List of teams and cyclists in the 2012 Vuelta a España
The 2012 Vuelta a España was the 67th edition of the Vuelta a España, one of the cycling's Grand Tours. The Vuelta a España features 198 riders competing from 22 cycling teams; the race took place from 18 August to 9 September, starting in Pamplona and finishing in Madrid.
2012 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21
In the peloton, 's Igor Antón initially attacked without chase, before Alejandro Valverde () forced an attack on his rivals, trying to get clear before he was closed down. De Weert was dropped by his two lead companions, while the overall leaders had managed to break out into a group of their own with Valverde, Alberto Contador () and Joaquim Rodríguez being paced by Rodríguez's 's team-mate Daniel Moreno. Their team-mate Menchov won the stage – 's fourth of the race – as he dropped Porte in the closing metres; six other members of the breakaway also crossed the line before the race contenders. Rodríguez was ninth on the stage, taking 25 seconds on Valverde – who was tenth – and he claimed back 44 seconds on Contador, who finished twelfth. In the general classification, Contador maintained his race lead, by a reduced margin of 1' 16", over Valverde, with Rodríguez another 21 seconds in arrears.The Vuelta concluded with the now-customary stage finish in the centre of Madrid. The stage had an easy start – with a long and gradual descent from the start town of Cercedilla – before ten high-speed laps of a circuit, followed by the sprint finish. In keeping with tradition, the final stage began at a slow pace, and was a largely ceremonial procession on the run into Madrid. Shortly after the riders reached the circuit in the centre of the city, an intermediate sprint was held at the first passage through the line; David Moncoutié of and 's Grischa Niermann were allowed to pass through before the main field, as a gesture, ahead of their respective retirements from the professional peloton. After that, the main break was initiated by six riders on the opening lap of the Madrid circuit. The group – consisting of pairing Sergio Carrasco and Javier Chacón, 's Kevin Seeldraeyers, Javier Aramendia of , Mikel Astarloza () and Sergey Lagutin for – were never allowed to gain more than half a minute in their exploits and were eventually caught with around remaining.