With a sprint train for Jasper Philipsen, Alpecin-Deceuninck heads to Vuelta chasing: "Stage wins!"

The Vuelta will kick off on Saturday, August 23, in Turin, Italy. From there, the peloton will travel through France to Spain. Alpecin-Deceuninck will do so with the fast Philipsen, who had to give up after only three days in the Tour. The 27-year-old crashed in an intermediate sprint, seeing his chances of a second stage win in that race go up in smoke. In the Tour of Spain, the Belgian will have another opportunity to score on the flat stages.

Philipsen will not have to go it alone in the sprints. He will be joined by two experienced riders, Jonas Rickaert and Edward Planckaert, who will prepare the sprints. Philipsen has already ridden the Vuelta twice before, in 2020 and 2021, winning three stages.

In the mountains, the team is counting on other riders, such as 27-year-old Italian Luca Vergallito. The climber rode the Vuelta for the first time last year. Alpecin-Deceuninck is also sending all-rounder Tobias Bayer (25) to the Spanish Grand Tour. The 23-year-old Slovenian Gal Glivar will make his debut in a Grand Tour, as will 22-year-old Belgian Ramses Debruyne.

The team will be completed by the experience of the reliable Oscar Riesebeek, according to his team. It also mentions the objective. “Alpecin-Deceuninck lines up with one clear goal: stage wins, just as we’ve done in most previous Grand Tours we started.” In 2024, the team won three stages with Kaden Groves. The Australian will not be there this time, after the strong sprinter already competed in the Tour de France, where he also won a stage.