Just moments after American Tyler Farrar outmaneuvered Manxman Mark Cavendish to win the final stage of the Vuelta, the Missile was complaining that there was more to the story of his loss. Bike Snob NYC explains as he wraps up the race that ended on Sunday.

A lot happened in the 21 days and more than 3,000 kilometers of racing at the 2010 Vuelta a Espana. There were 16 different stage winners and the lead changed seven times, while the "Manx Missile" hit his mark and some bad luck happened to others.

After three weeks, 21 stages, 3,333 kilometers, two rider expulsions for drinking, and thousands of pounds of tapas, the 75th anniversary edition of the Vuelta a Espana has finally come to an end in Madrid.

Though the Vuelta a Espana ends on Sunday, tomorrow the overall winner will be decided, for Stage 20 is a heaving series of increasingly difficult climbs that finishes atop a beyond-category summit.

The course profile for today's Stage 18 was about as bumpy as a dead hamster's EKG reading, which meant that a sprint finish was virtually assured. And when it comes to sprint finishes in Grand Tours, all eyes turn to one rider: the "Manx Missile," Mark "Cav" Cavendish -- a rider so fast even the weight of two nicknames can't slow him down.

A time trial can sometimes change the entire balance of power of a race, and such was the case in Stage 17 of the Vuelta. It's a bit early to call leader Vincenzo Nibali the president-elect, though, since he faces some serious mountains on Saturday.

When the peloton emerged from the first rest day of the Vuelta a Espana after Stage 9, Igor Anton was leading the race with an infinitesimal lead over Joachin "Purito" Rodriguez.

This past weekend at the Vuelta a Espana was a tragic one for Igor Anton, who crashed on Saturday just as the peloton reached the decisive climb of Stage 14. Torn, bloodied, and looking like he was about 16 years late for the shooting of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, the race leader briefly and bravely attempted to remount his bike but eventually climbed into the team car and has since had surgery on his elbow.

Mark Cavendish has taken some time to settle into the Vuelta, spending his first week mis-timing sprints and, occasionally, throwing up. However, once he's in gear he tends to stay there, and after yesterday's victory he once again won decisively in Stage 13.

With a single Cat 2 climb early in the stage followed by fairly flat terrain, Thursday's Stage 12 was an opportunity for a sprinter to take the win. Though none have been dominant, most of the big sprinting names had found success.