2001 Vuelta a España to take third and become the first American ever to achieve a podium finish in the Vuelta. Additionally, Guido Trenti became the first American ever to win a stage in the race. A total of 21 teams were invited to participate in the 2001 Vuelta a España. Fifteen of the competing squads were UCI Division I teams, while the other six teams were UCI Division II. Mercury–Viatel, who were previously scheduled to ride, didn't start. Each team sent a squad of nine riders, so the Vuelta began with a peloton of 189 cyclists, a total of 139 riders made it
Vuelta a España competition resumed, although again with few foreign competitors in the peloton. On this occasion, Delio Rodriguez took the final victory. That year also introduced the points classification, but this was not stable until 1955. Four editions were run until 1950. Subsequently, there was no Vuelta until 1955, when it was organized by the Basque newspaper "El Correo Español-El Pueblo Vasco". Since then, the Vuelta a España has been run annually. At this time, the Vuelta was run routinely in April and May, while previously it was held variably between April and August. Another difference was the number of participants. Previously,