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Monday, August 10, 2009 Pereiro skips Vuelta by VeloNation Press at 6:51 PM EST   comments Categories: Pro Cycling, Vuelta a España   Oscar Pereiro will be skipping the Vuelta this year (August 29-September 20) citing lack of recovery since dropping out of the Tour de France in the eigth stage last month. His home tour was set to be the Spaniard's second big objective of the season. The Caisse d'Epargne team will head to the race with Alejandro Valverde as their team leader, hoping that the controversial rider can seal the deal for his first Grand Tour win. If the International Cycling Union has its way, Valverde's territorial suspension by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) will be extended to a worldwide ban, a decision that will be made in a hearing between the two parties in front of the Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS). CONI tested a sample taken from Valverde when the 2008 Tour de France passed through Italy and matched his DNA to blood evidence it had from the Operation Puerto scandal from 2006. They have prevented the Spaniard from participating in this year's Tour de France since a stage of the race passed through Italian soil.       comments Follow @Pro_Cycling Tweet Subscribe via RSS or daily email Contact the editor about this article