2026 Vuelta a España wildcards confirmed with Spanish team returning after three stage wins in 2024

The teams for the 81st edition of the Vuelta a España have been confirmed. Alongside the eighteen UCI WorldTour teams, three ProTeams, Pinarello-Q36.5, Tudor Pro Cycling and Cofidis, have also qualified for the Spanish Grand Tour as the three top-ranked teams outside of the WorldTour. These three times are also invited to the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia.

The race organisers have awarded two wildcard invitations to Spanish teams Burgos-Burpellet-BH and Equipo Kern Pharma to complete the 23-team roster. 

Having been absent last year, Equipo Kern Pharma will return to the Spanish Grand Tour for the first time since 2024. That edition was a major success for the team who won three stages in total. 

Two came via Pablo Castrillo in mountain top finishes, and Urko Berrade won with an intelligent late attack on a breakaway stage. Burgos-Burpellet-BH were present at the Vuelta a España in 2025, and will return for the second consecutive season.

“This news fills us with energy and comes at a key moment. The team is evolving, and we believe we deserved to return to La Vuelta,” said Juanjo Oroz, general manager of Team Kern Pharma. 

“We want to be contenders and have real chances of fighting for a stage win. We have riders who already know what it’s like to win in La Vuelta and others who believe they are capable of achieving it because they have already seen that it is," added Oroz.

One notable absence in the line-up is Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, who are regular attendees of their home Grand Tour. This reason for their absence is a majorly positive one for the team as they have been invited to the Tour de France for the very first time, with the race kicking off on Spanish soil with a team time trial in Barcelona, Spain, on July 4.

The 2026 Vuelta will also kick off on foreign soil, in Monaco on August 22, with an individual time trial of its own. The race will then conclude on September 13 in Granada, covering a total distance of 3,275km across four countries. Jonas Vingegaard is the defending champion after winning the third Grand Tour of his career last Autumn ahead of João Almeida and Tom Pidcock.