Sepp Kuss is the winner of the 2023 Vuelta Espana. He is the second American to win the race, after Chris Horner in 2013. Sepp finished ahead of his Team Jumbo-Visma teammate, Jonas Vingegaard (2nd) and Primoz Roglic (3rd).
Team Jumbo-Visma made history by becoming the first team to win all three Grand Tours (Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta Espana) in the same calendar year.
The Vuelta Espana (Tour of Spain) is the third Grand Tour of the year after the Giro d’Italia (May) and Tour de France (July) It’s held from late August to mid-September.
The Vuelta Espana is commonly known as the climber’s race as the route is littered with steep climbs, providing cycling fans plenty of entertainment. It’s also a race that provides the riders who failed to perform at the Tour de France the last chance to redeem themselves for the year.
A recent example is 3-times consecutive winner Primož Roglič. He finished second at the 2020 Tour de France and did not finish the 2021 edition. From there, he went on to redeem himself by winning the 2019, 2020, and 2021 Vuelta Espana.
Roberto Heras (Spain) has the most Vuelta Espana general classification wins with four (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005), followed by his fellow countryman Alberto Contador (2008, 2012, 2014), Primož Roglič (2019, 2020, 2021) and Swiss rider, Tony Rominger (1992, 1993, 1994).
Throughout its history since 1935, 62 different riders have won the general classification.
| Wins | Rider | Country | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Roberto Heras | Spain | 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005 |
| 3 | Primož Roglič | Slovenia | 2019, 2020, 2021 |
| 3 | Alberto Contador | Spain | 2008, 2012, 2014 |
| 3 | Tony Rominger | Switzerland | 1992, 1993, 1994 |
| 2 | Gustaaf Deloor | Belgium | 1935, 1936 |
| 2 | Bernard Hinault | France | 1978, 1983 |
| 2 | Denis Menchov | Russia | 2005, 2007 |
| 2 | José Manuel Fuente | Spain | 1972, 1974 |
| 2 | Julián Berrendero | Spain | 1941, 1942 |
| 2 | Pedro Delgado | Spain | 1985, 1989 |
| 2 | Alex Zülle | Switzerland | 1996, 1997 |
| 2 | Chris Froome | United Kingdom | 2011, 2017 |
| 1 | Sepp Kuss | United States | 2023 |
| 1 | Remco Evenepoel | Belgium | 2022 |
| 1 | Simon Yates | United Kingdom | 2018 |
| 1 | Nairo Quintana | Colombia | 2016 |
| 1 | Fabio Aru | Italy | 2015 |
| 1 | Chris Horner | United States | 2013 |
| 1 | Vincenzo Nibali | Italy | 2010 |
| 1 | Alejandro Valverde | Spain | 2009 |
| 1 | Alexander Vinokourov | Kazakhstan | 2006 |
| 1 | Aitor González | Spain | 2002 |
| 1 | Ángel Casero | Spain | 2001 |
| 1 | Jan Ullrich | Germany | 1999 |
| 1 | Abraham Olano | Spain | 1998 |
| 1 | Laurent Jalabert | France | 1995 |
| 1 | Melchior Mauri | Spain | 1991 |
| 1 | Marco Giovannetti | Italy | 1990 |
| 1 | Sean Kelly | Ireland | 1988 |
| 1 | Luis Herrera | Colombia | 1987 |
| 1 | Álvaro Pino | Spain | 1986 |
| 1 | Eric Caritoux | France | 1984 |
| 1 | Marino Lejarreta | Spain | 1982 |
| 1 | Giovanni Battaglin | Italy | 1981 |
| 1 | Faustino Rupérez | Spain | 1980 |
| 1 | Joop Zoetemelk | Netherlands | 1979 |
| 1 | Freddy Maertens | Belgium | 1977 |
| 1 | José Pesarrodona | Spain | 1976 |
| 1 | Agustín Tamames | Spain | 1975 |
| 1 | Eddy Merckx | Belgium | 1973 |
| 1 | Ferdinand Bracke | Belgium | 1971 |
| 1 | Luis Ocaña | Spain | 1970 |
| 1 | Roger Pingeon | France | 1969 |
| 1 | Felice Gimondi | Italy | 1968 |
| 1 | Jan Janssen | Netherlands | 1967 |
| 1 | Francisco Gabica | Spain | 1966 |
| 1 | Rolf Wolfshohl | Germany | 1965 |
| 1 | Raymond Poulidor | France | 1964 |
| 1 | Jacques Anquetil | France | 1963 |
| 1 | Rudi Altig | Germany | 1962 |
| 1 | Angelino Soler | Spain | 1961 |
| 1 | Franz De Mulder | Belgium | 1960 |
| 1 | Antonio Suárez | Spain | 1959 |
| 1 | Jean Stablinski | France | 1958 |
| 1 | Jesús Loroño | Spain | 1957 |
| 1 | Angelo Conterno | Italy | 1956 |
| 1 | Jean Dotto | France | 1955 |
| 1 | Emilio Rodriguez | Spain | 1950 |
| 1 | Bernardo Ruiz | Spain | 1948 |
| 1 | Edouard Van Dyck | Belgium | 1947 |
| 1 | Dalmacio Langarica | Spain | 1946 |
| 1 | Delio Rodriguez | Spain | 1945 |
General Classification wins by nationality
14 different rider nationalities have won the Vuelta Espana general classification.
- Spanish riders are by far the most successful for general classification wins. 24 different riders have won 32 editions from 1935 to 2021. The first Spanish winner was Julián Berrendero in 1941, and the last winner was Alberto Contador in 2014.
- Eight French riders won nine editions. The last French winner was Eric Caritoux in 1984.
- Seven Belgian riders won seven editions. The last Belgian winner was Remco Evenepoel in 2022.
- Six Italian riders won six editions. The last Italian winner was Fabio Aru in 2015.
| Country | Riders | Wins | Last winner | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 24 | 32 | Alberto Contador | 2014 |
| France | 8 | 9 | Eric Caritoux | 1984 |
| Belgium | 7 | 8 | Remco Evenepoel | 2022 |
| Italy | 6 | 6 | Fabio Aru | 2015 |
| Switzerland | 2 | 5 | Alex Zülle | 1997 |
| Germany | 3 | 3 | Jan Ullrich | 1999 |
| Slovenia | 1 | 3 | Primož Roglič | 2021 |
| United Kingdom | 2 | 3 | Simon Yates | 2018 |
| Colombia | 2 | 2 | Nairo Quintana | 2016 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 2 | Joop Zoetemelk | 1979 |
| Russia | 1 | 2 | Denis Menchov | 2007 |
| Ireland | 1 | 1 | Sean Kelly | 1988 |
| Kazakhstan | 1 | 1 | Alexander Vinokourov | 2006 |
| United States | 2 | 2 | Sepp Kuss | 2023 |
Alex Lee is the founder and editor-at-large of Mr. Mamil. Coming from a professional engineering background, he breaks down technical cycling nuances into an easy-to-understand and digestible format here.
He has been riding road bikes actively for the past 12 years and started racing competitively in the senior category during the summer recently.