OFFICIAL: Wout van Aert will make Vuelta a Espana debut alongside Sepp Kuss and Cian Uijtdebroeks

Wout van Aert is confirmed to be making his Vuelta a España debut later this month. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider will be in Lisbon later this month for the start of the final Grand Tour of the season, he has confirmed himself after the Olympic Games.

“Holiday? No, in two weeks I will start in the Vuelta," he said in the Paris By Night show. Van Aert initially planned on racing the cobbled classics, Giro d'Italia and making a specific preparation towards the Olympic Games - with the Vuelta possibly in the schedule as well. However, his brutal crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen forced a change, and the Belgian ended up racing the Tour de France once again.

He lacked his best form in there but it came just in time for the Olympic Games, where he finished third in the time-trial and was an important part of Remco Evenepoel's victory in Paris. His own ambitions were not accomplished, after a crash in the final circuit saw him plumet down the field. However he will not take a break after these past few months of preparation. Instead, he now gets ready for another Grand Tour.

Van Aert will be headlining Team Visma | Lease a Bike's lineup for the Vuelta alongside defending champion Sepp Kuss and Cian Uitjdebroeks who will be racing the Vuelta a Burgos next week in preparation. Among the many hilly stages he will have a chance to take victories, and the red jersey is very much on the table as well as the race starts off with a time-trial.