Mikel Landa is still seeking top form ahead of a final Vuelta a España with Soudal Quick-Step

On August 1, Mikel Landa announced that he will be riding for Euskaltel-Euskadi for the next two years, but in the coming weeks and months, he wants to give his current team, Soudal Quick-Step, a nice farewell gift. He’d prefer to do so at the Vuelta a España, but he’ll need to be in top form for that.

Landa suffered a serious crash in this year’s Tour of the Basque Country, which forced him to miss both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. After his summer break, the climber competed in the Clásica de San Sebastián and the Tour of Burgos, but showed no signs of being in top form. He failed to finish the race in his home region, while he placed 37th in Burgos. These are not the kind of results that someone with his track record would be happy with.

That’s why Landa has decided to ride the Tour of the Czech Republic this week. “Our team leader is Mikel, who is continuing his comeback from injury in the run-up to the Vuelta a España. Together with Mauri and Gianmarco (Vansevenant and Garofoli, ed.), we have three riders who can compete for stage wins on the climbs and also secure a strong overall classification,” said sports director Kevin Hulsmans.

"It will also be an important race for Warre Vangheluwe, who has been sidelined for a long time and will have a key opportunity here to regain his racing rhythm for the second half of the season," said Hulsmans.

Vangheluwe fractured a cervical vertebra in the E3 Saxo Classic and is returning to competition after five months. “I’m happy to be back with The Wolfpack! It’s been a long and tough road, but the team has been incredibly supportive, and I hope my bad luck is behind me now so I can show my potential again,” he said.