Tour of Spain cycling race has Dutch beginning

MADRID, Aug. 28 -- The 2009 Vuelta del Espana (Tour of Spain) cycling race gets off to a rather untypical start in the Dutch town of Assen on Saturday.

The three-week long race, which is behind only the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia in importance in the racing calendar, will spend four days racing in Holland and Belgium before the 12 teams and 120 riders fly to Spain for the fifth stage.

The first stage is a short time trial on the motor racing circuit of Assen, which should have little bearing on who is finally crowned winner in Madrid on September 20.

Although last year's winner, Alberto Contador, is not racing after winning this year's Tour de France, the Vuelta still has enough competitors to make for some very interesting racing.

Alejandro Valverde was not able to ride this year's Tour de France after Italian authorities banned him for his suspected involvement in the Operation Puerto, doping scandal.

However, Valverde faces no such problems in Spain and will be one of the favorites for the podium. Valverde can count on a strong Casse D'Espargne team for support and although he is not the strongest in the high mountains, his all round ability is impressive.

The 2008 Olympic road race Gold Medal winner Samuel Sanchez is also among the favorites. Sanchez misses this year's Tour to prepare for the Vuelta and his Euskaltel-Euskadi team is always powerful in the mountains, which form a key feature of the Spanish race.

The Schleck brothers Frank and Andy both ride with the Saxo Bank team after impressive Tours. Frank finished sixth and Andy was runner up to Contador. Under normal circumstances they would be among the favorites, but it remains to see how competitive the yare after their three weeks racing in France.

Both could decide to target specific stage wins rather than race for the overall classification.

Likewise Silence-Lotto rider Cadel Evans may look to win in Spain to make up for his disappointment in France. The man who finished second in the previous two Tours was well down the field this year after suffering a lack of support from his team, especially in the team time trial.

Christian Vandevelde could also launch a surprise challenge for the overall title, especially as he has now recovered from the back problems that hampered him the tour. He will be ably supported by David Millar, a rider who is always a threat in time trial stages.

It will also be interesting to see the performances of disgraced duo Ivan Basso and Alexander Vinokourov. Basso started racing again earlier in the year after serving a two year ban for blood doping, while Vinokourov has just returned after testing positive in the 2007 Tour de France.

Meanwhile sprinters of the quality of reigning World Champions Alessando Ballan, Tom Boonen and Tyler Farrar should all challenge for the points jersey.

With one of the strongest fields in several years, this promises to be one of the most interesting Vueltas in recent years.