On the back of very successful races at Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, Ag2r has selected the roster that will target similar success in the Vuelta a Espana. Domenico Pozzovivo, Carlos Betancur and Rinaldo Nocentini is set to lead the team on the very mountainous course while Lloyd Mondory will try his hand in the sprints.

Ag2r has emerged as one of the best grand tour teams this season. Carlos Betancur and Domenico Pozzovivo finished 5th and 10th at the Giro d'Italia respectively while Christophe Riblon won the queen stage of the Tour de France and Jean-Christophe Peraud was likely to have finished in the top 10, had he not crashed out of the race in the third week.

The team hopes to be similarly successful in the Vuelta a Espana and has selected a team that should allow it to shine. As it was the case in the Vuelta, Pozzovivo and Betancur will lead the squad on a very mountainous route that is perfectly suited to their characteristics.

Betancur hasn't raced since the Giro, having preferred to prepare himself in his native Colombia. He was originally scheduled to ride the Vuelta a Burgos last week but a late change of his schedule saw him skip the event. He will make his debut in the Spanish grand tour, having raced for smaller Italian teams up until this season.

Pozzovivo returned to competition in the Tour de Pologne and proved that he has already reached a high level. He finished 7th overall and not only shone in his preferred terrain in the mountains but also did a very good time trial on the final day. Having raced in his native Italy for his entire career, 2013 represents his first possibility to line up at the Spanish grand tour.

The team has a third GC option with Rinaldo Nocentini who finished 18th in the race last year. Having focused on the Ardennes classics in the first part of the season, the veteran Italian had a solid showing in Burgos last week and finished 2nd on the 2nd stage before going on to finish 28th overall.

The three captain will be supported by an in-form Mikael Cherel and Matteo Montaguti in the numerous mountainous stages. The former finished 11th overall in Burgos and has finished 25th in the Vuelta earlier in his career. The latter is known as Nocentini's trusted domestique but is also an aggressive rider who finished 2nd in the mountains classification in the 2011 Vuelta.

Ben Gastauer and Julien Berard will deliver their usual reliable support while classics specialist and cyclo-cross rider Steve Chainel will race his only second grand tour. Lloyd Mondory completes the roster and will target success in the sprint stages as he has done with some success on numerous earlier occasions.

The Vuelta starts on August 24 with a team time trial in Galicia.

Ag2r-La Mondiale for the Vuelta a Espana

Carlos Betancur, Domenico Pozzovivo, Rinaldo Nocentini, Mikael Cherel, Matteo Montaguti, Ben Gastauer, Julien Berard, Steve Chainel and Lloyd Mondory