The Vuelta a España is in many ways the proving ground for riders in the peloton in need of grand tour experience. The courses are as challenging (if not more so) than the other two grand tours, but with many of the marquee GC riders recovering after the Tour de France, the Vuelta stands as an opportunity for hidden talent.

Below, our dark horse picks for the 2019 Vuelta.

Tadej Pogačar

Pogačar has made big waves during his debut season on the World Tour. The 20 year old Slovenian won the Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta 2.HC stage race in February, then went on to win the 2.UWT Tour of California. 

Pogačar also finished both the Tour of Slovenia and Itzulia Basque Country well within the top ten. 

The Vuelta a España will be the young rider’s first grand tour, but inexperience has not stopped him yet. Will Pogačar lead UAE Team Emirates to grand tour success?

Fabio Aru

Aru appeared poised to become a grand tour superstar following his 2015 season, which saw him finish second overall at the Giro d’Italia and win the Vuelta. But the Italian has suffered to replicate that success in subsequent seasons, as he repeatedly cracked on crucial climbs. 

In 2019 Aru was finally diagnosed with a constricted Iliac artery. This April he underwent surgery to remedy the constriction. Aru returned to racing in June and put together a quiet but successful Tour de France, finishing 14th overall. 

Aru seems to have recovered well and is clearly eager to take advantage of every remaining race day in 2019. 

Rigoberto Urán

Rigoberto Urán is a story of near misses at grand tours. He's been second at the Giro twice, and was second at the Tour de France in 2017. 

In 2018, Urán finished seventh overall at the Vuelta, his best result in Spain's grand tour.

Following another top ten finish at the Tour de France, Urán will return to the Vuelta in 2019 hoping to finally bring home a grand tour victory. The Colombian will be backed by a strong team, with climbers Hugh Carthy, Sergio Higuita and Danny Martiniz, as well as time trialists Tejay van Garderen and Lawson Craddock.

Davide Formolo

Formolo emphatically won a stage of the 2015 Giro and finished 9th overall at the 2016 Vuelta a España, solidifying himself as a star of the sport from a very young age. 

While Formolo has not yet grown into the grand tour winner that many hoped he would become, the Italian (just 26 years old), is riding on some very good form at the moment. 

Formolo won the Italian Championships in June and just placed seventh overall at the recently concluded Tour of Poland. Formolo has been an antagonist in races this entire season, and seems to be setting himself up nicely for a bid at the Vuelta title. 

Esteban Chaves

Esteban Chaves has had more than his fair share of grand tour success in the past. In 2016, he was second overall in the Giro d'Italia and third overall in the Vuelta a España. He also has five stage wins between those two races. 

Following the 2018 Giro, things began to unravel for Chaves. He was forced to take eight months away from racing following a diagnosis of Epstein-Barr Virus. 

Chaves seems to be back on track in 2019 having earned a stage win at the Giro d'Italia and 6th overall in the Tour of Slovenia. Chaves certainly has his legs back, but does he now have what it takes to win a grand tour?