With Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas embarking on a homecoming lap around Britain next month, the responsibility for success within Team Sky at the Vuelta a España passes to a new crop of riders, and while a thoroughbred GC option is missing from the roster, the team still boasts a stable of quality for almost all terrains.
In David de la Cruz and Sergio Henao the team have two previous top-10 finishers in Grand Tours, while Michal Kwiatkowski has the natural ability to either target stage wins or a first top-10 GC position of his career. The Polish rider has been racing almost non-stop, with 67 race days already in the tank this year, and a Tour de France and Tour de Pologne in his legs. The question remains as to whether he will use the Vuelta as a testing ground for his GC future or as preparation for the World Championships later in the year.
What’s certain is that Team Sky will not accept riders merely seeing out the season and touring around Spain for three weeks. Sergio Henao has the qualities to contest, either for stage wins or a GC challenge, while Dylan van Baarle will be looking to take his first win in team colours after a slightly slow start to life at Team Sky.
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The team also arrive in Spain with two exciting Grand Tour debutants in Tao Geoghegan Hart and Pavel Sivakov. The Russian may just be 21 years of age but he has moved almost seamlessly into the pro ranks and delivered solid performances throughout the season. Geoghegan Hart – now in his second year with the team – has come on in leaps and bounds with impressive rides at the Tour of California and the Critérium du Dauphiné. Salvatore Puccio and Jonathan Castroviejo make up the rest of the team.
There may not be a pure sprinter within the ranks, nor any of the Grand Tour powerhouses, but Team Sky head to the Vuelta with a powerful selection of riders. What’s more, without the necessity to see a train of riders on the front dictating the pace for hours, we might actually get to see their riders let off the leash and allowed to race.
Team Sky's Vuelta a España team
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