Vuelta a España overall victory by more than three minutes over the Spanish cyclists Carlos Sastre and Samuel Sánchez. In June 2008, French company Amaury Sport Organisation, who organize the Tour de France, announced it had bought 49% of Unipublic. In 2008, the winner was the Spaniard Alberto Contador, who also won that year's Giro d'Italia, and became the first Spaniard to win all three Grand Tours. In 2009, the Vuelta began in Drenthe, Netherlands, continuing through Belgium and Germany. The final winner was Alejandro Valverde, who adopted a conservative stance without winning any stage and sprinting in the final meters to achieve
2015 Vuelta a Andalucía Vuelta a Andalucía is a traditional early season race. Many riders in the modern peloton, however, choose to start their seasons in the Middle East rather than in Europe (the 2015 Tour of Oman ran at the same time). In 2015, these included Alejandro Valverde (), who had won the Vuelta a Andalucía in 2012, 2013 and 2014, so he was not present to defend his title. The Vuelta a Andalucía is particularly notable for its difficult, mountainous terrain. The 2015 edition, however, also featured an Individual time trial on the first day. The mountains were particularly difficult, with a