Carlos Rodriguez and Thymen Arensman will lead Ineos Grenadiers line-up for the 2024 Vuelta a Espana.
The co-leaders Arensman and Rodriguez will be supported by an experienced group of riders including Laurens de Plus, Brandon Rivera, Jhonatan Narvaez, Kim Heiduk and Oscar Rodriguez.
Making his Grand Tour debut at La Vuelta will be Josh Tarling who will be looking to make his mark on race’s two individual time trials on stage one in Lisbon on Saturday, and in Madrid on 8 September.
Scott Drawer, Performance Director: “We are entering the Vuelta a Espana with a strong, highly competitive, and well-balanced team. We want to be aggressive and seize opportunities as they arise – whether that’s taking time on the GC with Carlos and Thymen, or stage wins with riders like Josh and Jhony.
“There is a big opportunity for us to take the leader’s jersey on stage one with Josh. He demonstrated yet again at the Paris Olympics, just how strong he is in the TT discipline.
“This is a young and dynamic team that has strength and potential to challenge for GC, as well as target stage wins across a variety of terrains. The Vuelta is probably one of the most unpredictable Grand Tours because of the route, the heat and the time in the season, so it always provides good racing. The riders and the whole team are ready to get stuck in and give it everything they’ve got.”
Thymen Arensman said: “It’s always nice to line up in a Grand Tour, especially with this team. It’s my fifth Vuelta so I’m very familiar with this race and I have some positive memories, including winning the queen stage and taking fifth place on GC in 2022. It was probably one of the nicest results in my career so far. There are also some tough memories like last year when I crashed out, but you have to put that behind you and come back with the hope to make more good memories like 2022.
“Being a leader in this team is always a privilege, and it will be nice to share it with Carlos. Of course, he’s a Spaniard and it’s his home race so it’ll always be special for him; it’s always good to have two cards to play when going for the GC.
Carlos Rodríguez said: “After the Tour I took some days off to recover and then I started training little by little to try to maintain my shape. I think the body is already recovered and I’m starting to feel more like myself after being ill for some time.
“It’s the first time that I will do two Grand Tours in a row, so it’s going to be a new experience for me. I just want to enjoy the race as much as possible, and it’s going to be special with the crowds out on home roads.
“We’re going into this with a strong team, and we’ll fight to get the best result possible both in GC and in the stages. Thymen and I have already raced and trained a lot together, and for sure this will help us manage the different situations in the race in the best way possible.”
