Trek-Segafredo has announced the eight riders that will represent the Team at the Vuelta a España (19 August - 11 September).
Our usual designer is off this week so we asked @Mads__Pedersen to design our #LaVuelta22 poster.
He worked really hard on it. We hope you like it! 😜😂 pic.twitter.com/3NgyJhR0ST
— Trek-Segafredo (@TrekSegafredo) August 12, 2022
After a stunning stage win at the Tour de France in July, Mads Pedersen will make his debut at the Spanish Grand Tour and will spearhead the team’s race ambitions alongside Juanpe López. The young Spanish rider will be lining up for his third Vuelta off the back of a thrilling performance at the Giro d’Italia which saw him finish tenth on the general classification, take home the white jersey and spend ten days in the Maglia Rosa.
The pair will be joined on the start line by Alex Kirsch (3rd participation), Antonio Tiberi (Grand Tour debut), Dario Cataldo (10th participation), Daan Hoole (Grand Tour debut), Julien Bernard (3rd participation) and Kenny Elissonde (7th participation).
Sports Director Steven de Jongh, Mads Pedersen and Juanpe López give their thoughts ahead of the race below:
Steven de Jongh
“First and foremost, we want to win a stage. That’s our priority. I think with Mads and the guys who will join him on the squad for the lead-out, Daan and Alex, we have a good team more than capable of achieving that. Then, on the other hand, we have a strong climbers group with Juanpe free to race for the General Classification. After a good Giro, I am looking forward to seeing what he can do, I think he has a good chance to do a nice result here too.”
Mads Pedersen
“I’m really looking forward to doing my first Vuelta. I had a strong Tour de France and came out of it with a really good feeling. After the Benelux Tour was cancelled, we looked into the possibility of me riding the Vuelta and decided it would be the best option for me for the last part of the season, especially with the Vuelta having eight stages that fit me quite well.
“I’ll give it a go and see how it works out. For sure, it’s going to be hot, and in the past, I struggled a bit with that, but after the Tour we saw that the heat adaptation work that I’ve done helped a lot, so I’m not too worried about the heat. We feel confident in this decision, and we have a strong, well-rounded Team going to the Vuelta. I think we can be in the mix of everything: sprint days, medium sprint days and climbing days. It should be a good three weeks and I think it will be a good experience to have two Grand Tours in one year. We will see how my body reacts and maybe it is something we think about for the future as well.”
Juanpe López
“In my opinion, I think we have a really good team for the Vuelta with a strong mix of riders from our Classics group and the climbers group. For this reason, we are ready for every stage, and I am super happy to be a part of this team. I have big ambitions this year for the Vuelta. My first objective at the Giro was to win one stage and I just missed that, so I want to try and achieve that here, for sure. I also want to do a good GC but that will be something that we will take day by day. I didn’t have the best of luck after the Giro as I caught Covid and I wasn’t at 100% in Burgos but I do believe that I will arrive in the Netherlands in good shape and ready to put in a good performance.”
