Teams announce long lists for 2017 Vuelta a Espana

The last Grand Tour of the year, the 2017 Vuelta a Espana starts on August 19. Teams have already started to announce their rosters for the race. We’ll update this article as more announcements come across our desk.

AG2R-La Mondiale:

Romain Bardet will make his debut at the Vuelta after a solid showing at the Tour de France.

“After having had a very full Tour de France, both from a sporting and psychological point of view, I took time to reflect on the rest of the season,” Bardet said. “For several months I have been considering the possibility of competing in the Vuelta a Espana, and after speaking with the general management of the team as well as the staff, they have reinforced this idea as an option for me.
I am very happy to have a chance to participate in the Vuelta, not only as a way to avoid the monotony of a usual program, but also to compete in two Grand Tours in one season for the first time in my career.

“This is an important step in the life as a professional racer, and I feel that I have the maturity to tackle it. My ambitions will be different from those that I had when I went to the Tour de France this year, but with a high-performance team, I hope to figure prominently in those stages that correspond to my strengths.”

Team manager Vincent Lavenau feels that Bardet is up to the challenge of a Tour-Vuelta double.

“Romain proved at the Tour de France and throughout the season that he has reached a physical maturity which allows him to compete in two Grand Tours in the same season. This is a logical progression in his career, even if double Grand Tours a season will not necessarily become the norm in future years. His condition at the end of the Tour will allow him to approach the Vuelta with confidence. We will line up at the Vuelta with a very good team and have several riders who will be able to play a large role in the overall standings as well as during individual stages.”

Riders:

• Romain Bardet (confirmed)
• Domenico Pozzovivo (confirmed)
• Matteo Montaguti (confirmed)
• Alexandre Geniez (confirmed)
• Samuel Dumoulin (confirmed)
• Alexis Gougeard (confirmed)
• Hugo Houle (tentative)
• Clement Chevrier (tentative)
• Julien Duval (tentative)
• Nico Denz (tentative)

BORA-hansgrohe:

Rafal Majka will be lead BORA – hansgrohe supported by strong climbers like Buchmann, Konrad and Poljanski. Michael Schwarzmann will be BORA – hansgrohe’s men for the sprints.

“I think we have a well-balanced squad to support Rafal but also to go for stage wins. Rafal will be our GC leader with the goal to finish in the top five. But we also want to win a stage, and I think there will be chances for Buchmann and Konrad in some stages.” – Ralph Denk, Team Manager

Riders:

• Cesare Benedetti
• Emanuel Buchmann
• Michael Kolar
• Patrick Konrad
• Rafal Majka
• Christoph Pfingsten
• Pawel Poljanski
• Andreas Schillinger
• Michael Schwarzmann

Lotto-Soudal:

Lotto Soudal has already announced their squad for the Vuelta:

• Sander Armée
• Bart De Clercq
• Thomas De Gendt
• Jens Debusschere
• Tomasz Marczynski
• Rémy Mertz
• Maxime Monfort
• Rafael Valls
• Jelle Wallays.

It will be the third participation for Rafael Valls (30) in the biggest race of his country. Also for Jens Debusschere, who celebrates his 28th birthday during the Vuelta, it’s the third Vuelta of his career. His fellow countryman Maxime Monfort (34) is more experienced, he takes part for the seventh time. Rémy Mertz (22) is making his Grand Tour début. Jelle Wallays (28) did the same in last year’s Vuelta and he is part of the line-up again. Bart De Clercq, who turns 31 on 26 August, crashed in last year’s sixth stage and had to let go of his ambitions. He gets new opportunities in his sixth Vuelta. Sander Armée (31) returns to the Vuelta too. Just like for Tomasz Marczynski (33) this will be his third Vuelta. Thomas De Gendt (30) can get ready to join breakaways, he is riding the Vuelta for the fifth time.

It’s remarkable that Adam Hansen is not part of the line-up, after eighteen consecutive Grand Tours.

Marc Sergeant, sports manager Lotto Soudal: “Adam was suffering from saddle sore at the Tour. There are less than four weeks between the end of the Tour and the start of the Vuelta. After less than two weeks the injury is healing, but has not disappeared, so the staff fears the injury might play up again during the Vuelta. At the moment Adam hasn’t resumed training yet, so that means the preparation would be really short too. With the sporting goals in mind too, the staff decided not to select him. It’s true that Adam has set a fantastic record, but we knew that would come to an end sooner or later.”

Movistar:

The Movistar Team announced a list of 12 candidates for the nine spots in their roster for the 2017 Vuelta. The official lineup will be confirmed after the Spanish outfit completes a packed calendar in early August, which includes visits to San Sebastián (Saturday 29th), Poland (29th – August 4th), Getxo (Monday 31st), Burgos (August 1st-5th) and the BinckBank Tour (7th-13th).

Riders:

• Winner Anacona
• Jorge Arcas
• Carlos Betancur
• Richard Carapaz
• Rubén Fernández
• Gorka Izagirre
• Dani Moreno
• Nelson Oliveira
• Antonio Pedrero
• Dayer Quintana
• José Joaquín Rojas
• Marc Soler

Team Sunweb:

A strong nine-rider line-up has been selected with an eye on the future, as well as to support Team Sunweb’s exploration of GC possibilities. The Vuelta a España will have five Grand Tour debutants in Team Sunweb’s line-up; including Søren Kragh Andersen (DEN), Chris Hamilton (AUS), Lennard Hofstede (NED), Lennard Kämna (GER) and Sam Oomen (NED). Next to their contributions to the team’s goal, the focus will be on the long-term development of these talented riders. The extremely young team will be complemented by experienced road captain Johannes Fröhlinger (GER) as well as climber Warren Barguil (FRA), who won two stages in the 2013 Vuelta and more recently the KOM jersey at this year’s Tour de France. A key member of the team’s successful Giro d’Italia squad, Chad Haga (USA) completes the team alongside Wilco Kelderman (NED).

Riders:

• Søren Kragh Andersen (DEN)
• Warren Barguil (FRA)
• Johannes Fröhlinger (GER)
• Chad Haga (USA)
• Chris Hamilton (AUS)
• Lennard Hofstede (NED)
• Lennard Kämna (GER)
• Wilco Kelderman (NED)
• Sam Oomen (NED)