Alberto Contador is the favourite to win this year’s Vuelta a Espana and restore domestic domination of the year’s last Grand Tour, which was won by riders from the former Soviet Union over the previous three years - Russia’s Denis Menchov (twice) and Kazakhstan’s Alexandre Vinokourov. Contador, winner of last year’s Tour de France and this year’s Giro d’Italia, would also become only the fifth rider in history to win all three Grand Tours with a victory on home soil, emulating cycling greats Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault. Having missed on defending his Tour de France crown because he joined the Astana team, which was banned from participating by race organisers because of its track record of doping, he is in a good position to become the first rider to win two Grand Tours in one year since Marco Pantani won the Giro and the Tour in 1998. His main rivals are expected to be fellow Spaniards Carlos Sastre (Team CSC), Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) and Oscar Freire (Rabobank). Denis Menshov, who chose to focus on the Tour de France this year, will not race to defend the title he won last year.