Vuelta a España records and statistics Vuelta a España records and statistics The Vuelta a España is an important cycling race (one of the grand tours). The first Vuelta a España was in 1935. As the Vuelta a España is a stage race, a classification based on times is calculated after every stage. The cyclist with the lowest time after a stage is the leader of the general classification after that stage. A jersey is given to that cyclist, which the cyclist wears during the next stage. From 1999 to 2009, this jersey had a golden color and was named the golden jersey. From 2010 onwards,
Points classification in the Vuelta a España stage and the rider with the most points wears the jersey. This system unlike the Tour de France & the Giro d'Italia, gives equal amount of points in the mountains compared to the flats, this paired with the high number of summit finishes at the Vuelta means there’s a correlation between the overall classification and the points jersey. A good example from 2012 when sprinter John Degenkolb won five stages but only finished fourth in the points competition with Alejandro Valverde well ahead. Points classification in the Vuelta a España The points classification in the Vuelta a España is a