Vino targets 2007 Tour

But the 33-year-old, who celebrated his birthday on Saturday in glittering fashion, admitted his mind was less on the 142km Vuelta finale in Madrid than on next season's showpiece Tour.

"This victory in the Vuelta is what I needed to be competitive in the 2007 Tour de France."

Vinokourov missed this year's Tour after doping controversy engulfed his team - although Vuelta lieutenant Sergio Paulinho was cleared along with Alberto Contador.

"We missed the Tour de France because in the end, we did not have the required number of riders," he said. "It was a big pity for me and my team, especially as two of them, Paulinho and Contador, were cleared afterwards.

"That was not very fair for us but we concentrated on continuing the season. This victory is a bit of revenge and it shows I can ride at a very high level in a Grand Tour. It is important for me, but also for our sponsor, the sport at home and the country of Kazakhstan. It makes this a good season."

Vinokourov had previously impressed at the Tour de France as part of the Jan Ullrich-led T-Mobile team, previously Telekom.

The Kazakh finished third in 2003 and fifth in 2005, winning three stages along the way, although he missed the 2004 event through injury.

Sunday's final Vuelta stage will tie up a number of loose ends, with Valverde and Andrey Kashechkin almost certain to take second and third respectively.

Norway's Thor Hushovd holds a 12-point margin over Vinokourov in the sprint classification and is expected to hold on to the blue jersey, while Euskaltel's Egoi Martinez will finish the race in red as the winner of the mountain classification.