French rising stars in the Vuelta: Bisiaux reflects after Andorra, Paret-Peintre aims to complete his trilogy

Bisiaux won a stage in the preparatory race for the Vuelta and also finished on the final podium, which certainly opened his eyes. “In the Clasica San Sebastian, I was able to keep up with the best on the penultimate climb and stayed with the last one. I felt that was a new step for me,” said the cyclist and cyclo-cross rider, who eventually finished 14th in the WorldTour race, in L'Equipe.

“In Burgos, the team really had faith in me,” said Bisiaux, who will be riding alongside Felix Gall and Johannes Staune-Mittet, among others. “The idea was always to start the Vuelta in top form. I'm going to take it day by day and try to stay in the best possible position, at least until the stages in Andorra. Then we'll assess the situation and see what happens.”

At Soudal Quick-Step, Valentin Paret-Peintre will be at the start as part of a climbing team that also includes Mikel Landa and Junior Lecerf. The pocket climber already won a stage in the Giro last year and won on Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France in July, so his goal for this Vuelta is obvious.

“The goal is to win a stage to complete my trilogy,” said Paret-Peintre. “When I won the Giro, I said that one of my goals was to win all three Grand Tours. I didn't think the Tour would come so soon, but now it gives me even more motivation to win this year's Vuelta.”

With eleven uphill finishes, there are plenty of opportunities. “I've looked at the stages; some suit me better than others, but you have to seize the opportunities as they come.”