Delio Rodríguez

Who was Delio Rodríguez?

Delio Rodríguez Barros was a Spanish professional road racing cyclist and sprinter. Despite winning 12 stages at the 1941 Vuelta and 8 stages at the 1942 Vuelta, Rodríguez failed to make the top five places in the overall standings. Due to World War II, the event was not held in 1943 and 1944, but Rodríguez wanted to win the 1945 event, which he did by going on an early breakaway and winning stage 2 by over a half-hour. In the end, Delio won the event by over 30 minutes, captured six stages and the points classification, too. At the 1947 Vuelta, he finished on the podium in third, and finished with eight stage wins.

Rodríguez is the all-time record holder for stage wins at the Vuelta a España with 39 stage wins conducted over 5 events. Rodríguez had two younger brothers, Emilio and Manolo that were also professional cyclists. Emilio won the overall race while Manolo came second in the 1950 Vuelta a España.