The leaders of the 2013 Lotto Belisol team(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Lotto Belisol team(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Lotto Belisol team has named its nine-rider line-up for the Vuelta a España, with Adam Hansen securing a place in the squad as he attempts to ride all three Grand Tours in the same season for a second consecutive year.
Hansen won a stage at the Giro d'Italia in May and was part of Andre Greipel's lead out train in the Tour de France, helping the German sprinter win stage six to Montpellier. Hansen successfully completed all three Grand Tours in 2012, becoming just the second Australian to do it.
Also in the Lotto Belisol line-up for the Vuelta are Bart De Clercq, Francis De Greef, Greg Henderson, Vicente Reynes, Jurgen Van de Walle, Tosh Van der Sande, Dennis Vanendert and Jelle Vanendert.
With Andre Greipel not riding, New Zealand's Henderson is likely to be the team's protected sprinter. Jelle Vanendert will lead the team overall and on the many mountain finishes after being forced to miss the Tour de France due to an intestinal parasite.
Team leader Jurgen Van den Broeck is out of action for the rest of the season after crashing during the Tour de France.
The Vuelta begins in the northwestern Galicia region of Spain on Saturday 24th of August with a team time trial.
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
