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The Vuelta a Espana -- the third and last Grand Tour of 2007 -- is taking place right now in Spain. How many Americans know or care?

Maybe that's why Team Discovery Channel, the most successful team in the history of US cycling, is breaking up for lack of a replacement sponsor at the end of this year. It's too bad, now that we've finally got three major one-week stage races in the US (Georgia, California, and now Missouri), that our top team in the States is exiting the sport -- but it is.

Basically, there have only been two successful US-based teams: 7-11/Motorola, which was the first US-based team to compete in the Tour de France and to win a Grand Tour (the Giro, behind Andy Hampsten), and USPS/Discovery Channel, which has had an unmatched record of Grand Tour success during the past 9 years -- 13 podiums, including 10 titles, with five different riders (Lance Armstrong (TdF winner 1999-2005), Alberto Contador (TdF winner 2007), Paolo Savoldelli (Giro winner 2005), Roberto Heras (Vuelta second 2002, winner 2003) and Levi Leipheimer (Vuelta third 2001, TdF third 2007)).

Discovery Channel brought a second-string team to the Vuelta, and the team immediately became weaker when American Tom Danielson, the winner of the 2005 Tour de Georgia and sixth last year in the Vuelta, crashed in the first stage and broke his collarbone. However, after the stage 8 time trial, the overall leader was Discovery's Stijn Devolder. He's fallen back as the race had two straight mountain stages, but it was still an impressive feat: another overall leader jersey for Discovery in its last Grand Tour, even without its top guns of Contador, Leipheimer, Popovych and Hincapie ... who are all competing in Missouri right now.

While the other two US races draw international fields, the only top-level teams in Missouri are Discovery Channel and Prodir-Saunier Duval. Not even the US-sponsored (but Europe-based) Team CSC is present in Missouri (boo CSC!!).

You have to wonder if Discovery Channel director sportif Johann Bruyneel still has hope of finding a US sponsor, considering the caliber of riders that the team brought to Missouri. Or maybe it's just his way of giving US cycling a big send-off. It's hard to see how US cycling recovers from the loss of USPS/Discovery Channel in the short term. Then again, US cycling DID recover from the loss of Motorola.

BTW, the Vuelta looks to be a battle between Rabobank's Denis Menchov (Russia) and Predictor-Lotto's Cadel Evans (Australia). But enough about Europe; let's focus on Missouri!

Meanwhile...

Enough cycling. Back later with some other topics.