UAE Team Emirates confirm Ayuso-less Vuelta lineup with Adam Yates, Joao Almeida and Isaac del Toro all potential Red Jersey threats

Ahead of the 2024 Vuelta a Espana, one of the big talking points was whether or not UAE Team Emirates would really leave out the star of Spanish cycling Juan Ayuso from their lineup. We now have official confirmation as the team have revealed their eight-man Vuelta team with the 21-year-old nowhere in sight.

Instead of Ayuso, who has led UAE Team Emirates to 3rd and 4th placed finishes in the general classification at the last two editions of the Vuelta a Espana, the team have opted for an intriguing leadership contingent where it's not totally clear who, if any, will garner total support.

Two stars of Tadej Pogacar's recent Tour de France win, Adam Yates and Joao Almeida will now get the chance to fight for their own Grand Tour win as a reward for their selfless service in support of the Slovenian last month. In the form of Mexican wonderkid Isaac del Toro however, a very exciting third potential Red Jersey winner is thrown into the mix.

Almeida and Yates have already shown how successful they can be when working together as a dual leadership. Earlier this year at the Tour de Suisse, Yates took overall victory ahead of Almeida with pretty much every general classification stage finishing in a one-two finish between the pair as each took notable mountain top victories.

The climbing support doesn't just stop in the form of the exciting Del Toro either. With the likes of another Tour de France domestique Pavel Sivakov, the recently returned Jay Vine, Paris-Nice podium finisher Brandon McNulty, the always entertaining Vuelta star Marc Soler and Filippo Baroncini, the lineup is incredibly star studded.

Adam Yates
Joao Almeida
Isaac del Toro
Pavel Sivakov
Jay Vine
Brandon McNulty
Marc Soler
Filippo Baroncini