"We have a clear vision of how we're going to win the Vuelta" - Visma DS confident in Jonas Vingegaard's victory

We're counting hours until the official start of the 2025 Vuelta a Espana. And if you think that one name is being mentioned more often than others for the overall victory, it's not just your imagination. Visma | Lease a Bike bring a former winner Sepp Kuss to the race, but their chosen champion is obviously Jonas Vingegaard. After two Tour de France titles, the 28-year-old Dane has a "simple" mission ahead of him for the next three weeks.

"We know how to win Grand Tours, and it's clear that with Jonas and a strong team around him, we're at the starting line to win the Vuelta. That won't be easy, but it's clear that our ambition is to win the race," Grischa Niermann explained the situation at a pre-race press conference to present media including In de Leiderstrui.

"We have a clear vision of how we're going to win the Vuelta, but as usual, I won't reveal the tactics," said the German sports director. "But there are ten mountain finishes, the first on the second day and the last on the penultimate day. So you have to be in shape from start to finish. You'll see which days are crucial for us in the next three weeks."

Vingegaard appears as the absolute favourite to win in absence of Tadej Pogacar. Still, the main challengers could come be the Slovenian's UAE Team Emirates - XRG teammates. But Niermann is not the least bit worried. "We're starting from scratch. Joao Almeida and Juan Ayuso have the qualities to win a Grand Tour, but we believe we're better and can beat them."

Probably far from a key moment for the conclusion of the 2025 edition, the 24-kilometer team time trial on day 5 could nevertheless shuffle the cards a bit after four days of relatively calm racing. With top-tier engines Victor Campenaers, Matteo Jorgenson and Dylan van Baarle in the selection, Vingegaard will definitely aim to gain time on his rivals, rather than defend positions.

"The TTT is a fantastic discipline. We won the TTT in Paris-Nice this year, and it would be great to compete for the win again. However, looking at the start list, I don't immediately see us as the top favorites. And I don't think the differences on this fast and flat course will be too great."