\u201cI think the theme of the race will be to take and make opportunities,\u201d says Sports Director Daryl Impey. \u201cWe\u2019ve got an attacking team, with riders like Marco and Jake who can make the race exciting, and knowing that we don\u2019t have a GC rider, we want to present ourselves on those days where we see that a stage win is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also featuring in the team\u2019s line-up are recent seven-time Vuelta finisher George Bennett<\/a>, Czech climber Jan Hirt<\/a>, and Israeli rider Nadav Raisberg<\/a>. British sprinter Ethan Vernon<\/a> is set to make his debut in the Spanish race, and former Canadian TT champion Pier-Andr\u00e9 C\u00f4te<\/a> will start the first Grand Tour of his career. <\/p>\n Impey adds: \u201cI think we\u2019ve got a well-balanced team. With Matthew, George, and Jan, we\u2019ve got guys for the high mountains. The sprint days are also super important for us, as we have Ethan to lead us, backed by his trusted lead-out man Jake, and Nadav and Pier-Andr\u00e9 can also play a role there.\u201d<\/p>\n After coming close to a stage victory in Yunquera on stage 6 in last year\u2019s race, Frigo was already enamoured with the Vuelta. His love for the race will grow even more in 2025, in part because of the start in his native Italy.<\/p>\n \u201cGrand Tours are the races I like to do the most, and I really enjoy the atmosphere, the adventure, and even the fatigue over the three weeks that the Vuelta creates,\u201d says the 25-year-old from Bassano del Grappa.<\/p>\n \u201cTo start this year\u2019s race in Italy is something really special. When I saw the Grand D\u00e9part being unveiled in Italy, and knowing the passion of the fans in my country, I knew immediately I wanted to be there. My family and friends will be coming to the first stages, so that will make it even more special for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Frigo enters the Vuelta having finished seventh in the Tour of Poland earlier in August, his best WorldTour GC result to date. <\/p>\n He adds: \u201cThe legs were really good in Poland and my preparation has gone really well. It\u2019s always a hard parcours at the Vuelta, but there are a lot of opportunities for hunting stages. I think it is suitable for us to approach nearly every stage with different scenarios.<\/p>\n \u201cThere will be some hard climbs, some tricky descents, and, of course, the weather can have an impact. We have to be ready for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Vernon has already enjoyed success in Spain this season \u2013 he won stage 2 of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya in March \u2013 and is looking at Saturday\u2019s opening stage into Novara as another great opportunity. <\/p>\n He says: \u201cI\u2019m super excited to be starting my first Vuelta. It\u2019s going to be a tough edition for sprinters, but four stages have caught my eye. <\/p>\n \u201cThe race starts with a potential sprint and jerseys up for grabs, so I\u2019m motivated to start strong. To have Jake with me for the sprints will be great, too. The build-up has all gone well with a good altitude camp into the Tour of Poland, followed by some recovery. I\u2019m super excited to see what I can achieve at a Grand Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n Raisberg, the 24-year-old from Kibbutz Dafna in northern Israel, will start his second Vuelta in Torino on Saturday and the third Grand Tour of his young professional career. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a huge honor to represent Israel in one of cycling\u2019s biggest races, and I\u2019m determined to make it count,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m coming into my second Grand Tour far better prepared than last year, after a strong altitude camp in Livigno and the Tour of Poland, where I sharpened my form.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a powerful squad aiming for stage wins, and my main role will be to help leaders and our sprinters achieve that. I also hope to get my own chance later in the race, most likely from a breakaway.\u201d<\/p>\n IPT at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a (Saturday August 23 \u2013 Sunday September 14)<\/p>\n Riders: George Bennett (NZL), Pier-Andr\u00e9 C\u00f4t\u00e9 (CAN), Marco Frigo (ITA), Jan Hirt (CZE), Nadav Raisberg (ISR), Matthew Riccitello (USA), Jake Stewart (GBR), Ethan Vernon (GBR)<\/p>\n Sports Directors: Daryl Impey (RSA), Oscar Guerrero (ESP), Rene Mandri (EST)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Off the back of a successful run of form that includes seven wins since the start of July,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":80891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-80890","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Marco](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sprintcyclingagency_9073567_1_originali-741x494.jpg\")
Frigo will start the Vuelta on home soil<\/p>\n![\"Ethan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sprintcyclingagency_9010313_1_originali-741x494.jpg\")
Vernon \u2013 seen here winning stage 2 of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya in March \u2013 has recored 10 top-10 finishes in sprints this year<\/p>\n![\"Nadav](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sprintcyclingagency_9073522_1_originali-741x494.jpg\")
Raisberg showed encouraging form at recent the Tour of Poland<\/p>\n![\"Israel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/3x4_LAVUELTA-CARDS_01-593x741.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n