Vingegaard joined by American duo in Visma Vuelta line-up

Jonas Vingegaard will be flanked by the American duo of Sepp Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson as he bids for victory at the Vuelta a España. His strong Visma | Lease a Bike squad also includes Dylan van Baarle, Wilco Kelderman, Ben Tulett, Victor Campenaerts and Axel Zingle.

It means that Visma have included half of their Tour team – Vingegaard, Kuss, Jorgenson and Campenaerts – in their line-up for the Vuelta, which gets under way in Turin on Saturday.

Vingegaard returns to the Vuelta for the first time since 2023, when he placed second overall behind his teammate Kuss as his team completed a hat-trick of Grand Tours that season. The Dane is the overwhelming favourite for victory after he placed second to Tadej Pogacar at the Tour in July, and he confirmed his participation at the Vuelta even before the Tour had finished.

“I’m looking forward to this Vuelta,” Vingegaard said in a statement on Monday. “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.

“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.

“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.”

Kuss completed a clean sweep of Grand Tours for his team by winning the 2023 Vuelta, but the American has struggled to hit the same heights since. He placed 14th overall at last year’s Vuelta, but he had some encouraging cameos in support of Vingegaard in the third week of the Tour.

Jorgenson will line out at the Vuelta hoping to make amends after a subdued showing at the Tour. The Idaho man had aspirations of a high overall finish, but he had to settle for 19th in Paris after struggling on some key days in the mountains.

Campenaerts, on the other hand, should arrive in Turin high on confidence after delivering on all terrains for Vingegaard in July, including in the high mountains.

Tulett is riding his first Grand Tour since joining Visma from Ineos at the beginning of last year, and he caught the eye with third at the recent Tour de l’Ain. 

Van Baarle is included in the Visma selection despite recently confirming that he will move to Soudal-QuickStep in the off-season.

“The overall win is our big goal, there’s no need to be coy about that,” said 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.”

• Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark)
• Matteo Jorgenson (USA)
• Sepp Kuss (USA)
• Ben Tulett (United Kingdom)
• Victor Campenaerts (Belgium)
• Alex Zingle (France)
• Wilco Kelderman (Netherlands)
• Dylan van Baarle (Netherlands)