Five-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar is the overwhelming favourite to win the Vuelta a Espana, which starts on Saturday in Monaco for the first time in its history.
The Slovenian, who claimed a fifth Tour de France title in July, is chasing the only Grand Tour still missing from his personal trophy cabinet, having won the Giro d'Italia in 2024.
A Vuelta victory would also make him only the fourth rider to complete a historic Tour-Vuelta double in the same season.
Pogacar is the rider to beat over 21 stages and 3 275 kilometres before the race finishes in Granada on September 13. The 27-year-old could become just the ninth rider to complete the Grand Tour career treble.
He has not raced in the Spanish Grand Tour since his Vuelta debut in 2019, when he finished third overall and won three stages.
"He is not coming to race the Vuelta, he is coming to win it," Vuelta director Javier Guillen told Spanish radio station Cadena SER.
Pogacar appears a cut above his rivals, but in the absence of injured defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, he will face a strong field including compatriot Primoz Roglic, a four-time Vuelta winner seeking a record fifth title.
Roglic's participation was only confirmed recently after a crash in July disrupted his preparations.
Other contenders include Spanish hope Enric Mas, who will lead Movistar, Ecuador's Richard Carapaz, Briton Oscar Onley and Austria's Felix Gall, while American Sepp Kuss won the race in 2023 but is not at his best and may look to hunt stage wins in the mountains.
Portugal's Joao Almeida, Pogacar's UAE Emirates-XRG teammate, is another major contender for the general classification and could provide an important tactical factor in the battle for the red jersey.
Belgian Wout van Aert and Dane Mads Pedersen will target stage victories and the points classification.
However if Pogacar arrives in top form, it is hard to imagine anyone denying him the final Grand Tour still missing from his ever-growing collection.
"Pogacar only knows how to put on a show," added Guillen, and the mountainous route designed by the organisers should give the Slovenian plenty of opportunities to do so.
GRUELLING ROUTE
After the opening two stages start in Pogacar's home city of Monaco — including a nine kilometre individual time trial on the first day — the third stage heads into France from Gruissan to Font-Romeu before the race enters Andorra and then continues through Spain towards the sweltering south.
The route is particularly arduous, with six high-mountain stages, seven summit finishes and around 58 000 metres of climbing, making it one of the toughest editions in the race's history.
The serious action begins as early as the third stage, before the first major mountain test in Andorra the following day.
The race will then visit iconic Vuelta climbs including Valdelinares, Calar Alto, La Pandera and the Alto de Aitana.
A short gravel section on stage six near Castellon will provide an unusual additional challenge, potentially creating time gaps among the overall contenders.
The queen stage comes on the eve of the finish, with more than 5 000 metres of climbing on the 187-kilometre route to the summit of the Collado del Alguacil. The final climb is 8.3 kilometres long at an average gradient of 9.8 per cent.
Opportunities for sprinters will be limited, while the general classification contenders and time trial specialists will have two chances against the clock – the opening 9.4-kilometre test in Monaco and a 32-kilometre time trial through the vineyards of Cadiz on stage 18.
The race will conclude in Granada on September 13, with the final stage featuring an urban circuit and a finish beneath the Alhambra palace, replacing the traditional Madrid finale.
Organisers are hoping sport and spectacle will define this year's race after protests against Israel-Premier Tech heavily disrupted the 2025 edition.
That team's structure has since been rebranded as the NSN Cycling Team, under a Swiss licence and backed by Never Say Never, the sports and entertainment company co-founded by former Spain and Barcelona footballer Andres Iniesta.