Cordero: "The Vuelta will be the Tour"

Two days before the start of the Vuelta a España, Race Director Víctor Cordero gave his expectations. "This year the Vuelta will be the Tour. It will have the best participation of all three Grand Tours," he said to El Mundo Deportivo.

"There is an enormous interest in the fight between [Alberto] Contador, [Carlos] Sastre and [Alejandro] Valverde, the major favourites. But there is also attention of [Igor] Antón's progress, for example. And we can't forget Italian Damiano Cunego," said Cordero.

Cordero is pleased with the 2008 parcours. "In 2007, we had certain issues, mainly with the time trial of the first week, which almost sealed the general classification. This year the field is at the same level, and the Angliru adds an important factor for the race."

This year, the Vuelta and the Tour de France as French organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) are linked. ASO is the co-owner of the Vuelta, with a share of 49%. "This Vuelta will be unique, and only to the merit or demerit of [Spanish organiser] Unipublic. For the moment, ASO only helped us with global broadcasting. From next year on, there will become noticeable aspects..." (MP)