With no Mas and no Quintana, Movistar Team look to youth and Pablo Castrillo at La Vuelta 2025
Cycling
Movistar Team have confirmed their line-up for the 2025 Vuelta a España, which kicks off this Saturday, 23rd August, with a Gran Salida in Turin. With Enric Mas sidelined due to injury, any lingering hopes of a general classification campaign have been shelved. Instead, Eusebio Unzué has opted for a youthful, aggressive squad built around opportunistic breakaways and the pursuit of stage victories — a pragmatic shift for a team in need of results.
Leading the charge is Pablo Castrillo, the 2024 revelation who stunned the peloton with two stage wins in last year’s Vuelta. After a subdued showing in his Tour de France debut, Castrillo returns to more familiar terrain with renewed ambitions. He’ll be joined by the likes of Javier Romo and Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda, both suited to mountainous terrain and likely to animate the race in the high-altitude breakaways.
Also targeting stage success are Carlos Canal and Iván García Cortina, riders with the engine and tactical nous to feature in rolling-stage escapes. Orluis Aular, meanwhile, will aim to capitalise on the race’s limited sprint opportunities, as he did in the Giro — this time against a less stacked sprint field, where a well-timed move could yield dividends.
The line-up is rounded out by Jorge Arcas, expected to play his usual support role, and Michel Hessmann, whose form remains an open question. The German, recently returned from a doping suspension, has yet to show signs of his former promise. The Vuelta will serve as his first significant test in Movistar colours, and a chance to prove he still belongs at this level.
As anticipated, Nairo Quintana was not selected following his crash at the Vuelta a Burgos — a decision many feel should have come earlier, given his deeply underwhelming 2025 campaign. Fernando Gaviria also misses out, with the route offering little for a pure sprinter — and his recent form offering even less justification.
With GC ambitions off the table, Movistar head into the Vuelta in a transitional phase, banking on youth, aggression, and tactical freedom to deliver the kind of stage wins that have eluded them in recent seasons.
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Movistar Team for the 2025 Vuelta a Espana
Pablo Castrillo
Javier Romo
Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda
Carlos Canal
Ivan Garcia Cortina
Orluis Aular
Jorge Arcas
Michel Hessmann
Javier Romo
Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda
Carlos Canal
Ivan Garcia Cortina
Orluis Aular
Jorge Arcas
Michel Hessmann
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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