The organization of La Vuelta announced this Friday the teams that will compete in the 79th edition of the Spanish round which will begin rolling into Portuguese lands.
On the one hand there is 18 UCI WorldTour teams that ‘by contract’ must be in the test. Namely Alpecin-Deceuninck (Bel), Arkéa-B&B Hotels (Fra), Astana Qazaqstan Team (Kaz), Bahrain-Victorius (Brn), Bora-hansgrohe (Ale), Cofidis (Fra), Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team ( Fra) , EF Education-EasyPost (USA), Groupama-FDJ (Fra), Ineos Grenadiers (Gbr), Intermarche-Wanty (Bel), Lidl-Trek (USA), Movistar Team (ESP), Soudal-Quick Step (Bel ), Team DSM-Firmenich Postnl (PB), Team Jayco AlUla (Aus), Team Viksma-Lease a Bike (PB), UAE Team Emirates (UAE).
These teams are joined by two of the best in the lower categories of cycling, the UCI ProTeams Lotto Dstny (Bel) and Israel Premier Tech (Isr).
It’s hard to choose
And then the organization of La Vuelta has the power to invite two more teams. Each organizer of their three-week grand tour (Giro, Tour or Return) tends to invite UCIProTeams of their country, which requires receiving an invitation to run.
In this case, the chosen ones have been Kern Pharma Team (ESP) and Euskaltel-Euskadi (ESP)the two left in the last edition of the Spanish round, for the benefit of Burgos-BH and Caja Rural-Seguros RGAthat this year they will not be in a race that for ‘modest’ teams is worth its price in gold.
At this point, Burgos-BH has taken the bad news well: “Many thanks to the organization for the opportunity received for six years and congratulations to the selected teams. We will continue to work hard to return to this great race in the future.”
For him Euskaltel-Euskadi This will be its third participation in its new stage since 2018, after participating in the 2021 and 2022 editions, this year’s route has the added motivation of having a 100% Basque stage, the 18th, on September 5 , starting with Vitoria-Gasteiz and when it comes to Izki Natural Park in Maeztu.
Jorge Azanza, sports manager of Euskaltel-Euskadi, He appreciated the invitation with these words: “This invitation is everything. The team has been growing in recent years and will give us an important boost in sports. The runners are very motivated and psyched up. It is to help us from now on. the Vuelta to give everything in all the competitions. The goal in the Vuelta is to show the team we have, fight a stage and do the best possible, like we did in the other editions. It was a day of maximum happiness within the team. For all this, we want to show our gratitude to Unipublic for their trust in us and our commitment to respond on the road.”
“It is a joy that came to us at the perfect time. This team is growing and we deserve to return to La Vuelta again,” he expressed. Juanjo Oroz, general manager of the Kern Pharma Team. “Running the Vuelta a España is a great joy for all of us who make up the Kern Pharma Team: sponsors, riders and the whole team in general. We’re going with the hope of leaving the pavilion as much as possible.” “This has been our great goal of the year. You’re up against the best in the world and it’s the greatest show of visibility for all. As I tell you, this is a dream we have to enjoy and work for. I would love to have a chance to fight on a stage and I believe we have the runners prepared for it.
Source: La Verdad
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