No Roglic and Mas, but with O'Connor, a 2024 podium finisher still returns to the Vuelta a Espana

Last year’s Vuelta victory went to Primoz Roglic, but the Slovenian rider from Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe is not expected to defend his title. The four-time winner is set to ride the Etten-Leur criterium on Sunday, but will skip the season’s third grand tour after already racing both the Giro and the Tour.

Also missing: Enric Mas, last year’s third-place finisher. The Movistar rider is still struggling with a vein inflammation in his left leg, the same issue that forced him to abandon the Tour de France, and won’t return to racing this season.

One rider who will be at the start line is last year’s runner-up: Ben O'Connor of Jayco AlUla. The Australian wore the red leader’s jersey for two weeks last year after a successful long-range attack and ultimately finished second overall in Madrid. In this year’s Tour de France, O'Connor claimed victory on the brutal Col de la Loze stage and ended up 11th in the general classification.

Other GC contenders confirmed for the Vuelta include Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike), Juan Ayuso and Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and Richard Carapaz of EF Education–EasyPost.