The
2012 Vuelta a España started on 18 August 2012 and was the 67th edition of the race. The race began in
Pamplona with a team time trial and ended on 9 September, as traditional, in
Madrid. The 2012 edition saw the return of the Bola del Mundo mountain top finish. It was the venue of an exciting battle between winner
Vincenzo Nibali and runner-up
Ezequiel Mosquera in the
2010 edition. It was the first time since
1994 that the race visited the region of
Navarre. The previous time that Pamplona was visited by a Grand Tour in 1996, when the city hosted the finish of a memorable stage of the
1996 Tour de France. On that occasion, the race paid homage to
Miguel Indurain by passing through his home village of Villava en route.