The Vuelta a España is known as a race for the pure climbers, however the 2019 edition has included many opportunities for sprinting talent. There are six flat days for the sprinters in this year’s Vuelta, three of which come in the final week. 

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The Vuelta has created a course that will entice the sprinters to suffer over the mountains to make it all the way to the finish in Madrid, where a final 106 kilometer processional sprint stage will be held in similar fashion to the Champs Elysees. 

Below are the sport’s marquee sprinters lining up for the three weeks around Spain.

Fernando Gaviria

Fernando Gaviria’s results this season do not do justice to the sprinter’s ability. The Colombian racked up a couple early season victories at the Vuelta a San Juan and the UAE Tour, but his only major win of the year came from stage three of the Giro d’Italia following Elia Viviani’s relegation. 

Gaviria then went on to abandon the Giro on stage seven citing knee pain. The Tour of Poland was the sprinter’s first race back since the Giro, which saw him earn two second places. Gaviria seems to have gotten his season back on track and will certainly be hungry for Vuelta stage victories to end his year on a high note.

Sam Bennett

Bora-Hansgrohe has built a multifaceted program with winning talent from classics stars to general classification threats. However, perhaps the most impressive asset to emerge from the German team is their sprint lineup. Their sprint talent is so deep that Sam Bennett, who won three stages at last year’s Giro d’Italia, was unable to get a spot on a grand tour roster in 2019 until the Vuelta. 

Despite his somewhat underwhelming race program, Bennett remained hungry and has shown his class as a sprinter in nearly every race he entered this year. He recently won the Irish National Championships as well as the first three stages of the Binck Bank Tour. 

To say Bennett is eager to get back to the business of winning grand tour stages seems like an understatement.

John Degenkolb

John Degenkolb has struggled to contend with the fastest sprinters in bunch kicks in recent years, and has only managed one victory thus far in 2019. That being said, Degenkolb’s record at the Vuelta speaks for itself. 

The German has won ten stages of the Spanish grand tour. The former Paris Roubaix winner excels in hard gutsy conditions, a fact which he reminded everyone of following his second place finish at this year’s Gent Wevelgem. With many of the sprint stages coming in the second and third week of the Vuelta this year, Degenkolb may be able to find his winning legs once again.

Mark Cavendish

Mark Cavendish is a sprinter who needs no introduction. The Manx Missile has won 30 stages of the Tour de France, in addition to countless other victories across his career. However, his history at the Vuelta is relatively short. Cavendish won three stages of the Vuelta in 2010 along with the points classification. 

In 2011 Cavendish abandoned the Vuelta on stage four and has not returned since. Cavendish has not enjoyed an abundance of success in the past few seasons, but despite crashes and illness, he remains as driven as ever. He will have his work cut out for him against the sprinters lining up at this year’s Vuelta, but both Cavendish and his Dimension Data team will be very hungry for success in Spain.