All negative

Spanish newspaper AS confirmed that the 598 blood and urine samples taken during the race were all negative.

The source was Vuelta a España chief Javier Guillén, who revealed that his Spanish race was raced on pane e aqua. Guillén also criticized the suspicions and allegations, which have been aimed towards Vulta winner Chris Horner.

“I think that [suspicion] is bad, even if I understand it given cycling’s recent past. But you can’t be cast into doubt simply as a matter of course,” Guillén said.

“That said, anybody caught doping has to be suspended, and I would say suspended for life if it’s for certain substances.”

In other news

Guillén also revealed additional bits and pieces of information about the Vuelta:

It has about 1.8 million live spectators along the routes each year.

Their average age is 41, with two thirds being men and one third being women.

That most foreign TV audiences hail from Belgium, Denmark and Holland.

That 73 percent of online traffic to lavuelta.com came from abroad.

That roughly one million Spaniards watch the race daily: two million for the most important stages, such as Angliru.

He refused to reveal if the Vuelta would finish in Madrid in 2014.

Finally, Guillén stated that there would not be a women’s Vuelta in the foreseeable future.