La Vuelta 2022 team guide: Start-list, star riders and race goals for Jumbo-Visma and their rival 22 teams

We list each rider and discuss who is the real leader of each team while outlining their various goals over the next three weeks in the Netherlands and Spain – all while eschewing the burning question of what Spanish food corresponds best to each team. (It was just too much of a tall order given Spanish cuisine is limited to tortilla, churros, chorizo and deep-fried fish.)

Let’s now toss aside the lazy (and factually incorrect) cultural stereotypes – after all, there are currently 228 Michelin starred restaurants in Spain – and run through the 23 teams and 184 riders looking to animate the third and final Grand Tour of the season…

AG2R-Citroen

Ben O’Connor
Clement Champoussin
Antoine Raugel
Jaakko Hanninen
Bob Jungels
Nans Peters
Nicolas Prodhomme
Andrea Vendrame

Star rider: Ben O’Connor, the French team’s honorary Australian of Scouse descent.

Race goals: A podium for O’Connor after his Tour disappointment plus stage wins for the reborn Jungels and the versatile duo of Peters and Vendrame.

Alpecin-Deceuninck

Xandro Meurisse
Lionel Taminiaux
Tim Merlier
Robert Stannard
Jay Vine
Jimmy Janssens
Oscar Riesebeek
Gianni Vermeersch

Star rider: Tim Merlier – although not for long: the Belgian sprinter is off to Soudal-QuickStep next year.

Race goals: Early sprint wins in the Netherlands for Merlier would set the tone nicely for the remainder of the race. Vine and Meurisse will try their luck in breakaways on hillier terrain. But let’s be honest: Alpecin could really do with Mathieu van der Poel here – provided it’s the Giro version and not the Tour anomaly.

Astana-Qazaqstan

Alexey Lutsenko
Vincenzo Nibali
Harold Tejada
Yevgeniy Fedorov
David de la Cruz
Miguel Angel Lopez
Vadim Pronskiy
Samuele Battistella

Star rider: Vincenzo Nibali – a winner of all three Grand Tours and a veteran superstar riding his last major stage race before retirement.

Race goals: A farewell stage win for road captain Nibali would be the cherry on the cake of a race where Astana could really do with solid GC performances from Lutsenko and Lopez. After a DNF in his last four Grand Tours, plus some unsavoury accusations flying around in the media, the hot-headed Colombian really needs to get his career back on track.

Bahrain Victorious

Mikel Landa
Edoardo Zambinini
Fred Wright
Santiago Buitrago
Gino Mader
Wout Poels
Luis Leon Sanchez
Jasha Sutterlin

Star rider: Basque climber Mikel Landa finished third in the Giro and has still not given up hope of a maiden Grand Tour win – even if we have.

Race goals: Landismo may be the Plan A for red but the team’s stand-out climbers Buitrago and Mader could easily come away with stage wins and high finishes in Madrid. British youngster Wright impressed in the Tour and will hope to keep chipping away in search of that elusive stage win.

Bora-Hansgrohe

Jai Hindley
Matteo Fabbro
Wilco Kelderman
Sergio Higuita
Sam Bennett
Danny Van Poppel
Jonas Koch
Ryan Mullen

Star rider: Jai Hindley, who became the first Australian to win the Giro d’Italia this May.

Race goals: It’s unchartered territory for Hindley, who has never ridden two Grand Tours in a single season before, so Dutchman Kelderman and Colombia’s Higuita (a possible polka dot contender?) could emerge from the shadows should the 26-year-old falter. Injury plagued Irish sprinter Bennett will hope to get back to winning ways in his first Grand Tour in two years.

Burgos-BH

Jetse Bol
Oscar Cabedo
Jose Manuel Diaz
Jesus Ezquerra
Angel Madrazo
Daniel Navarro
Ander Okamika
Manuel Penalver

Star rider: The term ‘star’ is relative here, but Oscar Cabedo is the team’s focal point for GC as he looks to build on his 19th place last year.

Race goals: Besides Cabedo’s tilt for the top 15, the bespectacled Angel ‘McLovin’ Madrazo and Dutchman Bol, the team’s only non-Spaniard, always offer good value in Vuelta breakaways (the pair delivered a memorable one-two in purple at Javalambre in Stage 5 in 2019).

Cofidis

Davide Cimolai
Thomas Champion
Jesus Herrada
Jose Herrada
Davide Villella
Bryan Coquard
Ruben Fernandez
Remy Rochas

Star rider: Once again, ‘star’ is doing some heavy lifting here. At a stretch, either of the Herrada brothers (both stage winners of their national race) or sprinter Coquard.

Race goals: After missing the Tour because of Covid, Coquard will hope to pick that elusive Grand Tour win – and with such a weakened sprint field, his chances are good. Los Hermanos Herrada will eye a stage win – although a repeat of Jesus’s two-day stint in red from 2018 looks unlikely.

EF Education-EasyPost

Hugh Carthy
Merhawi Kudus
Mark Padun
Jonathan Caicedo
Esteban Chaves
Julius van den Berg
Rigoberto Uran
James Shaw

Star rider: Don’t tell the Colombians but it has to be Britain’s Hugh Carthy – provided it’s the one we saw on the Angliru in 2020 and not the watered-down version from last year’s Vuelta.

Race goals: Carthy to rediscover his Spanish mojo and Padun putting in a maiden Grand Tour appearance for EF that has shades of his Criterium du Dauphine performance from last year rather than 12 months later. A top 10 for Uran and a smile back on Chaves’s face wouldn’t go amiss, either.

Equipo Kern Pharma

Roger Adria
Urko Berrade
Hector Carretero
Francisco Galvan
Raul Garcia Pierna
Pau Miquel
Jose Felix Parra
Vojtech Repa

Star rider: Hector Carretero – the only rider from the team who has ridden a Grand Tour before and the only rider who wouldn’t qualify for the white jersey competition where the Vuelta to have one.

Race goals: Survival? All eight riders are Vuelta debutants with 27-year-old Carretero the only experienced hand having ridden the Giro twice for Movistar. Getting into the breakaways each day is surely the most we can expect from the Spanish minnows, who have three professional wins between them.

Euskaltel-Euskadi

Luis Angel Mate
Xabier Mikel Azparren
Joan Bou
Mikel Iturria
Mikel Bizkarra
Gotzon Martin
Ibai Azurmendi
Carlos Canal

Star rider: Old-hand Mate is a Vuelta veteran having taken his trademark rattail haircut on 10 trips around Spain while plying his trade for Cofidis.

Race goals: A maiden Grand Tour stage win for Mate would be a job well done for the Spanish pro-conti team. Iturria’s breakaway win in 2019 is proof that dreams can come true and motivation, if ever they needed it, for the boys in orange to keep doing their thing.

Groupama-FDJ

Thibaut Pinot
Fabian Lienhard
Jake Stewart
Bruno Admirail
Quentin Pacher
Miles Scotson
Rudy Molard
Sebastien Reichenbach

Star rider: French veteran Thibaut Pinot has twice finished in the top 10 in the Vuelta although he notoriously wilts in the heat.

Race goals: It’s unlikely that Pinot will have any genuine GC ambitions so he’ll no doubt target stage wins and the polka dot jersey. British youngster Stewart is a fast finisher and could be an interesting option in a breakaway or a reduced bunch sprint.

Ineos Grenadiers

Richard Carapaz
Carlos Rodriguez
Dylan van Baarle
Luke Plapp
Ben Turner
Ethan Hayter
Pavel Sivakov
Tao Geoghegan Hart

Star rider: Olympic champion Richard Carapaz, a former Giro winner and runner-up in the 2020 Vuelta by just 24 seconds.

Race goals: Ecuador’s Carapaz will look for retribution after losing the pink jersey to Jai Hindley in the Giro this May, with the in-form Sivakov, 2020 Giro winner Geoghegan Hart and youngster Rodriguez all decent back-up options. The versatile Hayter will eye a win or two on his Grand Tour debut – provided he doesn’t get caught out loitering at the back of the pack.

Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux

Louis Meintjes
Gerben Thijssen
Julius Johansen
Jan Hirt
Rein Taaramae
Domenico Pozzovivo
Boy Van Poppel
Jan Bakelants

Star rider: There’s little splitting the diminutive duo of little Louis Meintjes and piccolo Domenico Pozzovivo.

Race goals: Meintjes, Pozzovivo and the Czech climber Hirt could all feasibly target the top 10, while Belgium’s Bakelants will hope to build on his recent win in Wallonia. With his stage win and red jersey last year, Estonia’s Taaramae showed that anything is possible for Intermarche, who have been a revelation in Grand Tours ever since.

Israel-Premier Tech

Michael Woods
Patrick Bevin
Chris Froome
Daryl Impey
Itamar Einhorn
Carl Fredrik Hagen
Alessandro De Marchi
Omer Goldstein

Star rider: Canadian long-distance runner Michael Woods came seventh back in 2017 and has been given the nod to push for the GC in Spain after being forced out of the Tour on the last day with Covid.

Race goals: Besides a top 10 for Woods, and possible stage wins for Froome, De Marchi and Impey, a return to form for Norway’s Hagen, who finished eighth in his debut Vuelta in 2019 but has done very little since, would be nice.

Jumbo Visma

Primoz Roglic
Edoardo Affini
Sam Oomen
Sepp Kuss
Robert Gesink
Mike Teunissen
Chris Harper
Rohan Dennis

Star rider: The man who could make history by winning four consecutive Vuelta titles – Primoz Roglic.

Race goals: Provided he has recovered from his Tour injuries, Roglic will be the outright favourite for the red jersey – although Sepp Kuss, eighth last year, could step in should the Slovenian stutter. Given their wealth of expertise against the clock, an opening day TTT win for Jumbo-Visma in Utrecht is all but guaranteed. Can they hold onto red all the way to Madrid?

Lotto Soudal

Cedric Beullens
Filippo Conca
Steff Cras
Thomas De Gendt
Jarrad Drizners
Kamil Malecki
Harry Sweeny
Maxim Van Gils

Star rider: Breakaway specialist Thomas De Gendt

Race goals: Breakaway wins for De Gendt – plus anything that may help them from evading relegation from the World Tour. (But by the looks of the squad selection, that ship has already sailed…)

Movistar

Enric Mas
Alejandro Valverde
Carlos Verona
Neilson Oliveira
Jose Joaquin Rojas
Mathias Norsgaard
Gregor Muhlberger
Lluis Mas

Star rider: Given Enric Mas’s distinct lack of star quality, we’ll have to go with Alejandro Valverde here – a veteran of 31 Grand Tours whose first Vuelta appearance came when Danish teammate Norsgaard was only five-years-old.

Race goals: A farewell stage win for Valverde would add gloss to Enric Mas making the final podium and Verona being rewarded for his likely attacks with a stage win in the mountains. An early goal should be limiting the time loss in the team time trial so that Mas is not already out of the picture before the race hits Spanish soil.

Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl

Remco Evenepoel
Pieter Serry
Julian Alaphilippe
Remi Cavagna
Dries Devenyns
Fauso Masnada
Ilan Van Wilder
Louis Vervaeke

Star rider: Until Remco Evenepoel proves himself on the centre stage, we’ll opt for the double world champion Julian Alaphilippe.

Race goals: A more successful Vuelta debut for Evenepoel than his damp squib of a Giro debut last year – although the ingredients look to be there: the Belgian is on stellar form and this is a route that really plays to his strengths. Alaphilippe will also hope to signal his return to Grand Tour racing with a stage win on one of the punchy uphill finishes.

Team Arkea-Samsic

Nairo Quintana
Daniel McLay
Anthony Delaplace
Thibault Guernalec
Elie Gesbert
Simon Gugliemi
Lukasz Owsian
Clement Russo

Star rider: Colombian veteran Nairo Quintana – when he’s not buzzing on Tramadol.

Race goals: Quintana, the 2016 winner, to get a top 10 that won’t get taken away from him retrospectively for any abuse of a banned pain-killer.

Team BikeExchange-Jayco

Simon Yates
Luke Durbridge
Michael Hepburn
Lawson Craddock
Lucas Hamilton
Callum Scotson
Kaden Groves
Kelland O’Brien

Star rider: Despite failing to finish three of his past four Grand Tours, Simon Yates very much sprinkles the stardust over this Australian-heavy squad.

Race goals: If a repeat of his 2018 win is unlikely then Yates should at least eye a top five and a stage win, while sprinter Kaden Groves has shown enough quality this year to put him in the frame for a win in one of the six flat stages.

Team DSM

Thymen Arensman
Mark Donovan
Henri Vandenabeele
Marco Brenner
John Degenkolb
Joris Nieuwenhuis
Nikias Arndt
Jonas Iversby Hvideberg

Star rider: With 10 Vuelta stage wins to his name, it has to be John Degenkolb – even if the last one came seven years ago.

Race goals: A return to winning ways for that man Degenkolb, with promising Dutch youngster Arensman going one better than the two runner-up spots he achieved during the Giro this May, perhaps even while taking the polka dot jersey.

Trek-Segafredo

Mads Pedersen
Juan Pedro Lopez
Antonio Tiberi
Alex Kirsch
Daan Hoole
Dario Cataldo
Kenny Elissonde
Julien Bernard

Star rider: Former world champion Mads Pedersen has proved his quality over the past few seasons.

Race goals: Juanpe Lopez’s 10-day stint in pink at the Giro will give the Spanish climber high hopes of a top 10 finish in a race in which he came 13th last year. Denmark’s Pedersen should win at least one stage, while French climber Elissonde is due a big result.

UAE Team Emirates

Joao Almeida
Pascal Ackermann
Juan Ayuso
Brandon McNulty
Juan Sebastian Molano
Ivo Oliveira
Jan Polanc
Marc Soler

Star rider: In the absence of Tadej Pogacar, UAE have gone for a trident attack through Joao Almeida, Brandon McNulty and Marc Soler. Portuguese debutant Almeida will start as designated leader, but has only ever ridden the Giro before.

Race goals: A podium for Almeida and top 10s for McNulty and Soler. Given the weakened sprint field, Germany’s Ackermann will hope for at least two wins – while it will be interesting to see what 19-year-old Ayuso can do on his Grand Tour debut. Can the Spanish tyro live up to his new Contador billing?