Lotto Belisol will enter the Vuelta a Espana with several objectives. As he has not yet recovered fully from his illness during the Tour de France, Jurgen Van Den Broeck will take aim at stage wins while Maxime Monfort and Bart De Clercq will be focusing on the GC.

Sports director Mario Aerts outlines his expectations for the Vuelta a España. Both Jens Debusschere and Vegard Breen will ride their first grand tour. Adam Hansen on the other hand has a lot of experience, he will ride his tenth grand tour in a row. Also Jurgen Van den Broeck will be participating in Spain. Just like Maxime Monfort and Bart De Clercq. Mario Aerts explains each rider’s role and looks at the route.
 
“Obviously Jurgen Van den Broeck felt the consequences of his crashes during the Tour and his illness," he said. "Between the end of the Tour and the beginning of the Vuelta there are only four weeks, not that much time. First Jurgen took some rest and then resumed his training. He travels to Spain without GC ambitions. In the mountain stages he could aim for a stage win.
 
“Maxime Monfort had two main goals at the beginning of the season: the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España. He will aim for a top 15 spot in the overall standings. Maxime reached the sixth spot in the GC in 2011, so the Vuelta suits him. 

"Bart De Clercq abandoned the Tour. So there were questions marks about his selection for the Vuelta, but he is fit. In the Tour of Poland he kept progressing. If it’s possible we would like to strive for a good GC with him as well. After the first mountain stages we will see what’s possible.
 
“Sander Armée didn’t race for a long time. After the Belgian Championship he had a long period without races and in the Tour of Poland he had to quit because of illness. The matter of pith is in the last week. He will be a certain help for our team captains in the final. He disposes of a great engine and won’t break that easy.
 
“Our main sprinter is going to be Jens Debusschere. The competition is strong. Among others Bouhanni, Degenkolb and Sagan will be participating. But with Greg Henderson we have a great lead-out. We go for a stage win.

"There are four flat stages which are suiting for bunch sprints. Besides those four, there are six stages with little climbs or slight uphill finishes. We will see where Jens can survive and strive for that stage win.
 
“Vegard Breen’s first grand tour will be a discovery for him where he can grow. He did very well in the Tour of Poland. Vegard can also play a role in sprint lead-out. And who knows he could get away in a breakaway.
 
“Adam Hansen and Pim Ligthart are natural born attackers. They will get several chances to participate in a breakaway and create opportunities for a stage win. Besides that they are very good at piloting the sprinters to the front of the peloton in the final. They also can stand by the climbers’ sides. True all-rounders
 
“I believe we have a very good team for the team time trial. We have several fast riders. In that team time trial we aim for a good result. In the following twelve days there are three finishes uphill.

"The toughest part of this Vuelta are the last eight stages. Just before the second rest day there are three mountain stages, which will be deciding for the overall standings. Certainly the stage on the last Monday is the queen of all stages. And then there is another mountain stage on the penultimate day.
 
“Most of the time the time differences in the Vuelta are not that big, so the time trials will be crucial. The first individual time trial is slightly uphill but the finish is located lower than the start. It will be a fairly quick time trial. The last time trial is rather short but can be important as well. Both Maxime and Bart have time trial qualities. The first individual time trial with the little climb is suited for both.” 

Lotto Belisol for the Vuelta:

Maxime Monfort, Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Bart De Clercq, Sander Armee, Jens Debusschere, Greg Henderson, Vegard Breen, Adam Hansen, Pim Ligthart