2008 Vuelta a España 2008 Vuelta a España The 2008 Vuelta a España was the 63rd edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The race began with a team time trial on 30 August in Granada. The Vuelta came to a close twenty-three days later with a flat stage, which brought the peloton into the streets of Madrid. Nineteen teams entered the race, which was won by the Spaniard Alberto Contador of . Second and third respectively were the American Levi Leipheimer of and the Spanish Carlos Sastre of . Alberto Contador first gained the race lead after the race's
2008 Vuelta a España as mountain stages, while two stages were deemed intermediate stages. Ten of the stages were designated as flat stages, which meant that they were primarily flat but could contain a climb or two of a lesser category. "For details, see 2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11 and 2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21." The 2008 Vuelta a España began with a short team time trial in Granada, a traditional city in the history of the Vuelta, having hosted a stage start or finish 39 previous times. Though Astana and Team CSC Saxo Bank were