016
 51. Melchor Mauri (Spa) Sport Lisboa Benfica                 0.18.377
 52. Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) Cofidis                        0.18.396
 53. Cristian Moreni (Ita) Liquigas                           0.18.488
 54. Bram de Groot (Ned) Rabobank                             0.18.607
 55. Peter Luttenberger (Aut) ONCE-Deutsche Bank              0.19.564
 56. Joseba Beloki Dorronsoro (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi         0.19.641
 57. Jaime Hernandez Bertran (Spa) Lotus-Festina              0.20.076
 58. Roberto Laiseka Jaio (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi             0.20.366
 59. Frankie Andreu (USA) US Postal Service                   0.20.799
 60. Juan C. Vicario Barbera (Spa) Fuenlabrada                0.21.083
 61. Tyler Hamilton (USA) US Postal Service                   0.21.694
 62. Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step                       0.21.695
 63. Wladimir Belli (Ita) Lotus-Festina                       0.22.004
 64. Jan Boven (Ned) Rabobank                                 0.22.786
 65. Francisco Cabello Luque (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca         0.22.811
 66. Chris Peers (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                         0.22.835
 67. Stefano Zanini (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step                    0.23.017
 68. Nicola Miceli  (Ita) Liquigas                            0.23.189
 69. Gianni Faresin (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step                    0.23.421
 70. Robert Hunter (RSA) Lampre-Daikin                        0.23.502
 71. Simone Bertoletti (Ita) Lampre-Daikin                    0.23.683
 72. Manuel Fernandez Gines (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step            0.23.686
 73. Benoit Joachim (Lux) US Postal Service                   0.23.918
 74. Joona Laukka (Fin) Sport Lisboa Benfica                  0.23.927
 75. Arnoldas Saprykinas (Ltu) Riso Scotti-Vinavil            0.24.070
 76. Cesar Perez Padron  (Spa) Fuenlabrada                    0.24.116
 77. Andrei Kivilev (Kaz) Lotus-Festina                       0.24.117
 78. Roland  Meier (Swi) Cofidis                              0.24.459
 79. Geert van Bondt (Bel) TVM-Farm Frites                    0.24.571
 80. Kurt van de Wouwer (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                  0.24.592
 81. Paul van Hyfte (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                      0.24.594
 82. Jörg Jaksche  (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom                0.24.614
 83. Unai Etxebarria Arana (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi            0.24.716
 84. José L. Rubiera Vigil (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca           0.24.765
 85. José A. Garrido (Spa) Sport Lisboa Benfica               0.24.787
 86. Serguei Outchakov (Ukr) TVM-Farm Frites                  0.24.948
 87. Marcel Wüst (Ger) Lotus-Festina                          0.25.246
 88. Daniel Bayes (Spa) Sport Lisboa Benfica                  0.25.315
 89. Orlando Gomes Rodrigues (Por) Banesto                    0.25.459
 90. José M. Jimenez Sastre (Spa) Banesto                     0.25.668
 91. Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) Liquigas                             0.25.710
 92. Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale                    0.26.396
 93. Aitor Osa Eizaguirre (Spa) Banesto                       0.26.541
 94. Christophe Rinero (Fra) Cofidis                          0.26.574
 95. Andreas Klier (Ger) TVM-Farm Frites                      0.26.586
 96. Luis M. Sarreira (Por) Sport Lisboa Benfica              0.26.989
 97. Oscar Lopez Uriarte (Spa) Sport Lisboa Benfica           0.27.028
 98. José Uriarte Zubero (Spa) Lotus-Festina                  0.27.100
 99. Jan Svorada (Cze) Lampre-Daikin                          0.27.415
100. Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale                 0.27.580
101. Marco Milesi (Ita) Liquigas                              0.27.976
102. German Nieto Fernandez (Spa) Fuenlabrada                 0.28.115
103. Alessandro Pozzi (Ita) Costa Almeria-Amica Chips         0.28.145
104. Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Mapei-Quick Step                      0.28.451
105. Jo Planckaert (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                       0.28.562
106. José Uria Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca              0.28.660
107. Stefano Cattai (Ita) Team Polti                          0.28.907
108. Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale                0.29.114
109. David Garcia Marquina (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros            0.29.303
110. Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                      0.30.159
111. Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Riso Scotti-Vinavil              0.30.219
112. Matias Cagigas Amedo (Spa) Fuenlabrada                   0.30.514
113. Samuele Schiavina (Ita) Riso Scotti-Vinavil              0.30.815
114. Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Rabobank                           0.30.982
115. Dario Andriotto (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale                   0.31.071
116. Mariano Piccoli (Ita) Lampre-Daikin                      0.31.879
117. Quintino Fernandez Rodrigues (Por) Sport Lisboa Benfica  0.31.936
118. Alain Turicchia (Ita) Riso Scotti-Vinavil                0.32.039
119. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) Team Deutsche Telekom             0.32.669
120. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) Costa Almeria-Amica Chips       0.32.920
121. Pascal Hervé (Fra) Lotus-Festina                         0.32.933
122. Oscar Pozzi (Ita) Riso Scotti-Vinavil                    0.33.095
123. Mario Traversoni (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale                  0.33.272
124. David Plaza Romero (Spa) Sport Lisboa Benfica            0.33.610
125. Fernando Escartin (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca               0.34.733
126. Serguei Ivanov (Rus) TVM-Farm Frites                     0.34.992
127. Andrei Tchmil (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                       0.35.017
128. Andrei Teteriouk (Kaz) Liquigas                          0.35.100
129. Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) TVM-Farm Frites                  0.35.177
130. César Garcia Calvo (Spa) Fuenlabrada                     0.35.451
131. Fabian Jeker (Swi) Lotus-Festina                         0.35.922
132. Giuseppe Palumbo (Ita) Riso Scotti-Vinavil               0.35.977
133. Daniele Galli (Ita) Costa Almeria-Amica Chips            0.36.258
134. Marco Della Vedova (Ita) Lampre-Daikin                   0.36.669
135. Simone Zucchi (Ita) Team Polti                           0.36.913
136. José Joaquim Castelblanco (Col) Kelme-Costa Blanca       0.36.931
137. Alexandre Shefer (Kaz) Riso Scotti-Vinavil               0.37.280
138. Txema Del Olmo Zendegi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi           0.37.437
139. Andres Bermejo Siller (Spa) Fuenlabrada                  0.37.475
140. Igor Flores Galarza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi              0.37.815
141. José V. Garcia Acosta (Spa) Banesto                      0.38.413
142. Angel Edo Alsina (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                0.39.119
143. Endrio Leoni (Ita) Liquigas                              0.39.135
144. Roberto Heras Hernandez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca         0.39.527
145. Mikel Zarrabeitia Uranga (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank        0.39.577
146. Leonardo Guidi (Ita) Team Polti                          0.39.949
147. Massimo Codol (Ita) Lampre-Daikin                        0.40.770
148. Anthony Rokia (Fra) Cofidis                              0.40.948
149. Koen Beeckman (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                       0.41.288
150. Oscar Camenzind (Swi) Lampre-Daikin                      0.41.419
151. Angel Castresana Del Val (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi         0.41.671
152. Alberto Lopez de Munain (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi          0.41.848
153. Grzegorz Gwiazdowski (Pol) Cofidis                       0.42.067
154. Manuel Beltran Martinez (Spa) Banesto                    0.42.188
155. Rolf Aldag (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom                   0.42.287
156. Ramon Gonzalez Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi           0.42.526
157. Felix Garcia Casas (Spa) Lotus-Festina                   0.43.112
158. Marcus Zberg (Swi) Rabobank                              0.43.126
159. Alessio Bongioni (Ita) Riso Scotti-Vinavil               0.43.377
160. José Angel Vidal Martinez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca       0.44.034
161. Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Banesto                           0.44.621
162. Marco Gili (Ita) Costa Almeria-Amica Chips               0.44.846
163. Laurent Dufaux (Swi) Saeco-Cannondale                    0.44.877
164. Rodolfo Massi (Ita) Liquigas                             0.45.472
165. Fabio Roscioli (Ita) Costa Almeria-Amica Chips           0.45.597
166. Zbigniew Spruch (Pol) Lampre-Daikin                      0.45.681
167. Giancarlo Raimondi (Ita) Liquigas                        0.46.017
168. Santiago Blanco (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros                  0.46.605
169. Daniele De Paoli (Ita) Costa Almeria-Amica Chips         0.47.616
170. Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                0.48.853
171. Armin Meier (Swi) Saeco-Cannondale                       0.49.019
172. Carlos Golbano (Spa) Costa Almeria-Amica Chips           0.52.364
173. Dirk Baldinger (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom               0.52.726
174. Igor Pugaci (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale                       0.53.016
175. Eleuterio Anguita Hinojosa (Spa) Fuenlabrada             0.53.318
176. Inigo Chaurreau Bernadez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi         0.53.607
177. Marcos A. Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank     0.53.667
178. Daniele Contrini (Ita) Liquigas                          0.55.054
179. Stefano Casagranda (Ita) Costa Almeria-Amica Chips       0.55.806
180. Niki Aebersold (Swi) Rabobank                            0.58.778
181. Filippo Simeoni (Ita) Riso Scotti-Vinavil                1.00.153
182. Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team Deutsche Telekom            1.00.506
183. Gabriele Missaglia (Ita) Lampre-Daikin                   1.01.346
184. Dylan Casey (USA) US Postal Service                      1.02.165
185. Francesco Arazzi (Ita) Costa Almeria-Amica Chips         1.03.560
186. Daniel Atienza Urendeze (Spa) Team Polti                 1.04.219
187. Paolo Bettini (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step                     1.12.886
188. Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Cofidis                           1.19.976
189. Servais Knaven (Ned) TVM-Farm Frites                     1.52.083

Stage Preview:

The prologue will be run over a dead flat parcours and is a juxtaposition to the over-the-top mountain profiles that riders will face later in the month. The distance is 6 kms and the specialist time triallers are likely to battle out the right to wear the leader's jersey into stage 1. The clear favourites are Swiss rider Alex Zülle and Spaniard Abraham Olano.