Road: Astana in the Vuelta Stage 3

Stage 3

This incredibly hot 168.6km stage took the peloton from Jaen to Corboda in the south of Spain. Boonen (Quickstep) came back to winning form after his cocaine scandal earlier in the year and took the stage while Bennati (Liquigas) grabbed the yellow jersey and sits atop the GC.

GC after stage three sees Astana member Contador in 37th place, followed in quick succession by Leipheimer, Rubiera, Kloden and Moreira all 34 seconds behind race leader Daniele Bennati who is on 8.56.27.

Stage 2

Day 2 was a 176 km road stage that departed from Granada and finished 4 hours and 23 minutes later with Valverde sprinting accross the line in Jaen.

Contador finished in 20th place in a pack just 2 seconds behind stage winner Alejandro Valverde.

Stage 1

The 63rd Vuelta a Espana kicked off on Saturday with a 7.7km Team Time Trial through the Technology Park of Health in Granada in the south of Spain.

Team Astana put in a solid performance finishing 9th overall and 14 seconds behind eventual stage winners Team Liquigas who stormed the course in 8 minutes 21 seconds with a 55.33km/h average.

Not much for Contador and the gang to worry about for the time being, their tactics will be that of a slow burner after having not competed in the Tour. The final week should see Astana show it's fitness and attack those tired from a busy Summer season.

Should Contador be wearing that jersey oro in Madrid in 3 weeks time, he will join legends such as Anquetil, Merckx, Gimondi and Hinault as winners of all three Grand Tours. Another incentive for the young Spaniard is that by winning the Vuelta he would also be setting a new 14 month record timeframe for the Grand Tour hat-trick previously held by Hinault.

Stay tuned, this could get interesting...