"We would have loved to welcome Pogacar, but Vingegaard's arrival was already a surprise" - Vuelta director Javier Guillén thrilled with 'dream' startlist

Although the sprinters are absent, this year's mountainous Vuelta a Espana will be having a luxurious startlist featuring an expected battle for the red jersey including Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic, Geraint Thomas and Juan Ayuso. The race organization is very pleased with this.

“We would have loved to welcome Pogacar, but Vingegaard's arrival was already a surprise," race director Javier Guillén told In de Leiderstrui. "I was already very satisfied with the field before Vingegaard was confirmed. Now we have the winner of the Giro, the Tour and the world time trial champion. That's a dream, this is one of the best start lists in the history of the race. We'll see if everyone can deliver, but it's already a great start."

With nine mountain stages and many more hilly ones - of course not forgetting the time-trials - the overall classification will be changing quite frequently. Although Tadej Pogacar, who set much of the Tour de France on fire with his constant attacks is not present, Guillén is hopeful that the star-studded field will deliver the action. This late in the year and in a race where the heat regularly makes itself present, the unexpected is by many expected.

Guillén hopes there isn't a domination from Jumbo-Visma however: "It's a logical question, but I hope not. I know that Jumbo-Visma wants to win the Giro, Tour and Vuelta in one year and that will be a big challenge. But Evenepoel will want him to be watched and as a Spanish people we also believe in Ayuso. The Vuelta is also a race in which we are often surprised by riders, but it is true that Jumbo-Visma is currently the largest team on paper. We'll see how dominant they will be in practice."

He talked about the presence of mythical passes such as the Col du Tourmalet in the climbing-heavy route among other topics, but is also noticeably satisfied with the big Spanish figures who are present at the race. Enric Mas and Juan Ayuso were second and third last year respectively and although the task will be more difficult this time around, both come as contenders for the podium.

"It is very important that Ayuso and Mas are here, the Spanish fans need that. Spain has always delivered for the last fifty years and people want to see riders like Contador, Indurain and Pereiro. It is important that the most important Spanish riders are here, together with the biggest stars of the international circuit," he concluded.