No Haig, as Mikel Landa, Santiago Buitrago and Gino Mäder lead Bahrain - Victorious at mountainous Vuelta a Espana
Cycling
Into a mountainous Vuelta a Espana, Bahrain - Victorious have announced a very strong lineup for the uphill terrain, with several riders capable of fighting for the overall classification but also to be in the fight for several stage wins.
“For the GC, we have Mikel. Let’s see how his condition is. With Gino Mäder as co-leader, we have a strong squad for all terrains," team DS Franco Pelizotti said. "We’re looking to do a good TTT, and have 3 good stages in Holland, so we arrive in Spain without time gaps". The Basque climber admitted that the GC may end up not being a priority, hence giving freedom to the team's fellow climbers, without the presence of last year's podium finisher Jack Haig due to his Tour de France crash injuries.
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Gino Mäder has struggled with form this year but being the defending youth classification champion and fifth last year, he will surely carry ambitions. Furthermore, Santiago Buitrago comes as a dangerous outsider after his recent win at the Vuelta a Burgos, and the several other wins on tough days he's had over this past year.
Wout Poels will come in as an important mountain domestique after once again showing his good legs at the Giro d'Italia where he helped Landa onto the podium, as will Luis León Sánchez who finished inside the Top15 of the Tour de France. Chasing stage wins will surely be a priority within the team aswell with it's depth, and Fred Wright will be a good option for both breakaways and the hard finales on the hilly days. Jasha Sütterlin and Edoardo Zambanini complete the squad as the team's most reliable domestiques.
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Bahrain - Victorious for Vuelta a Espana: Mikel Landa, Santiago Buitrago, Gino Mäder, Wout Poels, Luis León Sánchez, Jasha Sütterlin, Fred Wright and Edoardo Zambanini.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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We're pleased to announce our lineup for @lavuelta 🇨🇴 @SantiagoBS26 🇪🇸 @MikelLandaMeana 🇨🇭 @maedergino 🇳🇱 @WoutPoels 🇪🇸 @LLEONSANCHEZ 🇩🇪 @JashaStterlin 🇬🇧 @fred_wright0 🇮🇹 Edoardo Zambanini 𝙑𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙨 𝙏𝘽𝙑 ! #RideAsOne #LaVuelta22 🔗 bit.ly/3pqT01c
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