Javier Guillén, director of the Vuelta a España, has dropped the bombshell after assuring that
Primoz Roglic,
Juan Ayuso,
Mikel Landa and
Sepp Kuss are confirmed for this year's edition, and also does not rule out the presence of
Tadej Pogacar and
Jonas Vingegaard. An affirmation that goes against what some teams have been arguing in public.
The news has been brought forward by the
EFE Agency, and it carries a lot of weight in the current situation of the peloton. These statements by Javier Guillén, first of all, contradict what UAE Team Emirates boss Mauro Gianetti said earlier this morning, who stated that Ayuso was not going to be in La Vuelta. It is quite strange that the director of the Spanish Grand Tour suddenly confirms the rider of the Emirati team, who had to abandon the Tour de France because of a Covid-19 infection.
Moreover, Pogacar himself also said on the final rest day of the Grande Boucle, last Monday, that he is 99% sure he will not be in the race, but that it was a big possibility that he would be there next year. Vingegaard has also said in the past he will not race the Vuelta as his wife is due to their second child during the Spanish Grand Tour. He's still finishing the Tour de France, and 3 minutes and 11 seconds behind Tadej Pogacar in the overall with 4 stages to go doesn't seem to be something that occupies his mind.
Guillén also argued Primoz Roglic will be in the race. Only two days ago, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe's Rolf Aldag has argued that
a decision will only be made after the Tour de France ends, for both Roglic and Aleksandr Vlasov. The Vuelta organizer's words also directly contradict what is being shared by multiple teams.
Sepp Kuss, as expected, is going to defend the 2023 Vuelta a España winner's title, specially after missing out on the Tour de France he will definitely be one of the few riders who are solely racing the Spanish Grand Tour with GC ambitions - Mattias Skjelmose is another, with an interesting plan for the season.
Finally, Mikel Landa may become Soudal Quick-Step's great hope. With Remco Evenepoel giving his all in the Tour de France, Landa is fulfilling the role of super domestique in an outstanding way. He is also 5th in the general classification, showing a form that can be exciting to compete for the best possible result in La Vuelta.
Pro Cycling Stats now shows Ayuso on the Vuelta start list. If true it could be a UAE shitshow with 3 leaders- Almeida and Yates also going 😀😀
I’m sure Uae paid a pretty penny to sign Ayuso till 2028, So it would not be crazy to send him to the Vuelta. Problem is Yates or Almeida deserve a leader role just as much.
It would be crazier to send Ayuso to the Vuelta if Yates or Almeida is going. Terrible for team cohesion. Yates and Almeida can get along with each other. Ayuso? He can't even work well for the team even when there is an obvious leader.
Roglic and Kuss, of course they'll be at the Vuelta. Probably Ayuso too, once his boss has cooled down a bit.
If Pogi wins this Tour, which seems highly likely, he is probably going to the Vuelta as well.
He's already stated he is NOT racing the Vuelta ! He has other plans and why would he need to? He has nothing to prove.
He said in an interview a day ago that if he wins he might be inclined to race the Vuelta, going after the only record in professional cycling that's never been broken, this is his shot, supposing he wins the Tour, which again, seems quite likely...
"However both the Slovenian phenomenon and his UAE Team Emirates boss Mauro Gianetti continue to confirm that there are currently no plans for the Slovenia to travel to the start of Vuelta in Lisboa on August 17.
"I’m not sending him. It would be too much stress to do a third grand tour with the goal of winning," Gianetti confirmed to Tuttobici reporter. "Sure, if he won he would do something unique, but I have to pay for it in the coming years too. I don’t want to risk melting him. And if I burn him? Then you know, if he were to win they would criticize us saying we are greedy. "
Let's see if he goes, we know already that no matter the team plan, Pogi races by his gut feelings, so he looks at things differently. If he did win all three in a single season, he would reach a status that's never been seen before in cycling. It would be incredible.
Why would he go and burn himself out as the Vuelta starts Aug 17th and he still has the Olympic RR the week after the Tour ends and he has a great chance at the Worlds RR with the climbing on the race.
I don't know, I'm just stating what he said, shoot him an email, maybe he'll reply.
Better to leave UAE Team Emirates. Ineos, Red Bull, Lidl-Trek, Astana or Movistar are his options.
Who's going to pay 100 millions for Ayuso?
Ding ding ding!
Gianetti won't allow Ayuso to do the Vuelta.
After his bullshit at this TDF, Ayuso will be doing most of his racing in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic in coming years.