Adam Hansen will start the Vuelta a España, which will be his nineteenth Grand Tour in a row, after Spaniard Rafael Valls broke his hip while training.
“The Australian had initially not been selected, but this late change will allow him to go on with his record-breaking run of Grand Tour participations,” said the team.
“The sports directors and medical staff hope that his saddle sore will be sufficiently healed, but there is no doubt that Hansen will start his nineteenth Grand Tour in a row with determination.”
Hansen had originally been omitted from the Lotto-Soudal line as he suffered from a saddle sore at the Tour de France and there were fears that it might cause problems at the Vuelta.
He has completed an incredible eighteen consecutive Grand Tours. His run goes all the way back to the 2011 Vuelta and since then, he has taken stage wins in both the Giro d’Italia in 2013 and the Vuelta in 2014.
