UAE Team Emirates will be led by Joao Almeida and Adam Yates in the final Grand Tour of the season. Vuelta a Espana departs from the Portuguese city of Lisbon on August 17th before concluding three weeks later in Madrid on September 8.
Joao Almeida comes into the race after a stunning debut Tour de France which saw him take 4th place overall and played a key role in guiding Pogacar to overall victory. He will be joined in the GC ambitions by Adam Yates who also shone in the Tour de France coming home with 6th place overall.
Adam Yates: “Obviously the Tour went perfectly to plan, personally and as a team I think we rode it really well and got the result we wanted. I’ve taken a bit of rest since then and built up for the Vuelta which was one of the big goals for the latter part of the year. Myself and Joao had a good partnership going at Suisse and I think if we’re both in top shape or either one of us is in contention we’ll be ready to make the best of it. The team we have here is quality and I think and hope we’ll be fighting for big results over the next weeks.”
The pair who achieved great success together at the Tour de Suisse in June will hope to replicate that on Spanish soil.
Joao Almeida : “To begin a Grand Tour in Portugal is a dream. I am super happy to start at Lisbon and pass my hometown. Having the support from home crowds and my family and friends will be special and maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity.
The Tour de France was a big step in my career I think and I’m really proud of what we achieved there. Now at the Vuelta I’m stepping into a leaders role alongside Adam and given the good understanding between us and all the teammates I think it’s going to be a super race for us. I’m really excited to get going.”
Young prospect Isaac Del Toro makes his awaited Grand Tour debut alongside a team packed with experience: Joao Almeida, Filippo Baroncini, Isaac Del Toro, Brandon McNulty, Pavel Sivakov, Marc Soler, Jay Vine, Adam Yates.
