Russia's Denis Menchov won the Tour of Spain for the second time on Sunday to don the gold jersey on the final podium in Madrid at last. Menchov won his first Spanish title in 2005 when Spaniard Roberto Heras was stripped of the crown after testing positive for the banned blood-booster EPO (erythropoietin).
This time Menchov, the 29-year-old Rabobank rider, was able to celebrate his successful defence of an overall lead taken on stage nine of this year's race and never relinquished. Born in Orel, 350km south of Moscow, Menchov played football as a child before being spotted by talent scouts from the prestigious CSKA cycling school and started racing at 12.
Success competing in France ensured the Russian signed for a top amateur Spanish squad, Banesto, in 1998. The Spaniards gave his Russian team, Samara, 3,000 euros ($4,233) worth of cycling material - tyres, wheels, and bike frames - in exchange for their top rider.
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