Cycling is a mode of transport in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

with 20% of the people listing the bicycle as their mode of transport, though some Spanish cities as

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

Vitoria Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória ( ...

and

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

well exceed that with 45%. There is some

cycling infrastructure Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...

such as

cycle path A bike path or a cycle path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "C ...

cycle track A cycle track or cycleway (''British'') or bikeway (''mainly North American''), sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath, is a separate route for cycles and not motor vehicles. In some cases cycle tracks are also used by other users such ...

protected intersection A protected intersection or protected junction, also known as a Dutch-style junction, is a type of intersection (road), at-grade road junction in which cycling, cyclists and pedestrians are separated from cars. The primary aim of junction protecti ...

s, and

bicycle parking Bicycle parking is part of the cycling infrastructure of a populated place allowing for the storage of bicycles when they are not being used. Parking facilities for bicycles include racks, lockers, parking stations, and covered areas. Bicycle ...

, but lacks cycle paths in regional and, mainly, national roads. On the other hand, in an overview about the traffic, Spain had 8.1 deaths in annual number of deaths from injuries (unintentional and intentional) among 1 to 14-year-old children during 1991–95, expressed per 100,000 children in the age group. A '' Plan Estratégico Estatal de la Bicicleta'' (State Strategy Plan of the Bicycle) has been planned, but only two of the more than forty measures have been approved from the reform of the '' Reglamento General de Circulación'' (National Road Rules).

List of cycleways

* TransAndalus * 1800 km of public

greenways Greenway or Greenways may refer to: * Greenway (landscape), a linear park focused on a trail or bike path * Another term for bicycle boulevards in some jurisdictions * European Greenways Association, an association for sustainable transport Peopl ...

on former railway routes throughout Spain * TransCAM - Trans-Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid

Sport

Cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

has been an important sport in Spain since the 1940s. The

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

(Spanish for "Tour of Spain") is one of the most important cycling events in the world, together with the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

(French for "Tour of France") and

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

(Italian for "Tour of Italy") racing tournaments. Several Spanish cycling athletes have won the Tour de France, including

Federico Bahamontes Federico Martín Bahamontes, born Alejandro Martín Bahamontes (; 9 July 1928 – 8 August 2023), was a Spanish professional road racing cyclist. He won the 1959 Tour de France and a total of 11 Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tour stages between 1 ...

Luis Ocaña Jesús Luis Ocaña Pernía (; 9 June 1945 – 19 May 1994) was a Spanish road bicycle racer who won the 1973 Tour de France and the 1970 Vuelta a España. During the 1971 Tour de France he launched an amazing solo breakaway that put him ...

Pedro Delgado Pedro Delgado Robledo (; born 15 April 1960), also known as Perico (), is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 1988 Tour de France, as well as the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989. He finished in the top 10 of eighteen ...

Óscar Pereiro Óscar Pereiro Sío (; born 3 August 1977) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. Pereiro was declared the winner of the 2006 Tour de France, after the original winner Floyd Landis was disqualified for failing a Doping (sport), do ...

Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice (2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the Vuelta ...

, and

Carlos Sastre Carlos Sastre Candil (; born 22 April 1975) is a former Spanish professional road bicycle racer and winner of the 2008 Tour de France. He consistently achieved outstanding results in the Vuelta a España and in the Tour de France. Sastre establis ...

. The most successful Spanish cyclist is

Miguel Indurain --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disam ...

. He won the Tour de France in five consecutive years between 1991 and 1995. He also won the

in two consecutive years (

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

), the 1995 Road World Championship time trial and the gold medal in the 1996 Olympic time trial. More recently, in 2008, Sastre became the seventh and third consecutive Spaniard to win the Tour de France, then followed by Contador winning his second tour in 2009's edition. Contador was thought to have repeated his win in 2010 but the day before Stage 17, the queen stage finishing with atop the

Col du Tourmalet Col du Tourmalet (; elevation ) is one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds ...

, Contador tested positive for performance-enhancing substance

Clenbuterol Clenbuterol is a sympathomimetic amine used by sufferers of breathing disorders as a decongestant and bronchodilator. People with chronic breathing disorders such as asthma use this as a bronchodilator to make breathing easier. It is most comm ...

, although he claimed it was a result of consuming contaminated beef and in January 2012, the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

ruled him guilty and gave him a two-year ban backdated from July 21, 2010 and had all his results achieved after July 21 erased, including victory in the

2010 Giro d'Italia The 2010 Giro d'Italia was the 93rd edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. The race started off in Amsterdam on 8 May and stayed in the Netherlands for three stages, before leaving the country. The ...

and a 5th-place finish and most aggressive rider award for stage 19 at the

2011 Tour de France The 2011 Tour de France was the 98th edition of Tour de France, the race. It started on 2 July at the Passage du Gois and ended on the Champs-Élysées stage in the Tour de France, Champs-Élysées in Paris on 24 July. The cyclists competed in 2 ...

. Since returning from the ban, Contador has won the Vuelta twice, in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Óscar Freire Óscar Freire Gómez (born 15 February 1976) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He was one of the top sprinters in road bicycle racing, having won the world championship three times, equalling Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbe ...

shares the distinction of being one of four men to win the World Road Racing Championship three times, as well as being a three-time winner of one of the most prestigious one-day classic cycle races, the

Milan–San Remo Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...

Abraham Olano Abraham Olano Manzano (born 22 January 1970) is a Spanish retired professional road racing cyclist, who raced as a professional from 1992 to 2002. He won the UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, World Road Championship in 1995 UCI ...

won the

in 1998, and is the only man to win World Championships in both the road race (1995) and time trial (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

). Spain has also produced some notable mountain bikers like

José Antonio Hermida José Antonio Hermida Ramos (born August 24, 1978 in Puigcerdà, Girona) is a Spanish Bicycle racing, cyclist of Catalonia (Spain), Catalan origin specializing in competitive mountain bike, mountain biking. He won the silver medal at the 2004 Su ...

and track racers like olimpic medalists

Joan Llaneras Joan Llaneras Rosselló (born 17 May 1969 in Porreres, Majorca) is a former Spanish World and Olympic points race champion track cyclist. He specialises in the madison and points race events. Llaneras began his cycling career on the road wit ...

José Manuel Moreno Periñán José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

José Antonio Escuredo José Antonio Escuredo Raimondez (born 19 January 1970 in Girona) is a former Spanish racing cyclist, specialising in track cycling. He has won three silver and one bronze world championship medals and a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. ...

or Sergi Escobar as well as multi-world champion

Guillermo Timoner Guillermo Timoner Obrador (24 March 1926 – 17 August 2023) was a Spanish cyclist. With six gold and two silver medals won in the UCI Motor-paced World Championships between 1955 and 1965 he is one of the most successful motor-paced racers of ...

References

External links

ConBici

Con Alforjas

* . Bike with locals {{Cycling in different countries and cities

List of cycleways

Sport

See also

References

External links