Update: Sept. 3 — Leipheimer leads Vuelta a Espana after Stage 5
Wouldn't it be cool if the Vuelta a Espana boiled down to a mano a mano contest between Carlos Sastre, winner of this year's Tour de France, and Alberto Contador, the 2007 Tour winner who was unable to defend his title in 2008?
After winning in the Tour de France in 2007, Contador and others on Team Astana were disappointed to learn they had been uninvited to the Tour de France. The team channeled its anger into winning the three-week Giro d'Italia.
Now the Vuelta a Espana has released the rosters for this year's three week race, rolling out Aug. 30 through Sept. 21. Sastre's Team CSC and Contador's Astana team will both be racing.
Denis Menchov, winner of the Vuelta in 2007, won't be racing this year.
Let Levi Ride
Of course there are 19 teams and 171 riders starting in the race around Spain, so it seems unlikely that the race could narrow to two main contestants. But Sastre and Contador both do have something to prove.
The lone cyclist from the United States will be Levi Leipheimer. Most US cyclists are focused on the USA Cycling Pro Championships in time trial and road race this Saturday and Sunday in Greenville, South Carolina. The Tour of Missouri follows Sept. 8-14.
The rosters for 19 teams in this year's Vuelta is online at VeloNews.
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