Argos-Shimano has announced its roster for the Vuelta a España, and as expected, it does not include the likes of either quadruple Tour de France stage winner Marcel Kittel, or the winner of five stages in last year’s Vuelta, John Degenkolb.
The Dutch team is going for a stage win in its fourth consecutive grand tour, but to do it, the squad will need one of its young and unproven guys to take a career best victory.
For the flat stages, Argos-Shimano certainly will not push aside its lead out train, which has rapidly become one of the most dominant in the peloton. The personnel will be different in its Vuelta incarnation, but not necessarily any less capable.
Nikias Arndt (pictured) was led out to victory in stage three of the Arctic Race of Norway. Working with Arndt in the Norwegian race were Ramon Sinkeldam, Thierry Hupond, and Tom Stamsnijder, who are also travelling to the Vuelta.
Coming off aggressive races and top ten stage finishes in the Tour of Poland are Warren Barguil, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Tom Peterson, and Georg Preidler.
“We will be looking for stage wins in the upcoming Vuelta a España,” said team head Christian Guiberteau. “We head to Spain with a diverse young lineup with different riders who can be successful in both the flat and the hilly or mountainous stages. For the flat stages we have fast guys like Ramon Sinkeldam, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg and Nikias Arndt, who recently won a stage in the Arctic Tour of Norway.
“This year’s Vuelta parcours is very tough with several uphill finishes and we are prepared for these with talented riders Warren Barguil and Georg Preidler who can handle themselves in these kind of stages. By using an offensive strategy they can show the progress we have made with them this season.”
Barguil could be an outside bet for a rare high general classification placing for Argos-Shimano, as the Frenchman has been 18th in the Critérium du Dauphiné and 17th in the Tour of Poland. Many of the Argos-Shimano riders in Spain will be under 25 years of age, including Preidler, who was third to Passo Pordoi in the Tour of Poland stage two.
The Argos-Shimano Vuelta roster fills out the rest of the way with riders who can eat kilometres for their young speedsters, as well as be active in breakaways.
“The more experienced riders in the team like Johannes Fröhlinger, Tom Peterson, Tom Stamsnijder and Thierry Hupond, who are eager to look for chances to get into the breaks or to support the team as best as possible,” Guiberteau added.
“After the sporting successes of winning stages in both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, we are of course aiming for further success at the Vuelta. But the development of our young talents is also very important to us,” said team manager Iwan Spekenbrink. “Right from the birth of this team we adapted a strategy to develop riders with intensive support from our coaching team so they can grow into riders that can compete at the highest level possible. Our young talents have developed very well this year and have shown their potential, so they deserve their Vuelta a España selection.
“Their selection is for both the present and the future: they will contribute to the team’s performance, and the Vuelta will support their development.”
Argos-Shimano for the Vuelta a España:
Nikias Arndt (GER), Warren Barguil (FRA), Johannes Fröhlinger (GER), Thierry Hupond (FRA), Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (RSA), Tom Peterson (USA), Georg Preidler (AUT), Ramon Sinkeldam (NED), Tom Stamsnijder (NED)
Reserves:
Will Clarke (AUS), Koen de Kort (NED), François Parisien (CAN)