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With Tour de France star Jonas Vingegaard as captain, Team Visma | Lease a Bike has started the Vuelta a España. The goal for the third three-week national tour of the year is once again overall victory. The team last won the Tour of Spain in 2023.
For the third time in a year and a half, a Grand Tour is stopping off in the Italian city of Turin. Following the Grande Partenza of the Giro d'Italia 2024 and the finish of the third stage of the Tour de France in the same year, it is now the Vuelta a España that started in the northern Italian city at the weekend. After 21 stages, the tour will end on 14 September in the Spanish capital Madrid.
After Simon Yates' Giro victory and Jonas Vingegaard's second place in the Tour de France, Team Visma | Lease a Bike is aiming for a top place in the overall standings in the third and final Grand Tour highlight of the season. Vingegaard is competing in the third Vuelta of his career and leads the Dutch WorldTeam.
‘I'm looking forward to this tour of Spain,’ said the 28-year-old Dane ahead of the race. ‘After the Tour, I first took some time to recover and then started preparing for this next big goal of my season. In recent weeks, I've been in an individual training camp, supported by the team on site.’ He associates the Vuelta with special memories: ‘This is where I rode my first Grand Tour in 2020, which we won with Primož Roglic. In 2023, we completed our trilogy here and even stood together on the podium in Madrid. Hopefully, we'll add more great memories this year.’
‘The overall victory is our big goal, there's no point beating around the bush,’ added Head of Racing Grischa Niermann.
This will be necessary, as the Vuelta once again features numerous mountain finishes. A team time trial is also on the programme – so the support of a strong team is crucial. ‘We have to be ready every day, but that's to be expected in a Grand Tour,’ said Niermann. ‘There are some very exciting stages – including the team time trial and the individual time trial on stage 18. And, of course, the finishes on Angliru and Bola del Mundo are always something special.’
Vingegaard is also looking forward to all of this: ‘I'm here to win the overall classification – and with this team by my side, that's a realistic goal. There are many stages where differences can be made. That's why it's important to be ready from the start. I am.’
