Silence-Lotto is hoping that Yaroslav Popovych can put a poor performance at the Tour de France behind him and exact revenge by riding a good Vuelta a España. The Ukrainian is expected to ride for a strong overall classification finish as part of a team dominated by Belgians.
Team director Hendrik Redant is also expecting some good results from the rest of the team, particularly the six Belgians in the squad.
Initially Tour de France bridesmaid Cadel Evans was set to lead the team in Spain, but a knee injury sustained at a Tour after-party has caused him to skip the race along with the rest of the season.
"That is a shame," Redant told Sporza. "But we still have a team that we can rely on [for good results].
"There are a number of young lions in the squad who want to prove themselves and a few riding for the general classification," he added. "Among them is Popovych, who can exact revenge for his less than perfect Tour de France. We expected more from Popovych in France. Maybe the Vuelta suits him better, without all the pressure."
Redant is also expecting some good results from Greg Van Avermaet. "He is our joker," he said. "He is a real attacking rider and will definitely be giving it a go for a stage win."
Evans' compatriot Matt Lloyd, the current Australian national champion, has replaces him in the Silence-Lotto line up.
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Silence Lotto roster: Bart Dockx, Pieter Jacobs, Matthew Lloyd, Dominique Cornu, Olivier Kaisen, Greg Van Avermaet, Roy Sentjens and Maarten Tjallingii.
