On Saturday, August 23, Intermarché-Wanty will begin its fifth participation in La Vuelta in the Italian city of Turin, with the goal of reaching Madrid on September 14 after brief stints in France and Andorra. Under the direction of Pieter Vanspeybrouck and Steven De Neef, the team will tackle a course with no fewer than ten summit finishes, including the iconic Angliru and Bola del Mundo, a handful of opportunities for sprinters, a team time trial, and an individual time trial.
THE ROUTE
Starting from Turin, the beginning of this Vuelta holds a special meaning for the Walloon team, as it returns to the city where Biniam Girmay won his first stage in the 2024 Tour de France. The opening stage offers sprinters the opportunity to claim the first red leader’s jersey in the streets of Novara.
From day two, a high-altitude finish looms at Limone Piemonte. On day four, riders will cover the Col du Lautaret, climbing at an altitude of over 2,000 meters for the first time, crossing the Italian border and the Alps towards Voiron, France.
The following day, the peloton will fly to Spain for a 20-kilometer team time trial around Figueres. The center of gravity of the first week will take place in Andorra, before a flat eighth stage to Zaragoza and another uphill finish at the Valdezcaray ski resort.
After the first rest day on September 1, the course will return to the Pyrenees for a final time with a finish at El Ferial Larra Belagua. On day eleven, the Vuelta heads to the Basque Country for a demanding stage around Bilbao, followed by three difficult days in Cantabria with challenging finishes at L’Angliru (12.3 km at 10.1%) and La Farrapona (7 km at 8.5%).
The final week includes a finish at Alto de El Morradero on day seventeen and a flat 26-kilometer individual time trial around Valladolid on day eighteen. The demanding Bola del Mundo (12.5 km at 8.5%), peaking at 2250 meters, will host the queen stage on the penultimate day, before the traditional final criterium in the streets of Madrid.
South African climber Louis Meintjes, who won a stage with Intermarché-Wanty on Les Praeres in 2022, is preparing for his tenth Vuelta and his twentieth Grand Tour participation, a record for an African cyclist.
Besides Meintjes, who finished eighteenth in this year’s Giro d’Italia, his loyal teammates Dion Smith and Simone Petilli are also doing the Giro-Vuelta double. The New Zealander, who won the Volta NXT Classic, and the Italian climber are taking part in their eighth and tenth Grand Tours, respectively.
Young Huub Artz, a talent from the Wanty-NIPPO-ReUz Development team and the current U23 European champion, is one of three rookies in this selection. He’s had an impressive season as a new professional sp far, with multiple top-10 finishes in time trials to his name.
Finally, a Belgian quartet completes the Intermarché-Wanty selection. Sprinter Arne Marit returns to La Vuelta after finishing just off the podium last year, while Dries De Pooter is making his debut in the race after his first Giro in 2024. Kamiel Bonneu and Luca Van Boven, who joined the team this season, are riding their first Grand Tour.
"True to its reputation, La Vuelta offers a route that will delight climbers. With Louis Meintjes, we have ambitions for the general classification, and given the many summit finishes, we also see several opportunities for him to repeat his feat from the 2022 edition when he won. With Kamiel Bonneu and Simone Petilli, he will have two climbers to support him in the mountains." "We are well-weaponed for bunch sprints with Arne Marit, and for the more difficult stages with Huub Artz, who can surprise both in a breakaway and in a sprint with a reduced peloton. With Dries De Pooter, Dion Smith, and Luca Van Boven, we can form a good lead out no matter the scenario. The composition of the field of sprinters should determine the dynamic of the stages and, therefore, our tactical approach." "This selection is a perfect balance between experience and young talent. With riders like Meintjes, Petilli, and Smith, we have created the ideal environment to support our three Grand Tour rookies and two other young Belgians. For Kamiel Bonneu and Luca Van Boven, their first participation in a Grand Tour was part of their development plan when they moved to the World Tour last winter. The same goes for Huub Artz, who has demonstrated his versatile qualities and is ready to take the next step."
“I am combining Giro and Vuelta for the first time since 2018, so this season everything has been about exploring new territory and planning differently. I'm used to preparing for Grand Tours with a solid block of racing. So, over the past few weeks, I’ve put in a good amount of training and pushed myself as hard as I could. As a result, it might take me a couple of days to find my rhythm, but I know my form is there to compete in my twentieth Grand Tour. On paper, this Vuelta suits me well with many hard stages. However, you always have to wait and see how the peloton rides. The Vuelta is known for its opportunities for breakaways, which is something that pleases me. I’m especially looking forward to the hard stages around my home in Andorra. It would be nice to ride well there."
"In the final stretch to my Grand Tour debut, tension has given way to serenity. I know my level is good and that I am very well-prepared. Over the past few weeks, I've completed many long rides to properly handle the succession of stages, as it's new for me to race for more than seven days. With my trainer Adriaan Helmantel, I've specifically trained for the efforts needed to get in a breakaway. I'm also looking forward to the time trials. I had an idea of how I could tackle this Vuelta in the best possible way, and it turned out to be hardly any different from the plan the sports directors had in mind for me. I know exactly which stages I can go for personal success, which stages my teammates will be counting on me for, and which stages I can use to save energy. This approach motivates me enormously and will help me overcome the challenges.”
"Last winter, we planned for me to return to the Vuelta as part of a balanced team, with whom we'll have a game plan for every stage, racing in an opportunistic way. We've identified about six courses that could potentially lead to a bunch sprint. Given the presence of a number of top sprinters, I expect their teams will want to control several of these stages for a sprint finish. With Huub Artz, Dries De Pooter, Dion Smith, and Luca Van Boven, I can count on a strong lead-out train in which I have complete confidence. My preparation went perfectly, with a high-altitude training camp in Livigno followed by the Tour de Wallonie, and I've remained injury-free this season. My feeling in the recent Arctic Race of Norway gave me a lot of confidence, and now it's about being fresh at the start to perform at my highest level from the first stage in Turin. After fourth-place finishes in both my first Giro and Vuelta, I now want to achieve a first top-three finish in a Grand Tour."
La Vuelta a España
Stage 1 (23/08): Torino – Reggia Di Venaria – Novara (183km)
Stage 2 (24/08): Alba – Limone Piemonte (157km)
Stage 3 (25/08): San Maurizio Canavese – Ceres (135km)
Stage 4 (26/08): Susa – Voiron (192km)
Stage 5 (27/08): Figueres – Figueres (20km) (= TTT)
Stage 6 (28/08): Olot – Pal. Andorra (171km)
Stage 7 (29/08): Andorra – Cerler.Huesca La Magia (187km)
Stage 8 (30/08): Monzón Templario – Zaragoza (158km)
Stage 9 (31/08): Alfaro – Estación De Esquí De Valdezcaray (195km)
Rest Day: 01/09
Stage 10 (02/09): Parque Naturaleza Sendaviva – El Ferrial Larra Belagua (168km)
Stage 11 (03/09): Bilbao – Bilbao (167km)
Stage 12 (04/09): Laredo – Los Corrales De Buelna (143km)
Stage 13 (05/09): Cabezón De La Sal – L’angliru (202km)
Stage 14 (06/09): Avilés – La Farrapona. Lagos De Somiedo (135km)
Stage 15 (07/09): A Veiga/Vegadeo – Monforte De Lemos (167km)
Rest Day: 08/09
Stage 16 (09/09): Poio – Mos.Castro De Herville (172km)
Stage 17 (10/09): O Barco De Valdeorras – Alto De El Morredero Ponferrada (143km)
Stage 18 (11/09): Valladolid – Valladolid (23km) (= TT)
Stage 19 (12/09): Rueda – Guijuelo (159km)
Stage 20 (13/09): Robledo De Chavela – Bola Del Mundo (159km)
Stage 21 (14/09): Alalpardo – Madrid (101km)
