Having got the better of one Slovenian to win the Tour de France last month, Jonas Vingegaard will have to do the same again to win the final grand tour of the year; the Vuelta a España, which begins on Saturday.
The Dane is the favourite with William Hill, at 2.20, to win the three-week race for the first time and win a third grand tour, having retained the Tour de France crown he won last year.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: August 24th, 10:30 A.M. (BST)
There will be no repeat of his French duel with Tadej Pogačar, but Pogačar’s countryman and Vingegaard’s own Team Jumbo-Visma colleague, Primož Roglič, is expected to be his nearest challenger for the red jersey.
3.25 shot Roglič won the first grand tour, the Giro d’Italia, earlier this season and decided to sit out the Tour de France to focus on regaining the Vuelta title he lost last year, ending a run of three straight victories.
Unlike the Tour, it is not expected to be a two-horse race, as the man who took Roglič’s crown last year, Remco Evenepoel, is back for more.
The 23-year-old Belgian is at 4.50 to retain the title and could well be the freshest of the three; he also sat out the Tour and was forced to withdraw from the Giro while leading the race thanks to a positive Covid-19 test.
His Soudal–Quick-Step teammates will not have any split loyalties, which could be an issue for Jumbo-Visma.
The race begins in Barcelona, the home city of rising star Juan Ayuso (8.00), the 20-year-old was third last year and finished second in the Tour de Suisse earlier in 2023.
At the other end of the age range is 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas (15.00). The 37-year-old took the leader’s jersey in the Giro from Evenepoel, but the Welshman eventually finished second to Roglič.
Enric Mas has had 13 top ten finishes in grand tours and major races, including three second places in the Vuelta, but is yet to taste victory. The Spaniard is 17.00 to finally end his curse this time.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: August 24th, 10:30 A.M. (BST)
Evenepoel and Ayuso are expected to have a straight fight for the young rider classification, while Vingegaard (5.00) is the favourite for the mountains classification though Geoffrey Bouchard (10.00), Michael Storer (11.00) and Romain Bardet (13.00) all have strong chances should they focus solely on the climbs.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: August 24th, 10:30 A.M. (BST)
Kaden Groves (2.75) is favourite for the points classification, with his nearest challenger being 4.50 shot Alberto Dainese. Both riders won their first grand tour stages at this year’s Giro.
The 78th Vuelta finishes in Madrid on September 17th.
