Michael Barry is zeroing in on finishing his third Vuelta a España, but the Discovery Channel rider says the Giro d’Italia is a harder race.

Barry rode the Giro earlier this year in support of winner Paolo Savoldelli and the Canadian says he notes a big difference between the three-week tours.

“The Giro stages are longer, but this year’s Vuelta is longer than the ones I’ve done before,” Barry said. “In the past the Vuelta has been flat-out racing from the start every day.”

Barry enjoyed racing at the Giro, where huge crowds turned out to cheer the peloton every day. A more spirited peloton also makes for a deeper field, Barry said.

"Another big difference is at the Giro, 100 percent of the peloton is motivated to do a really good race," he said. "Here it is at the end of the season and I know some of the riders find it hard to stay motivated, so it’s a different dynamic that way as well."

Barry cracked a rib in a pre-Vuelta crash, but has gutted through the pain to provide excellent support to teammate Tom Danielson. They have been rooming together during the Vuelta and Danielson called Barry his "guardian angel" for helping him negotiate the sometimes-treacherous peloton.

Saiz: ‘Vuelta better than ever’
It may come as no surprise, but Manolo Saiz says this year’s Vuelta a España has been better than ever. The irrepressible director of Liberty Seguros has plenty to cheer about.

Roberto Heras has a commanding lead going into this weekend’s finale and appears set to win the record fourth Vuelta crown. For Saiz, the victory would be his sixth Vuelta victory as a sport director.

Saiz defended this year’s Vuelta against criticism that the race has been too controlled, by his Liberty Seguros troops in the mountains and the Fassa Bortolo train in the flats. "We’ve had an exciting race with the best sprinters in the world. To see Petacchi win is a spectacle, to have the privilege to have Bettini attacking, this is not easy to see," Saiz said. "This is cycling at the most extraordinary level. We’ve had things this year we’ve never seen before."

Vuelta boss Victor Cordero has complained that the new ProTour status has given nothing to the Vuelta this year. Saiz, a strong supporter of the ProTour, naturally disagreed.

"It’s the same faces in the Giro and the Tour. The ProTour is something that’s going to take four years to see the fruit of its value," he said. "The riders have to change the chip about thinking about the races. You have to leave all this old thinking behind so we can move forward. You won’t be able to change one thing from to another in one day or one season."

González angry while Phonak promises review
Spanish rider Santos González said he cannot understand the actions of his Phonak team, which kicked him out of the Vuelta a España on Thursday after what the team called irregular blood tests.

Phonak officials have given González a "forced rest" after team-conducted blood tests found irregularities. González was sitting eighth overall, but didn’t start Thursday’s stage.

Team manager John Lelangue said the team will conduct an internal investigation.

"We’ll make our own review and compare his blood levels against other tests conducted throughout the season," Lelangue told Spanish television Friday. "Our internal tests revealed his blood counts were above his limits allowed in his contract. He’s not fired for now, but he’s been told to take a rest until we can conduct our review."

Phonak took the extraordinary action of taking one of its own riders out of the Vuelta despite the fact that González had not failed any UCI anti-doping controls through 17 stages of the Spanish grand tour.

Phonak has strict internal anti-doping controls, introduced in the wake of the troublesome 2004 season that saw former world champion Oscar Camenzind test positive for EPO and Tyler Hamilton and Santi Pérez both test positive for banned blood doping.

González told Spanish television he was upset by the team’s actions.

"I accept their right to pull me out of the race, but I don’t agree with why they did it," Gonzalez told Spanish television station TVE. "I’ve been a pro for 10 years and I’ve never failed a doping test or ever had any irregularities with my blood tests."

González said he had visited a UCI-accredited laboratory later on Thursday for a separate analysis.

"They turned out to be lower than those maximums established as acceptable by the team, which are in turn lower than those accepted by the UCI," he said.

Where it stands
It was status quo in Friday’s 19th stage, with none of the major jerseys changing hands. Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) takes a commanding 4:30 lead into Saturday’s time trial and Sunday’s final sprint into Madrid. David Cañada (Saunier Duval) didn’t finish, leaving 124 riders in the peloton. Cañada was forced to stop after an irregular heartbeat made it impossible for him to continue. He transferred to a local hospital with arrhythmia and is expected to stay overnight for observation.

What’s next
The 60th Vuelta continues Saturday with the 38.9km individual time trial from Guadalajara to Alcalá de Henares. The mostly flat course presents no technical difficulties and features a gentle, unrated climb in the opening 15km, but beyond that, it’s a straight shot to the finish. Wind could be a factor; otherwise, the strongest left standing will have the best shot to win the stage. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) will be the favorite to make it a hat-trick in the time trials after winning the Vuelta’s first two races against the clock. Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel) could move up to eighth overall if he can erase a 22-second deficit to climber Juan Miguel Mercado (Quick Step).