Sam Bennett will race his second Grand Tour of the season between 20 October-8 November.
In terms of number of stages won throughout the years, the Vuelta a España is our team’s second most successful Grand Tour, and the Wolfpack will go there next week determined to add to the exploits of the previous editions, which have seen twelve different Deceuninck – Quick-Step riders claim at least a victory. The course will be again tilted towards the climbers – with Tourmalet and Angliru just two of the highlights – but also the sprinters and puncheurs will have their chances to shine at the race which this year will have 18 stages.
Tour de France green jersey winner Sam Bennett will make his second consecutive appearance at La Vuelta, where he’ll be supported by a strong lead-out train featuring New Zealand Champion Shane Archbold, Michael Mørkøv and Zdenek Stybar, a stage winner at the race in 2013. Another rider bringing a wealth of experience to our team will be Mattia Cattaneo, the soon to be 30-year-old Italian who is set to return to racing for the first time since his injury at the Giro dell’Emilia, two months ago.
The eight-man squad traveling to the Basque Country for the start of the 75th edition will feature also three young riders who will make their Grand Tour debut: Andrea Bagioli, a stage victor at this year’s Tour de l’Ain and Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, US ITT Champion Ian Garrison, and Tour of Slovakia winner Jannik Steimle.
“We are looking forward to the last Grand Tour of the season, which we are happy that is going ahead, considering all the circumstances. Our team is a mix of youth and experience, who can deliver some really nice results in Spain. Sam is going there after a great Tour de France, and he’ll count again on a strong lead-out train, Styby was very motivated to race a Grand Tour this year after dropping out from our Le Tour squad due to that knee injury, while the three young guys on the team – two of whom are neo-pros – will make another important step in their development. We will give our best out there and hopefully have a good and rewarding three weeks”, said Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director Rik Van Slycke.
Mattia Cattaneo