After the Dutch Vuelta start in 2020 was cancelled due to the corona crisis, the organisation focused on a new Dutch overture in 2022. Shortly after nightfall, the peloton will begin the Tour of Spain in Utrecht with a 23-kilometre team time trial. “That is a nice challenge”, Primoz Roglic says. “It is perhaps a different start to a grand tour than we are used to. Our team has the qualities to get a good result in this team time trial. I am looking forward to it. You deliver a performance as a team and optimal cooperation is a requirement. Each rider has to be the best version of himself. Those aspects make it fun for me”, the Slovenian says.

Roglic crashed hard on the tarmac during the fifth stage of the last Tour de France. But the Slovenian rider did not flinch and helped Jonas Vingegaard ride a strong Tour de France. Before stage 15, the three-time winner of the Tour of Spain had to drop out after all. “I had to accept that my physical condition was not as good anymore. It was better to stop at that moment. After a few weeks, I resumed training. Luckily I soon had a new goal to work toward.”

Roglic is referring to the Tour of Spain, the race he can win for a fourth consecutive time. “It is extraordinary that I will be tied for the record if I can retake the final victory. It is not my biggest motivation, but I’d be lying if I said it was not special. I feel like I am ready. I always stay focused on what is to come, not on what has been. The next race is always the most important for me, not the previous one. I feel a lot better than I did a month ago and I am here at the start because I feel fit.”

The experienced Robert Gesink will also be at the start in Utrecht. “A grand tour is always something I look forward to. I have good memories of the Vuelta. In 2009, the Tour of Spain also started in the Netherlands. It is always a special feeling when such a big event starts on our home soil. Not only for us but also for the fans.” The Dutchman is not secretive about Team Jumbo-Visma’s ambitions in the team time trial. “We want to be good right away. We have the ambition to show our strength right away. We have a strong team for this discipline and have proven to have mastered it. It would be nice if we could take this Tour of Spain’s first red leader’s jersey in the Netherlands.”

Gesink knows what awaits him in the coming weeks. The climber was part of the team that helped Roglic take the final victory the previous three times. “That’s the goal again this year. Protecting Primoz is the priority at any moment. The course is made for him. He has won this grand tour three consecutive times for good reason. I am confident that Primoz feels strong enough to take on the fight. Otherwise, he would not be at the start. This year’s course is not easy, so we must provide all our support.”

Gesink refers to the eight uphill arrivals. Many vicious arrivals and steep hills also characterise this year’s Vuelta. Besides the team time trial on day one, the race also includes a more than 30-kilometre individual time trial in and around Alicante. The race traditionally finishes with a flat stage in the Spanish capital Madrid.

“Just like Robert, I have to assist Primoz in his battle for the classification”, Mike Teunissen says. “The focus is completely on Primoz. I have to assist him in the nervous stages. He makes a calm and stoic impression on me. That is usually a good sign.”

Roglic himself is looking forward to pinning on a number again. “We will have a strong team at the start. From the first day, we want to show what we can do. It will not be easy to add another final victory to my record. The competition is strong, but I am not looking at them. I am only concerned with myself. That is the only thing I can influence. Let’s hope for a beautiful Vuelta. A Vuelta that is exciting to watch for the public.”