"When they told me, I didn't believe it" - La Vuelta director admits surprise at Jonas Vingegaard's return to the race

Jonas Vingegaard will be riding the Vuelta a Espana for the second time in his career it has been announced, as part of a star-studded Jumbo-Visma lineup alongside Primoz Roglic. This news came as a surprise to many, including the race director Javier Guillen.

"When they told me, I didn't believe it," Guillén told Carrusel Deportivo. "We didn't expect Vingegaard to ride the Vuelta as no one had confirmed he would come. I was therefore extremely surprised that he announced that he is coming, with the fatigue in his legs after the Tour."

Vingegaard's last three Grand Tours have all been the Tour de France, finishing second in 2021 and winning both the 2022 and 2023 editions. It was the 2020 Vuelta a Espana where Vingegaard made his Grand Tour debut however, finishing 46th as teammate Primoz Roglic won the overall race.

"It is a historical fact that we now have both the winner of the Giro (Primoz Roglic) and the Tour (Jonas Vingegaard) at the start. Hopefully we can lure in some other stars, but we have to be realistic. Due to the difficulty of the Tour, Tadej Pogacar and Carlos Rodríguez, for example, are not at the start," explains Guillen. "If both of them would also come, we might have the best field of participants ever. But with what we have now, we can't ask for more."