Mikel Landa leads the line for our squad at the event taking place between 22 August-13 September.
Only a few days separate us from the last Grand Tour of the season, a race where our team has tasted victory on more than 40 occasions. La Vuelta starts from Monaco this year with an individual time trial that will establish an initial pecking order. It will be one of the two stages against the clock scheduled for this 81st edition, with the other set to come in the third week, just a couple of days before the big finale in stunning Granada.
The route gives plenty of opportunities to all types of riders, but especially to the climbers, with a total of seven summit finishes on the menu that are sure to create significant gaps between the general classification contenders: Font-Romeu, Aramon Valdelinares, Alto de Aitana, Calar Alto, Sierra de la Pandera, Peñas Blancas, and Collado del Alguacil.
Soudal Quick-Step will travel to Monte Carlo with a strong and versatile squad, capable of fighting for stage victories throughout the three weeks of the race. Steff Cras, Alberto Dainese, Gianmarco Garofoli, British ITT Champion Ethan Hayter, Mikel Landa - who makes his tenth La Vuelta appearance - Valentin Paret-Peintre, fourth overall earlier this year at Volta a Catalunya, Fabio Van den Bossche, and former Italian Champion Filippo Zana are our eight riders for the Spanish Grand Tour.
We are determined to fight for stage victories and continue our streak of Grand Tour stage wins, after already taking multiple victories at both Il Giro and Le Tour.
- Sep Vanmarcke -
“We can be in the mix on almost all terrains and that gives us a lot of confidence. With Alberto, we aim to be protagonists in the bunch sprints, while for the many climbs that are on the menu we have a number of riders who can do well, go on the offensive and try to get a good result.”
“Mikel brings in a lot of experience and comes with a lot of motivation to show himself, but also Valentin can produce something special, especially after his strong Tour de France. It’s a solid squad that we’re taking to La Vuelta and we hope to show that over the next three weeks of this incredibly tough race”, said sports director Sep Vanmarcke.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
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