Team High Road will not be among the 20 teams racing the 2008 Vuelta a España.

Organizers unveiled their list of invitees for the third grand tour of the season on Tuesday.

“We had initially intended to support the Vuelta," said said team owner Bob Stapleton. "However, in the absence of a firm commitment from the race organizer, Team High Road has withdrawn its application and will support the Tour of Britain, the Tour of Ireland and the Tour of Missouri – which compliment the marketing objectives of High Road."

While High Road will be busy elsewhere, Astana — denied a berth at the 2008 Tour de France despite having two of the top three finishers from last year’s Tour in Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer — has been invited to race the Vuelta, scheduled to run August 30 through September 21.

Also on the list are five Spanish teams, among them Andalucia-Caja Sur and Karpin Galicia.

The American Slipstream-Chipotle team, a continental squad, was also not invited. Like High Road, Slipstream will be fielding teams for both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.

Teams for the 2008 Vuelta a España

Ag2r-La Mondiale (F)
Andalucia-Caja Sur (Sp)
Astana (Swi)
Bouygues Telecom (F)
Caisse d'Epargne (Sp)
Cofidis, le Credit Par Telephone (F)
Credit Agricole (F)
Euskaltel–Euskadi (Sp)
Française des Jeux (F)
Gerolsteiner (G)
Karpin Galicia (Sp)
Lampre (I)
Liquigas (I)
Quick Step (B)
Rabobank (Ned)
Saunier Duval–Scott (Sp)
Silence-Lotto (B)
Tinkoff Credit Systems (I)
Team CSC (Den)
Team Milram (G)