For the third time in a year and a half, a Grand Tour will visit the Italian city of Turin. After the Grande Partenza of the Giro d’Italia in 2024 and the finish of the third stage of that year’s Tour de France, it is now the Vuelta a España that will start in the northern Italian city. Following four flat stages, ten hilly stages, five mountain stages, a team time trial, and an individual time trial, the race will traditionally finish in the Spanish capital, Madrid.

After winning the Giro d’Italia and finishing second overall in the Tour de France, Team Visma | Lease a Bike will also be aiming for overall victory in the third and final Grand Tour of the season. Jonas Vingegaard will be starting his third Vuelta and is the leader of the Dutch WorldTeam.

“I’m looking forward to this Tour of Spain,” said the 28-year-old Dane. “After the Tour, I first took some rest and then started my preparations for this next main goal of my season. In recent weeks, I’ve been on an individual training camp, with support from the team on site.”

The Vuelta holds special memories for Vingegaard. “I rode my first Grand Tour here in 2020, which we won with Primoz Roglic. In 2023, we completed our trilogy here and even stood together on the final podium in Madrid. Hopefully, we can add some more great memories this year.”

“The overall win is our big goal, there’s no need to be coy about that,” added Head of Racing Grischa Niermann. “Jonas is our leader and our biggest chance for the overall victory. But with Sepp Kuss, we have a former winner at the start, and Matteo Jorgenson has recovered well after the Tour de France. Together with Wilco Kelderman, Ben Tulett, Victor Campenaerts, Dylan van Baarle, and Axel Zingle, we have a team that can support Jonas in every situation.”

That will be necessary, as the Vuelta is once again characterized by numerous summit finishes. With a team time trial also on the program, the support of a strong team is essential. “We’ll have to be ready every day, but that’s what we expect in a Grand Tour,” said Niermann. “There are quite a few interesting stages, including the team time trial and the individual time trial in stage 18. And of course, the finishes on the Angliru and Bola del Mundo are always special.”

These are all moments Vingegaard is looking forward to. “I’m here for the overall win, and with this team supporting me, that seems like a realistic goal. There are many stages where differences can be made, so it’s important to be ready from the very start. I’m ready and would prefer to start racing right away.”