Fans gathered at the Plaza del Mar to celebrate the team presentation a couple of days ahead of the start. "Today we are making our dream come true: to return Barcelona to its rightful place as the great sporting capital that it is", said the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni. "Spanish roads are always brutal", explained the defending champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) as he gets ready to battle against "the best Grand Tour riders of the last months". The stars of Jumbo-Visma, UAE Team Emirates, Ineos Grenadiers and Movistar also expressed their ambitions for the coming three weeks.
EVENEPOEL: “SPANISH ROADS ARE ALWAYS BRUTAL"
“Spain is a country I kind of click with”, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) happily explained on Thursday in Barcelona, where he gets ready to defend his overall victory in La Vuelta 2022. “I train a lot in Spain and I like the characteristics of the roads here. It’s always brutal and it invites racing.”
Facing “the best Grand Tour riders of the last few months” a couple of weeks after he won the rainbow jersey in the time trial, Evenepoel aims for “stage wins and to be on the podium in Madrid. It’s difficult to say you want to win a Grand Tour, because so many things can happen at any time, like I’ve experienced it already. If I have three or four stage wins and I finish 12th on GC, it’s still a very good Vuelta. I’ve done recons at race pace, especially on the Angliru, so I know what’s coming.”
ROGLIC-VINGEGAARD: "WE WORK SUPER WELL TOGETHER"
After their success in the Giro and the Tour de France, Jumbo-Visma are aiming for a historic treble in La Vuelta. Will Primoz Roglic rise to a fourth victory or is it Jonas Vingegaard’s turn to conquer the Spanish Grand Tour? “We’re not racing against each other, we’re racing with each other”, the Dane recalled on Thursday. “We work super well together and the goal here is to win. I have great memories from La Vuelta. It was my first Grand Tour, in 2020, and it was an amazing debut for me, helping Primoz win.”
The Slovenian star, winner of every race he’s participated in this year (Tirreno, Volta a Catalunya, Giro and Vuelta a Burgos), adds another teammate in the mix: “It could also be Sepp Kuss! La Vuelta is a fun race with always interesting finales and action from the start. We don’t have to wait for the last week. And if you look at the stats, if you want to win, you have to take Sepp with you!” The American climber has raced every Grand Tour Jumbo-Visma have won since 2019 (La Vuelta 2019, 20 and 21; Tour 2022 and 23; Giro 2023).
SPANISH EYES TURN TO MAS AND AYUSO
After they stepped together on the podium of La Vuelta 22, Enric Mas (Movistar) and Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) are Spain’s main contenders to triumph in Madrid. “I’ve trained a lot over the last three weeks and I hope that my body responds in the best possible way”, Mas said ahead of his fifth participation in La Vuelta (2nd in 2018, 21 and 22).
It will be Ayuso’s second participation, after he became last year the second youngest rider to ever finish in the top 3 of a Grand Tour. The Spanish wonderkid is looking forward to racing “after a tough year mentally. I hope to enjoy the race that last year became a dream come true. Getting on the podium gives you the chance to dream a little bit more. Although it should be harder this year with such a field, that’s why we race and train.”
INEOS AND UAE PLAY ON COLLECTIVE STRENGTH
Ineos Grenadiers and UAE Team Emirates, Jumbo-Visma's main rivals in the Giro and the Tour, came to Spain with impressive collectives to try and overthrow Jumbo-Visma.
The Grenadiers can count on two former Tour de France winners, Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal, as well as a powerhouse such as Filippo Ganna, who stated they have "one of the strongest teams here". "I'm ready to start and I'm very motivated", Thomas said with his eyes on the first challenges: "The team time trial is a great goal for us. We have strong riders and we can do a great race." As for Bernal, 6th of La Vuelta 2021, he lines up with the ambition "to help the team do its best for G, who's been on the podium of the last two Grand Tours he raced. And if something comes my way, it will be welcome."
Leading UAE Team Emirates alongside Juan Ayuso, Joao Almeida also wants to use numbers in the race: "Our team is similar to last year's, we know each other. I have a good feeling with Juan, I trust my teammates 100% and I think we can fight for the podium."
LA VUELTA MOVES WITH CORREOS
Building on the partnership established in 2020, Correos is the official logistic operator of La Vuelta 23 with 27 tractor units, two trucks with trailers, one rigid truck and 15 flatbeds to transport fences, signs and the mobile infrastructures of the finish line. The postal company also sponsors the team classification, with the best team on a stage stepping onto the podium while the leaders of the team standings wear a red bib with Correos logo.
