| |
By Barry Boyce, CyclingRevealed Historian
|
|
We Lost the Vuelta but Found a Champion
The 1969 Vuelta a Espana witnessed the beginning of a grand professional career of Luis Ocana. The rider from Cuenca finished second place in the 1969 General Classification, but the effort evoked memories of the great Federico Bahamontes. Spaniards had found a new International Champion.
The race started with a split stage 1. A short 6.4 km individual time trial was designed to establish a clear race leader and Amarillo Jersey wearer. After two great effort the race was tied at 7'41” and two, Luis Ocaña and Carlos Gomes del Moral, race leaders were declared. The issue was decided on the second race of the day, stage 1b, when Michael Wright of Great Britain won the stage and moved into the Amarillo Jersey.
SPECIAL NOTE - sadly co-leader on stage 1a Carlos Gomes del Moral abandoned upon news of the death of him mother and father on the same weekend.
Ocana (L) and Pingeon (R) alone off the front on Stage 12
A brutal stage 12 featured five major climbs and 151 kms of racing. One by one the mountain passes clicked off and the peloton dwindled. The war of attrition found Roger Pingeon and Luis Ocana alone with 20 km to go. Through rain, snow, and cold wind Pingeon opened a gap on Ocana. At the finish in Moya Pingeon had a 3'27” lead on Ocana and the Amarillo Jersey was his.
The valiant Spaniard mounted his comeback on the two remaining individual time trials. He won the first on Stage 16 and gained 1'14” with time bonuses. The final stage into Bilboa, a 29 km ITT, saw Ocana win the stage again, but trailing in the GC by 3'48” going into the stage, he came up 1'54” short of the 1969 Vuelta winner Roger Pingeon.
SPECIAL NOTE: The Frenchman was the winner but Luis Ocaña captured the attention of Spain. His aggressive attacking style kept Spanish fans glued to the daily results. Spain had found a new Champion.
Stage and Distance |
Stage Winner |
Race Leader |
Stage 1a Badajoz-Badajoz, 6.5 km ITT |
Ocana (Spa) & Gomez-Moral (Spa) |
Luis Ocana (Spa) |
Stage 1b Badajoz-Badajoz, 246 km |
Michael Wright (GBr) |
Michael Wright (GBr) |
Stage 2 Badajoz-Caceres, 135 km |
Felice Salina (Ita) |
Michael Wright (GBr) |
Stage 3 Caceres-Talavera de la Reina, 190 km |
Luigi Sgarbozza (Ita) |
Luigi Sgarbozza (Ita) |
Stage 4 Talavera de la Reina-Madrid, 124 km |
Domingo Perurena (Spa) |
Luigi Sgarbozza (Ita) |
Stage 5 Madrid-Alcazar de San Juan , 162 km |
Raymond Steegmans (Bel) |
Luigi Sgarbozza (Ita) |
Stage 6 Alcazar San Juan-Almansa, 231 km |
Edouard Sels (Bel) |
Raymond Steegmans (Bel) |
Stage 7 Almansa-Nules, 233 km |
Ramon Saez (Spa) |
Raymond Steegmans (Bel) |
Stage 8 Nules-Benicasim, 199 km |
Ramon Saez (Spa) |
Raymond Steegmans (Bel) |
Stage 9 Benicasim-Reus, 169 km |
J-M Lopez-Rodriguez (Spa) |
Ramon Saez (Spa) |
Stage 10 Reus-Barcelona, 146 km |
Manuel Martin-Pinera (Spa) |
Ramon Saez (Spa) |
Stg 11 Barcelona-San Feliu de Guixols, 118 km |
Nemesio Jimenez (Spa) |
Ramon Saez (Spa) |
Stage 12 San Feliu-Moya, 151 km |
Roger Pingeon (Fra) |
Roger Pingeon (Fra) |
Stage 13 Moya-Barbastro, 229 km |
Michael Wright (GBr) |
Roger Pingeon (Fra) |
Stage 14a Barbastro-Zaragoza, 125 km |
Raymond Steegmans (Bel) |
Roger Pingeon (Fra) |
Stage 14b Zaragoza-Zaragoza, 4 km ITT |
Roger Pingeon (Fra) |
Roger Pingeon (Fra) |
Stage 15 Zaragoza-Pamplona, 176 km |
Mariano Diaz (Spa) |
Roger Pingeon (Fra) |
Stage 16 Irun-San Sebastian, 25 km ITT |
Luis Ocana (Spa) |
Roger Pingeon (Fra) |
Stage 17 San Sebastian-Vitoria, 129 km |
Gregorio San Miguel (Spa) |
Roger Pingeon (Fra) |
Stage 18a Vitoria-Llodio, 76 km |
Ercole Gualazzini (Ita) |
Roger Pingeon (Fra) |
Stage 18b Llodio-Bilbao, 29 km ITT |
Luis Ocana (Spa) |
 Roger Pingeon (Fra) |
| |
BEST CLIMBER PRIZE |
 Luis Ocana (Spa) |
| |
POINTS COMPETITION |
 Raymond Steegmans (Bel) |
| VaE April 23 - May 11, 1969 |
| 2,903.5 km |
1.
Roger PINGEON (Fra) 73h18'45" |
2.
Luis Ocana (Spa) +1'54" |
3.
Marinus Wagtmans (Ned) +5'10" |
Starters: 100 |
Finishers: 68 |
Average Speed: 39.611 km/h |
VaE 1968
VaE 1970
Return
to the Timeline ToC
Return
to the Race Snippets |
|
24th Vuelta a Espana 1969
