The Vuelta a España, the third and final men’s Grand Tour of the season, begins this weekend in Lisbon, Portugal, and in the absence of most of the sport’s superstars, it’s an opportunity for a new host of emerging talent to come to the forefront.
More than a quarter of the peloton on the start line in Lisbon will be making their Vuelta debuts, many of whom will also take their maiden step into three-week racing. Rouleur predicts that over the course of 21 stages, these nine riders will all make their mark and announce themselves on the world stage.
Time trial sensation: Josh Tarling, Ineos Grenadiers
The youngest rider in the race and already one of the best time triallists in the world, the 20-year-old Welshman will be the overwhelming favourite to win the first stage, a 12km flat time trial along the Lisbon coast, on what will also be his Grand Tour debut.
From then on, the Ineos Grenadiers rider will be on domestique duty, but if he survives the succession of mountains and hot weather, there’ll be another golden opportunity for him to win: the final day 24km time trial in Madrid.
GC expectation: Isaac del Toro, UAE Team Emirates
Isaac del Toro celebrating his young riders classification win at the Tour Down Under (Image by SWPix.com)
The Mexican needs little introduction after a whirlwind past year in which he won the Tour de l’Avenir, signed a six-year contract with UAE Team Emirates, won at the Tour Down Under in just his second race as a pro, and was then in contention to win two spring WorldTour stage races. All that, and he doesn’t even turn 21 until November.
Though the official line is that Del Toro’s objective is to learn, with results a secondary ambition, it was only two years ago that the same thing was said about Juan Ayuso, who went on to finish third overall. If he adapts well to the rigours of three-week racing, it’s absolutely plausible that he could finish high up on GC.
Read more: Isaac del Toro - a star in the making
Star in the making: Florian Lipowitz, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
Twenty-three-year-old Lipowitz was competing in biathlon for Germany until 2020, but now he’s regarded as one of Red Bull’s brightest GC hopes. He’s already won two smaller races – the Czech Tour in 2023 and the Sibiu Tour this July – but most impressively finished third at the Tour de Romandie in April, bettering the results of several Grand Tour winners.
With the conditions of Primož Roglič and Aleksandr Vlasov largely unknown following their Tour de France crashes, and Dani Martínez only having raced twice since finishing second at the Giro d’Italia, Lipowitz – who started May’s Giro but abandoned after stage five – might emerge as Red Bull’s strongest GC option. Or, at the very least, play his role as a super-domestique in the mountains.
Britain’s GC hope: Max Poole, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
Max Poole behind Julian Alaphilippe at Tirreno-Adriatico (Image by SWPix.com)
Speak to many people involved in British cycling, and they’ll tell you that the country’s next Grand Tour winner goes by the name of Max Poole. Quiet but confident, the 21-year-old featured in several breakaways at last year’s Vuelta, and is bang on form ahead of another lap around Spain, finishing second at the recent Vuelta a Burgos behind Sepp Kuss.
Poole, despite his tender years, already counts several high placings in WorldTour stage races, and he will be Team dsm-firmenich PostNL’s protected general classification rider during the Vuelta. If his GC bid falls by the wayside, a stage win is a definite possibility.
One of three American bets: Matthew Riccitello, Israel-Premier Tech
For a few years, the baby-faced 22-year-old has been talked up as one of America’s growing number of GC prodigies, and the Arizonan, who led last year’s Tour de l’Avenir going into the final day, has continued his development into a promising stage racer this season with fifth at the Tour de Suisse in June.
The good news for Riccitello, whose father Jimmy was a professional triathlete, is that with defending champion Sepp Kuss competing, and Brandon McNutly one of many options for UAE Team Emirates, he’s not the only American carrying the country’s flag in the race for red.
The quiet Belgian prospect: Lennert Van Eetvelt, Lotto Dstny
Lennert Van Eetvelt during the 2024 Strade Bianche (Image by SWPix.com)
Though he’s only raced 18 days due to first a knee injury and then being hit by a car while training in Tenerife, 23-year-old Van Eetvelt has had one of the most understated but eye-catching seasons, regularly beating riders with much greater palmarès.
The Belgian triumphed at the Trofeo Serra Tramuntana in Mallorca in January and followed that up by winning the queen stage and overall at February’s UAE Tour, and finished third at last weekend’s Clásica San Sebastián. He was active in breakaways at last year’s Vuelta, and he can be counted upon to animate the race yet again. A tilt at the GC is also not out of the question.
Czech prodigy: Mathias Vacek, Lidl-Trek
Another rider with a ski background, Vacek, the tall and stocky 22-year-old combined cross-country skiing and cycling until he was 18 and could have turned pro in the winter sport. But he committed to two wheels instead, and in 2022, he won a stage of the UAE Tour aged just 19 – becoming the second youngest rider to win a WorldTour race.
Since joining Lidl-Trek at the end of 2022, he’s steadily built a name for himself as a rider capable of winning one-day races and shorter stage races, and recently finished second at the Belgium Tour and fourth at the Tour of Norway. He’ll almost certainly be featuring in the mid-mountain breakaway days at the Vuelta – his first Grand Tour – and might spring a surprise in the two time trials.
A new sprinter emerges? Pavel Bittner, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
Pavel Bittner during the 2023 Tour de Suisse ITT (Image by SWPix.com)
Once again, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL are fielding mostly younger riders, with six of their eight all under 25. Except for Poole, none generate as much excitement as sprinter Pavel Bittner.
A winner of two stages at the Vuelta a Burgos in August, the 21-year-old Czech has the momentum to add to his win tally with so few sprinters competing in Spain. His main rival will be Wout van Aert, a rider he has already jostled with – and beaten – in his first two years as a pro.
Breakaway hunter? Riley Sheehan, Israel-Premier Tech
Last autumn, American Riley Sheehan pulled off one of the least expected victories all season, winning Paris-Tours while being a stagiaire with Israel-Premier Tech. Unsurprisingly, he was snapped up on a three-year contract.
The 24-year-old, son of former pro Clark, has impressed at more one-day races this season – third at the WorldTour event Eschborn-Frankfurt in May and fourth at Tro-Bro Léon a few days after – and thrives on those lumpy days that don’t bring the mountain climbers out to play. Expect to see him infiltrate many a breakaway on what will be his first Grand Tour.
