It featured a number of big names including Italian riders Mario Cipollini, Danilo Di Luca and Stefano Garzelli, as well as Magnus Bäckstedt.

This marked Cannondale's return to the ProTour after discontinuing sponsorship of the Lampre–Caffita team at the end of the 2005 season.

On 11 July 2008 the news broke from the French sports paper L'Équipe that Spanish rider Manuel Beltrán had tested positive for EPO after the first stage of the tour.

It was blood abnormalities before the start of the tour that led France's Anti-Doping Agency to target the rider.

According to AP a spokesperson for Liquigas confirmed the same day that Beltrán had been thrown off the tour.