to VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the second stage of the 2008 Vuelta a Espana, a 167.3-kilometer race from Granada to Jaen.

Today's stage offers the first climber's points of the 2008 Vuelta, a Category 3 ride up the Alto de Las Encebras, which tops out at the 46km mark. The climb is small enough and early enough so as it is unlikely to make a big impact on today's stage. It will, however, offer a chance for a rider to grab the first KOM jersey of the race. There are two intermediate sprints - at Jaen (122km) and La Guardia (148km).

Today's stage began at 1:30 today, with early attacks coming soon after the end of the neutral zone. By the seven kilometer mark, four riders established a gap, with Jesus Rosendo Prado (Andalucia-Caja Sur), Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Cyril Lemoine (Credit Agricole) and Mikhail Ignatiev (Tinkoff) making the cut.

The three are now at the 37km mark, with a lead of more than 3:00 on the main field.

Jaen is hosting its fifth stage finish in Vuelta history, although it's recently been semi-host to mountain stages finishing nearby. Today's lone rated climb, with the Cat. 3 Alto de Huelma, will crown the first best climber's jersey of this year's Vuelta. The stage finishes on an interesting 24km circuit, featuring some tough, unrated climbs that will surely put the riders to the test. The final 3km kilometers rise and could be a little too tough for the pure sprinters, though the likes of Zabel and Freire might be able to stay in contention. That opens the door for Pozzato, Valverde, Rebellin, Cunego and Schumacher to snag a stage, and perhaps take the jersey away from Pozzato.

Carlos Sastre was satisfied that the Vuelta is finally underway: "We've finally started the Vuelta after two intense days of anticipation. The truth is I was anxious to start racing to test my sensation. Even though the team time trial was short, the conclusions that I can draw are positive. The team was very motivated and excited to race, and except for a few small errors, we are satisfied with how the race went. The ambiance in Granada was extraordinary and I spent a lot of time signing autographs and posing for pictures. Even though it was impossible to meet with everyone, I'd like to thank all the fans who showed up and offered me their affection. I will try not to disappoint them."

the four leaders are now 3:10 ahead of the main field.

the heading on top of the Live Update window notes that today's stage is 267km. We know that is in error and are working to fix the typo. As a reminder, today's stage is precisely 167.3km, more in keeping with the civilized distances and start times that mark the season's final grand tour.

is the only rider in the break to have won a stage at the Vuelta. The Euskaltel rider earned that distinction in the 11th stage of the 2006 edition of this race, the year he also won the KOM jersey. Is he in the hunt for that again this year?

Euskaltel boss Igor González de Galdeano was happy with the team's second place: "For a team like Euskaltel, to finish second in a team time trial tastes like victory. We cannot forget that previous efforts weren't so great and we knew that we had a lot of work to do. Even finishing in the top 10 seemed like an impossible barrier to overcome. In Granada, we were rewarded for the hard work we've put in. To finish second ahead of some big teams gives us extra motivation going into the Vuelta."

Assuming that the field reforms on the way to the finish, it may be worth watch how Erik Zabel does today.

Zabel is starting his ninth Vuelta and looking for his ninth stage victory. Zabel, racing in what's likely his final season, has won the "regularidad," or points jersey, three times. Here's a quick look at Zabel's Vuelta history:

1995 – DNF
2001 – 3 stages (Valladolid, Leon, Gijon)
2002 – Regularidad
2003 – 2 stages (Sabadell, Cuenca), Regularidad
2004 – Regularidad
2005 - No stage wins
2006 – 2 stages (Caceres, Madrid)
2007 – 1 stage (Logrono)

is setting tempo in the main field. The race leader's team is intent upon protecting the overall lead of Filippo Pozzato, who could emerge as a rider to watch today. He's never won a stage at the Vuelta, but he does have two Tour wins to his credit (2004 and 2007). You might also recall his wins at Tirreno-Adriatico (2003), the HEW Cyclassics (2005), Milan-San Remo (2006) and Het Volk (2007).

Caisse d'Epargne sport director Eusebio Unzue said his team rode a smart team time trial yesterday.

"We rode prudently in the team time trial because the course didn't invite taking excessive risks. The overall performance of the team was pretty good, but the riders of Liquigas were clearly better and we consider our third place a good result. For us, to be a little bit ahead of the favorites is a motivation to be content, even though we know that these seconds are not going to have much importance as we move ahead in the race."

There has been an alteration in today's route, meaning that our riders will not ride the third-category Alto de las Enebras at 46km. The route will, instead, take them over the Puerto de Huelma (at 84km), which is also a Cat. 3. The changes also mean that the day's route will actually be 176km in length.

The finish of today's stage has been changed as well. The two 25km laps at Jaen have been replaced by a longer single loop. The finish will sitll be tough with a 2km/4-percent ascent, followed by a 300-meter drop and then a final 800 meters of 5 percent to the line.

our four leaders have an advantage of 3:20.

If you have a comment or a question or even a complaint, drop us a line by hitting the "contact our editors" link below the Live Update Window. We'll read them all, answer as many as we can and even post a few along the way today.

The leaders are still holding a lead of 3:20.

is ramping up the pace a bit. Our four escapees - Jesus Rosendo (Andalucia-Cajasur), Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel), Cyril Lemoine (Credit-Agricole) and Mikhail Ignatiev (Tinkoff) - are now 2:45 ahead of the main field.

Astana's Andreas Kloden, second in the Tour de France in both 2004 and 2006, announced Sunday he will not race for his country again because of his non-selection for the Beijing Olympic Games.

"I have already announced my decision to the German Cycling Federation (BDR) that I will not be available to represent them again," Kloden said on his website. "Until today, the reasons of my non-selection (for Beijing) were not given to me.

"Unfortunately, I read in the press the federation's chief technical officer thought that I was not cut out for the single day races," he noted. "This explanation is - if you excuse the expression - crap. More so because I didn't compete in the Tour de France this year, meaning that I could prepare for the Olympics."

The 33-year-old, who won a road race bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, will also not take part in next month's road world cycling championships on September 28 in Varese, Italy.

His name did not appear in the 17 cyclists named for the world championships by the BDR on August 25.

the leading four are 2:38 ahead of the peloton.

the leaders are now 2:51 ahead of the peloton. The gap is not coming down, but it is holding. We can predict a catch, but probably not before the the day's lone KOM mark, the Cat. 3 Puerto de Huelma, at 84km, meaning one member of this quartet will grab the Vuelta's first climber's jersey. We'll put our money on Martinez.

the lead has bumped up again. The four escapees are now 3:45 ahead of the field.

Liquigas is still setting tempo at the front of the peloton. The Italian team has two big options today in delivering Daniele Bennati if there is a field sprint or Pozzato if the field breaks up near the end.

the leaders have bumped up to 4:00.

the first hour of today's stage was run at 42kph and the second was even slower at 39kph. It's been a long season folks.

Our four leaders have crested the climb. The gap is still at 4:00 and we're waiting for KOM results. It looks like Jesus Rosendo (Andalucia-Cajasur) hit the KOM Mark first, so he gets a red jersey to wear tomorrow.

our four leaders are still holding on to a fou-minute advantage.

the gap is just barely under four minutes. Our four leaders are holding their own, but not making a heck of a lot of progress. We're still betting on a catch before today's finish.

the peloton is hitting the feedzone at Cambil. The gap, meanwhile, is holding at four minutes.

we had a small computer problem on this end. Apparently the riders have cooperated, though. Not much has changed out there on the road since our last update. The gap is holding at the 3:45 mark.

may losing patience. The pace has picked up over recent kilometers and the gap is coming down again. Our leaders are now just 3:25 ahead of the main field.

With 60km remaining, the four leaders are now 3:00 ahead of the field.

the terrain around Jaen is quite dry and the four men up front are loading up on water.

is really picking up. The Liquigas team is still handling the primary chasing duties. We'll get a new time check soon, but our last one put the four leaders at 2:39.

our man Graham Watson hovering around the front of the peloton on the back of his motorbike.

Up front, Martinez has scampered off the front of the break. The other three are not really chasing.

Martinez has a nice little gap.... but man, he has a ways to go.

has a 12-second lead over his former companions. He's about to grab the day's first sprint mark. He may try to stay away, since he won't get a lot of cooperation if he goes back.

is moving up to lend a hand in the chase.

Up front, Jesus Rosendo Prado (Andalucia-Caja Sur) is now chasing Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), while Cyril Lemoine (Credit Agricole) and Mikhail Ignatiev (Tinkoff) are still together and working cooperatively.

is making a judgment call. He's 16 seconds on Jesus Rosendo Prado. He's soft pedaling and waiting for Rosendo Prado. The other two are another 20 seconds back. Meanwhile, the Liquigas/Quick Step-led peloton is 3:34 behind the leader.

Martinez and Rosendo Prado are now riding together with a 20-second lead on their two chasers and 3:40 on the peloton.

Having been dropped, Cyril Lemoine (Credit Agricole) and Mikhail Ignatiev (Tinkoff) seem to have lost the wind in their sails. The aren't pushing too hard, already 30 seconds back and may be reeled in.

Meanwhile, our to leaders - Jesus Rosendo Prado (Andalucia-Caja Sur) and Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) - are 3:33 ahead of the peloton.

Lots of olive trees in these parts. Jaen, other than being the home of now-disgraced rider Manuel Beltran, boasts some of Spain's best olive oil and exports millions of gallons a year of "virgen extra" all over the world.

the two leaders are now just 2:45 ahead of the field, with Ignatiev and Lemoine (Credit Agricole) and Mikhail Ignatiev (Tinkoff) caught in no-man's-land.

the two leaders are now just 2:45 ahead of the field, with Ignatiev and Lemoine (Credit Agricole) and Mikhail Ignatiev (Tinkoff) caught in no-man's-land.

The two leaders are now more than one minute ahead of Lemoine (Credit Agricole) and Mikhail Ignatiev (Tinkoff), but the peloton is moving up fast. Lampre is now lending a hand, too, and the gap is jut 2:07.

our two leaders are now less than two minutes ahead of the field. We can see the catch happening within the next 10km or so. There are 24km remaining in this stage.

are Lemoine (Credit Agricole) and Ignatiev (Tinkoff), who are just 25 seconds ahead of the field.

Lemoine and Ignatiev have a lot of company all of a sudden. Ahead Martinez and Rosendo are still up front, but now Francaise des Jeux is helping with the chase.

Joe S. writes in to ask:

You probably covered this in great detail, but why are there no U.S. based teams like Columbia or Garmin-Chipotle in this Vuelta? More curious then upset.

Actually the Garmin team never applied for entry. It's a new team and manager Jonathan Vaughters said the team needed to concentrate its energy and resources on the first two grand tours - the Giro and Tour.

Columbia did apply to the Vuelta, but withdrew that application in the absence of a firm commitment from the organizers of the Vuelta.

with a gap of just 45 seconds. Martinez is now riding ahead of his one-time breakaway companion. With 20km to go, Euskaltel's Pasamontes is attacking out of the field on one of the tough, but unrated climbs on the route.

And wowie... Pasamontes has caught Martinez. He pulled Juan Garate and Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) with him.

But just as we wrote that, Mauricio Ardila (Rabobank) and Xavier Zandio (Caisse d'Epargne) have moved off the front.

Mauricio Ardila (Rabobank) and Xavier Zandio (Caisse d'Epargne) are working hard to build a gap with Credit Agricole's Nicholas Roche trying to make the bridge.

makes contact... and powers right past. Mauricio Ardila (Rabobank) and Xavier Zandio (Caisse d'Epargne) have been pulled back by a large chase group from an increasingly fractured peloton.

is leading a group of about 15 riders. The gap back to the peloton is not huge, though.

Roche has been joined by a Rabobank rider, but the peloton is closing in fast

rider was Niermann. The two are about 12 seconds head of the field. The peloton is chasing hard. There are about 12km remaining.

is down to nine seconds. The terrain here contains no rated climbs, but that doesn't mean it's flat out there.

Roy Sentjens (Silence Lotto) is trying to bridge up to the leaders.

and Marc de Maar from Rabobank is trying to join Roche, who has been joined by Cofidis's Moncoutie.

There are 10km remaining.

to go and Moncoutie and Roche are about to be joined by a roup of five riders. We see De Maar, but have not ID-ed the others.

We see Silence Lotto's Popovych trying to go. He's been joined by FDJ's Messerman and Milram's Jurco. They have a small gap, but only five km to go.

as we noted earlier, is tough. Valverde is looking relaxed in the peloton as they chase a trio with just a nine-second gap.

The peloton is not letting these boys get up the road.... and they are caught.

at the front. Now Liquigas is up there. We have 2.5km to go.

to go, the CSC team is doing some work up there now. We see Boonen and Valverde an Bettini close to the front.

the Quick Step is doing the bulk of the work.

We should be seeing that final 800 meter climb coming up soon.

Rodriquez from Caisse d'Eparge eam is going for it.

the former Spanish champion has a little gap, but the chase is on.

Now the big swarm.... and Valverde hits the front after a Tinkoff rider tries a dig... Valverde wins!

Valverde's win is reminiscent of his win in the first stage of the Tour this year. Nice, nice move. He really excels on these uphill sprints. With the time bonus, he may be able to get the jersey. He trailed Pozzato by nine seconds going into the stage.

takes the lead.

Pozzato was not in the top three. The time bonuses are awarded to first, second and third - 20 seconds, 12 seconds and eight. Valverde began the day nine seconds out of first, so we get a new race leader today.

is another relatively short ride, with a 168-kilometer race from Jaen to Cordoba. The stage is relatively straightforward ... until the end, with a climb up San Jeronimo, with 26km to go. It's a relatively easy Cat. 3 climb, but enough to put the sprinters into difficulty. The last finish in Cordoba was in 2006, a stage with two-time world champion Paolo Bettini taking the win.

We'll be posting a complete report from VeloNews.com's Andrew Hood in just a little bit.