CYCLING – TEAM Bahrain Victorious head to the 81st edition of La Vuelta a Espana starting today, with Santiago Buitrago leading the team’s general classification (GC) ambitions while a strong and balanced eight-rider line-up will look for opportunities throughout the three weeks.
La Vuelta gets underway in Monaco and concludes in Granada on September 13 after 21 stages. Across the three weeks, the peloton will cover around 3,300 kilometres and more than 58,000 metres of elevation gain.
The race opens with a short individual time trial (ITT) before heading quickly into the mountains, with climbing featuring throughout the three weeks. A second ITT comes later in the race, while the final week provides some of the last opportunities to shape the GC.
Buitrago will be the team’s reference for the GC while also looking for opportunities on the stages that suit him. The Colombian will have support across the mountains and key moments of the race, with the team aiming to remain active throughout the Vuelta rather than focusing on a single objective.
“I’m really motivated to race La Vuelta a Espana this year,” said Buitrago. “On a personal level, it has been a slightly complicated season, with a couple of setbacks in the first part of the year, but now I’m very motivated for this Vuelta. I’m coming into it with a lot of ambition, clear objectives and a lot of excitement.
“I think we have a very complete team. There are a lot of young riders, which also excites me because they are riders who stand out, who will do their jobs and who are always looking to be involved and make a good race.
“I’m also very happy to have someone like Pello with us. This will be his last Vuelta a Espana and his final year as a professional. I’ve shared almost seven years with him, and he has passed on a lot of his experience to me — how to read races and how to race intelligently. For me, it will be very special to accompany Pello in his final Vuelta and during his last season.
“We hope it will be a very positive Vuelta for us. We want to achieve our objectives; without doubt, we want to finish well in the GC and we want to win stages. Those are the main goals for the team.”
Alongside Buitrago, Bilbao returns to La Vuelta for what will be the final grand tour of his career. The Spaniard will take on the role of road captain while also looking for opportunities of his own in the mountains.
Having missed the Tour de France, Bilbao heads into his final Vuelta with extra motivation to race on home roads once again and to help guide a younger group through the three weeks.
“After these two very busy weeks, here comes my last Vuelta a Espana,” said Bilbao.
“It was an unexpected race on my calendar, but a good opportunity. In the end, not having raced the Tour opened the door for me to do the Vuelta, and I’m really motivated. It’s a race I haven’t done in recent years, although I rode it in my first years as a professional, and I really wanted the opportunity to test myself again at home.
“For me, in my last Vuelta, it’s also motivating to be part of a young and ambitious team that wants to explore its limits, and I want to contribute all the experience I can. Right now I’m not in a position to fight for the GC, but I would love to be at the level to fight for a stage victory. It’s the only one I’m missing to complete the set of stage wins in all three grand tours.
“The route is interesting, with the difficulty spread quite evenly across the three weeks. The race is already very hard from the first week, and I think there are good opportunities to chase stages, which is something I think we should particularly focus on.”
Matevz Govekar will provide the team with an option for the faster finishes, while Pau Miquel can target opportunities from reduced groups as well as supporting the team’s leaders.
Jakob Omrzel and Attila Valter strengthen the team in the mountains, with Omrzel also given the opportunity to look for stages.
Roman Ermakov and Mathijs Paasschens will play important roles in positioning and protecting the team, particularly on the flatter and more exposed days.
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