Arkéa - B&B Hotels have one of the most modest teams at World Tour level and away from France, they arrive at the Vuelta a España with a lineup focused on stage wins. However, they also carry hope of a strong overall classification result with Cristián Rodríguez in his home Grand Tour.
Team DS Arnaud Gerard said in a press release that the Spaniard has big ambitions for this race: "13th in the Vuelta a España 2023, Cristián Rodríguez will be our number one asset to try to achieve a good performance in the general classification of his national Tour. He will be able to count on the support in the mountains of Michel Ries and Laurens Huys".
Rodr´íguez was 13th here last season and throughout 2024 he has finished fifth at the Tour of Oman and 12th at both Volta a Catalunya and Tour de Romandie. The 29-year old has proven to be a consistent GC rider and will hope that see the benefits of this consistency throughout a race that is tougher than the other Grand Tours in terms of climbing meters, and one that is highly favourable towards pure climbers such as him.
He will be support by Michel Ries and Laurens Huys in the mountains whilst there should be a free role for Élie Gesbert to chase stage wins in the hilly days. The team will likely put in a lot of focus on the breakaways and seeking opportunities, with the lineup rounded out by Thibault Guernalec, Simon Gugliemi, Mathis Le Berre and Lukasz Owsian.
Didier Rous explained what the team will be aiming for in the three weeks: "The goal will be to go for a stage victory, as was the case in the Tour de France. The ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team's counter in this type of competition is now unlocked, it is up to the riders to continue to make it grow. The best way to achieve this: to race without ulterior motives, and to be opportunistic".
Arkéa - B&B Hotels for Vuelta a España 2024:
Élie Gesbert
Thibault Guernalec
Simon Gugliemi
Laurens Huys
Mathis Le Berre
Lukasz Owsian
Cristián Rodríguez
Michel Ries
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