MADRID, 17 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The 2022 Vuelta Ciclista a España will begin this Friday, August 19 with a special start from Utrecht (The Netherlands) and in which Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) is facing the possibility of being the first cyclist to win the race four consecutive times in his entire history, for which he will have to beat a cast of the best racers in the world. Below we review who is expected to be the leaders.
Jumbo-Visma. Primoz Roglic has managed to get to the race after physical problems that prevented him from finishing the Tour de France. The Slovenian will have the challenge of becoming the first cyclist to win four consecutive editions. In fact, if he were to win, he would equal Roberto Heras as the most successful cyclist in La Vuelta history.
Movistar Team. Enric Mas will once again be his great asset. The Spaniard has already climbed the second step of La Vuelta twice and is now looking for the first after the disappointment suffered in the Tour. In addition, it will be a special edition for his team since Alejandro Valverde says goodbye to the race that he won in 2009 and in which he debuted in 2002.
Bahrain-Victorious. Mikel Landa finds himself again with a golden opportunity to win a big one. After finishing third in the Giro, he will now lead his team with the expectation of fighting for everything, although he himself admits that he does not arrive at his best physical moment.
INEOS Grenadiers. The leader of the British team will be Richard Carapaz, who fell short of winning in 2020 after a big fight with Roglic and will now try to wear red. This Vuelta also has the incentive that it will be the last big one for the Ecuadorian with INEOS.
UAE Team Emirates. After learning of Tadej Pogacar’s loss, his role model will be the Portuguese Joao Almeida. He arrives in good shape, after being second in the Vuelta a Burgos, and faces his first Spanish round after fighting twice for the general in the Giro. Of course, the young Spanish Juan Ayuso could be the other great asset of the team.
BORA-hansgrohe. They are presented with the brand new Giro 2022 champion. The Australian Jai Hindley is in the best year of his career after winning the ‘pink jersey’ and now he is facing the challenge of a historic double that only Eddy Merckx (1973) achieved, Giovanni Battaglin (1981) and Alberto Contador (2008).
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl. His lead is shared between two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe and Belgian Remco Evenepoel. The former returns through the front door after missing the Tour and the latter is full after his exhibition in the Clásica de San Sebastián, where he ran as a candidate for La Vuelta.
Team Bike Exchange Jayco. The Australians appear with Simon Yates as a great stronghold. The Briton, winner of La Vuelta 2018, returns to participate for the first time since his triumph and has just won the Vuelta a Castilla y León in his preparation for the Spanish grand round.
AG2R Citroen Team. His great asset will be the Australian Ben O’Connor, who had no luck in the Tour de France, where he had to leave after a fall, but who seeks to make up for it to try to be as high as possible. He arrives lacking competition rhythm.
Team Arkea-Samsic. Nairo Quintana, who won the race in 2016, now arrives with the aim of returning to the podium after showing in the Tour, where he finished sixth, that he still has gas left to fight for the top positions.
Astana. The Colombian Miguel Ángel López seems to be the leader, but he is unknown after being separated from the team due to an investigation related to the sale of medicines. In his team will also be Vincenzo Nibali, winner in 2010 and who will participate for the last time before retiring.
Israel-Premier Tech. The Israeli team will include Chris Froome, a two-time winner of La Vuelta who, at 37, came close to winning a stage in the last Tour de France. Of course, he is more than far from his best form and the leader could be Michael Woods, although he is not in his best ‘peak’ either.
Trek-Segafredo. Juanpe López, who wore the ‘pink jersey’ for ten days in the last Giro d’Italia, now appears together with Mads Pedersen as the benchmarks of a team that has ambition and freshness without the pressure of having to be at the top.
Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux. The South African Louis Meintjes will be the boss of his team after finishing eighth in the Tour, seeking to be as high as possible in a big one in which until now he has not been lucky.
Groupama-FDJ. Veteran Thibaut Pinot repeats as leader after being seen in a Tour where he finished in fifteenth position. He is expected to fight to win a stage.
Cofidis. The French team does not set the goal of fighting for the general, but it will look for a stage win through experienced and level cyclists such as the Spanish Jesús Herrada.
Lotto Soudal. The Belgians appear without any clear figure but with a Thomas de Gent, at 35 years old, who knows what it is to win a stage in the three Grand Tours and who always puts on a show in the breakaways.
EF Education-Easy Post. The British Hugh Carthy, third overall in 2020, will return to the race that he has best given to lead the Americans, in an important block with Rigoberto Urán or Esteban Chaves.
TeamDSM. The Dutch are presented with the sprinter John Degenkolb as their great asset to try to be protagonists of the race. The rider even won four stages and the green jersey in 2014.
Alpecin-Deceuninck. The Belgian Tim Merlier will be the great bet of his team to win the sprint. The Belgian champion has just closed a large transfer to Quick Step and will want to justify the bet on him.
The sprinter Jasper Philipsen, who has won two stages in the Tour de France, is a doubt for La Vuelta, where he has already won three stages in 2020 and 2021, and the team leader could be the Belgian Tim Merlier in his absence.
Burgos BH. Ángel Madrazo will be one of the most outstanding names of a team from Burgos that aspires to give something to talk about during the stages through a combative and competitive block.
Euskaltel-Euskadi. The veteran cyclist from Madrid Luis Ángel Maté faces his eleventh participation at the age of 38 in the framework of a team that will try to show itself during the three stages that are held in the Basque Country.
Kern Pharma team. The Navarrans will be led by a young Roger Adrià, who is still on the rise and this season he achieved his first victory on the Occitania Route.