Bahrain Victorious heads to the 81st edition of La Vuelta a España with Santiago Buitrago leading the team’s general classification ambitions, while a strong and balanced eight rider lineup will look for opportunities throughout the three weeks.

La Vuelta gets underway in Monaco on 22 August and concludes in Granada on 13 September after 21 stages. Across the three weeks, the peloton will cover around 3,300 kilometres and more than 58,000 metres of elevation gain.

The race opens with a short individual time trial before heading quickly into the mountains, with climbing featuring throughout the three weeks. A second individual time trial comes later in the race, while the final week provides some of the last opportunities to shape the general classification.

Buitrago will be the team’s reference for the GC while also looking for opportunities on the stages that suit him. The Colombian will have support across the mountains and key moments of the race, with the team aiming to remain active throughout the Vuelta rather than focusing on a single objective.

Santiago Buitrago:

“I’m really motivated to race La Vuelta a España this year. On a personal level, it has been a slightly complicated season, with a couple of setbacks in the first part of the year, but now I’m very motivated for this Vuelta. I’m coming into it with a lot of ambition, clear objectives and a lot of excitement.

It’s going to be a very tough Vuelta, with a lot of mountain stages. I think there are only three stages for the sprinters, so that tells you how much climbing and elevation we’re going to face, and hopefully that gives us opportunities to achieve what we want.

I think we have a very complete team. There are a lot of young riders, which also excites me because they are riders who stand out, who will do their jobs and who are always looking to be involved and make a good race. I’m also very happy to have someone like Pello with us. This will be his last Vuelta a España and his final year as a professional. I’ve shared almost seven years with him, and he has passed on a lot of his experience to me — how to read races and how to race intelligently. For me, it will be very special to accompany Pello in his final Vuelta and during his last season.

We hope it will be a very positive Vuelta for us. We want to achieve our objectives; without doubt, we want to finish well in the general classification and we want to win stages. Those are the main goals for the team. Hopefully we can enjoy the race from Monaco all the way to Granada, and when we arrive in Granada we can celebrate what we have achieved at this Vuelta a España.”

Alongside Buitrago, Pello Bilbao returns to La Vuelta for what will be the final Grand Tour of his career. The Spaniard will take on the role of road captain while also looking for opportunities of his own in the mountains. Having missed the Tour de France, Bilbao heads into his final Vuelta with extra motivation to race on home roads once again and to help guide a younger group through the three weeks.

Pello Bilbao:

“After these two very busy weeks, here comes my last Vuelta a España. It was an unexpected race on my calendar, but a good opportunity. In the end, not having raced the Tour opened the door for me to do the Vuelta, and I’m really motivated. It’s a race I haven’t done in recent years, although I rode it in my first years as a professional, and I really wanted the opportunity to test myself again at home.

We have a fairly all-round team, capable across different terrains and not too focused on one single objective, with Santi as our reference for the general classification. Beyond that, I see a young team with a lot of desire to chase stages. I would say almost every rider in the team is progressing and hungry. I like that situation too, racing with riders who are perhaps a little less experienced and younger, people like Jakob. It will be a great learning experience for him, and with the quality he has, I’m sure that in a few years he can be competing in Grand Tours or chasing stages on the biggest stages.

For me, in my last Vuelta, it’s also motivating to be part of a young and ambitious team that wants to explore its limits, and I want to contribute all the experience I can. Right now I’m not in a position to fight for the general classification, but I would love to be at the level to fight for a stage victory. It’s the only one I’m missing to complete the set of stage wins in all three Grand Tours. I’m not someone who is obsessed with palmarès or numbers, but I like challenges, and that is another challenge for me.

The route is interesting, with the difficulty spread quite evenly across the three weeks. The race is already very hard from the first week, and I think there are good opportunities to chase stages, which is something I think we should particularly focus on. My preparation hasn’t been ideal, but in the end this is my final season. For me, every stage is a last opportunity: a last opportunity to contribute to the team, to create racing, to put on a show, and to enjoy these experiences one last time. I’m going into this final Grand Tour with a huge amount of excitement, here close to home.”

The eight rider lineup offers options across different terrain. Matevž Govekar will provide the team with an option for the faster finishes, while Pau Miquel can target opportunities from reduced groups as well as supporting the team’s leaders. Jakob Omrzel and Attila Valter strengthen the team in the mountains, with Omrzel also given the opportunity to look for stages. Roman Ermakov and Mathijs Paasschens will play important roles in positioning and protecting the team, particularly on the flatter and more exposed days.

Sports director Franco Pellizotti will lead the team from the car, with the main objective of giving the riders the freedom and support to pursue stage victories while keeping Buitrago in contention through the three weeks.

He added:

“Here we are, almost at the third Grand Tour of the season. After the Giro and the Tour, I think our expectations are quite high. We have a strong team, with Santi as our leader and an experienced road captain in Pello. We know Pello is not in his very best shape, but having him in the team is important for everybody, especially for younger riders like Jakob, who is starting the first Grand Tour of his career. It’s important for us as directors, for the staff and for the whole team as well. This will be Pello’s last Grand Tour, and I hope he can really enjoy these three weeks in Spain.

Santi will be our GC leader, but of course we are not only thinking about the general classification. We also want to fight for stage victories. Roman is riding his second Vuelta, and I hope he can take another step forward from last year. I expect more from him this time and I think he can fight for opportunities on some stages.

For Attila, it hasn’t been the year he would have wanted so far. I’ve spoken with him a lot and expectations are high for him as well. I hope we can see him performing at the level we know he is capable of. He is happy to be coming to the Vuelta, which will be his first Grand Tour of the season.

Matevž Govekar will be our sprinter. It won’t be an easy Vuelta for the sprinters because even the stages that could finish in a sprint are quite hard, but I expect a lot from him and I want to see him continue making progress.

Pau Miquel is very motivated for this Vuelta. I spoke with him a lot before and during Burgos, and he has worked very hard in this part of the season. We have high expectations for him too, and I hope he can fight for a stage victory because that would be an important step for him.

Jakob is the youngest rider in the team and we don’t want to put too much pressure on him. This is his first Grand Tour and he is here to learn a lot. Having Pello alongside him will be especially valuable. Finally, with Mathijs Paasschens, we are not looking at him in terms of individual results because we know what his role is, but I have no doubts about the commitment he will give to the team and to his teammates.”