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La Vuelta is always an awesome cycling event to watch. It is incredibly challenging, varied in terms of stage categories, and it always brings out the best in the world’s greatest cyclist. Of course, the 2023 La Vuelta promises to be no different, and this event is scheduled to begin on Sunday, August 26th. This is the official start day, yet before we reach the beginning of this fantastic event, I figured it would be nice to take a quick stroll through history.
Specifically, I figured now would be the perfect time to look at previous La Vuelta winners to remind ourselves of the true warriors that have managed to win this immense cycling event. Adding to that, since the 2023 La Vuelta tour is the 78th edition, there have clearly been a range of winners in the past. With nearly eight decades of history to look at, La Vuelta winners have come from all parts of the world, and some have become true legends of the sport.
So, exactly who are the La Vuelta winners that deserve recognition before the 78th edition unfolds? Well, keep reading to find out!
The most significant La Vuelta winners discussed
Contents
- 1 The most significant La Vuelta winners discussed
- 1.1 Roberto Heras – most La Vuelta wins
- 1.2 Angelino Soler – youngest of all La Vuelta winners
- 1.3 Chris Horner – oldest of all La Vuelta winners
- 1.4 Tony Rominger – the first man to complete consecutive La Vuelta hat-trick
- 1.5 Primoz Roglic – third and most recent man to complete consecutive La Vuelta hat-trick
Given the sheer difficulty of La Vuelta, it goes without saying that winning this event is a serious achievement. However, when we work our way through the La Vuelta winners below, you’ll see that there are several guys that have won this event multiple times. This is obviously remarkable, and each and every individual listed below deserves recognition for their achievements in this cycling event.
As for the reasons why these La Vuelta winners have made the list, well, I’ve run through such details for each of the riders below.
Roberto Heras – most La Vuelta wins
Although there are several guys that have won La Vuelta on multiple occasions, nobody has matched the achievements of Roberto Heras. Incredibly, this Spanish rider managed to win La Vuelta on four separate occasions. The first time he won the event was back in 2000, and in that particular year, La Vuelta covered close to 3,000 km in total. Of course, that was an immense challenge, and it opened the door for Heras to achieve even greater things.
After winning in 2000, Heras then failed to win the tour again until 2003. But this is where the legend was born, as Heras then went on to complete the second La Vuelta hat-trick in history, winning the tour again in 2004 and 2005. And with four La Vuelta wins in total, he stands alone with this record.
Angelino Soler – youngest of all La Vuelta winners
Before Roberto Heras achieved such incredible things in La Vuelta, the Spaniards already had a winner – the youngest winner of all time, in fact. As you can see, the rider that holds this record is Angelino Soler. He won La Vuelta in 1961 when he was just 21 years and 168 days old. To this day, he is still the youngest of all La Vuelta winners, and just to prove this wasn’t a fluke, he went on to win the Giro d’Italia in 1962.
Chris Horner – oldest of all La Vuelta winners
Switching the attention from the youngest winner to the oldest now, this award goes to Chris Horner. This American rider managed to win La Vuelta back in 2013. In that particular year, La Vuelta required riders to complete over 3,500 km on the bike to finish all stages. Compared with other years, that is a rather torturous distance, but the 41-year-old took it in his stride and won the tour while riding for RadioShack-Leopard. Or to be specific, he was 41 years and 328 days old when he officially won La Vuelta.
Tony Rominger – the first man to complete consecutive La Vuelta hat-trick
It goes without saying that winning an event like La Vuelta three times is nothing short of miraculous. Yet for some guys, winning it three times just isn’t enough – they have to win it three successive times to cement themselves as a legend of the event. And as you can see, while Roberto Heras was the second man to score a La Vuelta hat-trick, the first man to accomplish such a feat was Tony Rominger. The Swiss rider managed to complete this by winning La Vuelta in 1992, 1993, and 1994.
With this said, his 1994 victory was most impressive, as he won the tour by almost 7 minutes and 30 seconds.
Primoz Roglic – third and most recent man to complete consecutive La Vuelta hat-trick
I had to finish up this run-through of La Vuelta winners with a recent sensation. Primoz Roglic is the most recent man to complete a consecutive hat-trick of La Vuelta wins. He won La Vuelta in 2019, 2020, and 2021 while riding for Jumbo-Visma. Yet for me, the most exciting of these wins was in 2020, as it went right down to the wire and Roglic only won the tour by 24 seconds. And for those who are interested, Roglic is racing again in the 2023 La Vuelta.
You can even check out our La Vuelta odds and tips on Roglic before things begin too – if you wish!
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