The 79th edition of the Vuelta a Espana begins in Lisbon on Saturday where a host of general classification hopefuls will start their bid to win the final Grand Tour of the 2024 season.
Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel are all absent from the start line in Portugal, but three-time winner Primoz Roglic, now riding for RedBull-Bora-Hansgrobe, will take his place in the peloton as favourite to claim the red jersey.
His former Visma-Lease a Bike team-mate Sepp Kuss is the defending champion, while Team UAE Emirates send out a strong team in Pogacar's absence which will be co-led by Adam Yates and Joao Almeida.
- ADAM YATES TO WIN THE 2024 VUELTA ESPANA
- RICHARD CARAPAZ TO WIN AND EACH-WAY
Bet On The Vuelta Espana
Roglic Hoping For Clear Run To Madrid
The Vuelta starts with a time trial in Lisbon and finishes three weeks later with another TT in Madrid, but the race organisers have made sure that this is a route for the pure climbers, with no less than nine summit finishes and just one officially designated flat stage.
While sprinters will recoil at the sight of fearsome 3,265km route - and most of them have decided to stay away - Roglic will be licking his lips at the prospect of ascending Alto de Hazallanas, Cuitu Negru, Lagos de Covadonga and Picon Blanco among others.
However, self-preservation will be at the forefront of the Slovene's mind as he's completed just three of his last seven Grand Tours and he looked off the pace when forced to abandon the Tour de France with injury last month.
Yates Poised For Overdue Grand Tour win
Roglic will be marshalled through the climbs by a Bora team which includes the likes of Dani Martinez, Florian Lipowitz and Aleksandr Vlasov, but he's perhaps not the force of old and he could find himself playing second fiddle to Adam Yates.
Yates's twin brother Simon claimed the maillot rojo in 2018 and the Bury man could be set to emulate his sibling by capping a fine season with a maiden Grand Tour triumph.
The 32-year-old won the Tour de Suisse in June, claiming two stage victories on the way, and he followed up with a superb performance in support of Pogacar at Le Tour, finishing sixth in the GC despite sacrificing himself for his UAE teammate on several occasions.
A brilliant climber, Yates won't be fazed by the route and he is backed by a super-strong UAE team who are chasing a 2024 Grand Tour GC hat-trick.
Don't Rule Out A Carapaz Masterclass
It would also be wrong to write off the chances of EF Education-EasyPost's Richard Carapaz, who might not have the team strength of some of the favourites, but still has the ability to climb with the very best, as he showed with some stellar Tour de France performances.
Acting primarily as a stage hunter, Carapaz claimed both the mountains classification and the combativity award - plus a Stage 17 victory - at Le Tour and the 2019 Giro winner could again find himself on a Grand Tour podium, a feat he has achieved on four occasions.
