September 24, 2002 – Santiago Botero has won the 16th stage of the Vuelta a España. The 29 year-old Colombian of the Kelme team beat Spaniard Luis Pérez in the sprint. Today's victory is Botero's first stage win in this Vuelta and the third of his career. Last year Botero had already won two stages in the Vuelta.

For Botero it is already the fifth big win of the season. Earlier this year, Botero won the Classique des Alpes, a stage in the Dauphiné Libéré and two major stages in the Tour de France.

Today's stage led the peloton from Avilés to Léon over a distance of 154.7 kilometres. The major obstacle was the ascend of the Parajes, a climb of the 1st category. Out of the twelve cyclists that had broken away from the pack, five stayed in front. With just a few klilometres to go, Botero and Perez left Osa, Plaza and Gutiérrez to compete for the win. Gutierréz won the sprint for third place five seconds behind. Although the pack had a deficit of almost nine minutes, Roberto Heras kept the overall lead.

Stage 16 : Avilés – León, 154.7 km

1. Santiago Botero (Col) Kelme-Costa Blanca 3.32.07 (43.76km/h)
2. Luis Perez (Spa) Team Coast
3. José Gutierrez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 0.05
4. Aitor Osa (Spa) iBanesto.com
5. David Plaza (Spa) Team Coast
6. Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Telekom 8.58
7. M.A. Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo
8. Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Saeco-Longoni Sport
9. Carlos Torrent (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria
10. Mikel Artetxe (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi

Overall:

1. Roberto Heras (Spa) US Postal Service 58.55.13
2. Aitor Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 0.35
3. Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 1.08
4. Joseba Beloki (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 1.57
5. Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2.16
6. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 3.56
7. Félix Garcia Casas (Spa) Bigmat.Auber 93 4.05
8. Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 4.55
9. Manuel Beltran (Spa) Team Coast 5.20
10. Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 5.26