¡El futuro es ahora!

The future is now, and it’s coming to the Vuelta a España as a host of the sport’s top young riders head to Spain for the final Grand Tour of the season.

This year’s trek around Spain – starting from Monaco and ending in Granada – is, on paper, more challenging than both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. It features a mammoth 58,156 metres of elevation, well above its sister Grand Tours.

That fact, plus the presence of the world’s most dominant rider, Tadej Pogačar, hasn’t put off some of the youngest riders in the WorldTour peloton from heading to Spain. Among the host of youngsters at the Vuelta are 15 riders aged 21 or under, including four 20-year-olds.

These riders, ranging from climbers and future GC hopefuls to Classics-style fast finishers and those just hoping to learn at their first Grand Tour proving ground, will face an arduous task ahead, battling the late-summer Spanish heat and seven summit finishes.

We’ve decided to omit a handful of young riders from our list even if they meet the criteria for the white best young rider’s jersey. For example, the likes of Oscar Onley, Matthew Riccitello, and Cian Uijtdebroeks are proven GC contenders with top Grand Tour results to their name.

With our analysis of the Vuelta’s main GC contenders and the race’s five key stages done, here’s our look at the young talents who will grace the final Grand Tour of the season.

Jarno Widar (Lotto-Intermarché)

• Age: 20
• Role: GC leader
• Where to watch: In the high mountains and summit finishes

Belgian racer Jarno Widar has been populating lists of up-and-coming GC starlets for some time now. He lit up the junior ranks with wins at races including the Tour of Flanders, National Championships, Classique des Alpes, Philippe Gilbert Juniors, and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.

Then, in 2024, he won the Alpes Isère Tour, Giro d’Italia Next Gen, and Giro della Valle d’Aosta. Last season, he won the Ronde de l’Isard and Valle d’Aosta before finishing second behind Paul Seixas at the Tour de l’Avenir.

Still just 20, he’s already racked up a series of promising results in his first year as a pro with Lotto, despite a knee injury early in the season. Standouts include fourth places on Malhão at the Volta ao Algarve, in Villars-sur-Olon at the Tour de Suisse, and on the Pineda de la Sierra at the recent Vuelta a Burgos.

“I know the Vuelta route practically by heart. Burgos might give me some indication of what to expect. And do you know what I’ve got to do after Burgos? The most tedious training sessions you can imagine – putting on as many layers of clothing as possible and then training on the rollers in the heat. I’m not looking forward to the heat, but I’m preparing for it,” he told Het Nieuwsblad two weeks ago.

In Burgos, Widar fell ill with an infection, but will hopefully be back to full health for the Vuelta, where there’s no pressure on a big GC ride, his team has said. He hasn’t raced more than eight consecutive days in his career to date, so his debut Grand Tour at the Vuelta a España will be a big next step, but he’ll certainly be one to watch on select mountain days.

Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike)

• Age: 21
• Role: Versatile sprinter
• Where to watch: Flat finishes, breakaway days, possibly the green jersey fight

By now, Matthew Brennan is a known quantity, which is incredible to say of a 21-year-old. The Briton only turned pro last year and finished his neo-pro season ranked seventh in wins in world cycling.

His victories included the cobbles (GP de Denain), hilly WorldTour days (four stages across the Volta a Catalunya, Tour de Romandie, and Tour de Pologne), and flat sprints (three stages at the Deutschland Tour and Tour of Britain).

He’s scored seven more this season, with Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne the standout result, and he’s in fine form heading to the Vuelta, too. He won two stages at the Vuelta a Burgos, the first of which came in a one-two with Visma teammate Ben Tulett, another youngster racing here.

Those victories came on hillier days rather than pan-flat sprints, suggesting that he and Wout van Aert should combine as a fearsome duo in the battle for the green jersey against Mads Pedersen. Like Widar, Brennan will be training hard to adapt to the sweltering temperatures in Spain.

“I was slowly roasting from the inside out,” Brennan said after his second win in Burgos. “I’m glad I could finish it off in the end because it was a tough day in the heat. It felt like we were riding through a desert all day.”

Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)

• Age: 22
• Role: Stage hunter, domestique
• Where to watch: Breakaways on hilly and mountain stages

Australian neo-pro Luke Tuckwell has enjoyed a flying start to his professional career with Red Bull this year, racing to sixth place at May’s Tour de Romandie and two days in yellow en route to a stunning second overall at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes the next month.

This rapid rise comes after the 22-year-old started slowly as a junior in Australia before a message from Simon Clarke kick-started his European racing career, he wrote in his column for Cyclingnews earlier this season.

He joined Trinity as an under-23, racing to top-10 finishes at the Ronde de l’Isard and Giro Next Gen, before switching to the Red Bull Rookies setup last year. The resulting spell in pink and overall second place at the Giro Next Gen saw him sign his first WorldTour contract.

This week, Tuckwell wrote about his Vuelta preparation for Cyclingnews. A family illness made his pre-race altitude training camp more challenging, while he rode strongly at the Vuelta a Burgos, equalling his best-ever 20-minute power output before falling ill ahead of the final stage.

Like several others on this list, Tuckwell has never tackled such a long race before – “I’m also getting slightly nervous about what lies ahead,” he wrote – but he’s also excited about the challenge and excited to pen more dispatches from Spain.

Marco Brenner (Tudor)

• Age: 23
• Role: GC leader, stage hunter
• Where to watch: In the hills, mountains, and possibly breakaways

German rider Marco Brenner has not yet lived up to the massive hype that surrounded him as he swept almost all before him as a junior. This season, his third at Tudor, has been his best yet since turning pro at 18 back in 2021, though.

The former German road champion started his season in good form with fourth place at the Tour Down Under and fourth at the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes before racing to a top-10 finish at the Boucles de la Mayenne. He heads to the Vuelta with the best result of his career to date in the bag, too, having triumphed at the recent Tour de Pologne after a week of consistent riding.

He’ll take confidence from that and from a newly signed contract extension to 2030, and he’ll have freedom to race for his own results in Spain. Tudor have no top GC rider or sprinter to protect, so he and Will Barta will be “targeting the decisive climbing stages, both eager to break new ground as they take on the challenge of Grand Tour leadership”, the team says.

The Vuelta will be his second outing at the race, having made his Grand Tour debut here four years ago. Back then, his best result was fifth place from the break on the summit finish of Estepona behind Richard Carapaz. Watch out for him in the hills and mountains again this time around.

Pablo Torres (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)

• Age: 20
• Role: Domestique
• Where to watch: Working in Tadej Pogačar’s mountain train

Spanish talent Pablo Torres, 20, will be keenly watched by home fans, even if he’s set to spend the race working for Tadej Pogačar, rather than riding for his own chances.

Torres is from a cycling family, with his brother and sister, both 18, also riding for UAE among the development setup.

The trio hail from Madrid, and Torres will one day hope to emulate several other riders from the region, including past Grand Tour stars Alberto Contador and Carlos Sastre. This Vuelta marks his Grand Tour debut, though, so it may be a while before he can reach a similar level.

Torres won plenty in the junior ranks, while a glittering 2024 saw him take second places at the Giro Next Gen and Tour de l’Avenir, winning the Colle delle Finestre mountain stage at the latter by almost four minutes.

Last season, his first in the pro ranks, was a learning year, while this year he has a narrow bronze in the Spanish TT Championships and 11th at the Vuelta a Burgos to his name. Torres should slot in among Pavel Sivakov, João Almeida, and Jay Vine to do the work for Pogačar in the mountains, so we should see him pushing some big watts in the Sierra Nevada in the coming weeks.

Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGM)

• Age: 21
• Role: Stage hunter, puncheur
• Where to watch: Hilly stages rather than high mountains

Paul Seixas may have been the talk of the cycling world this season, the 19-year-old phenom having raced to fourth at the Tour de France last month, but he’s not the only young talent on the French Decathlon CMA CGM team. Step forward 21-year-old Léo Bisiaux, a former fourth-place finisher at the Tour de l’Avenir now in his second season as a pro.

Bisiaux has already made his Grand Tour debut, racing last year’s Vuelta in support of Felix Gall, and he headed into the race with third place and a stage win at the Vuelta a Burgos.

This year he’s been stronger still, scoring podiums at the Tour du Jura and Mercan’Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes, 10th at the Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa, and 12th at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He took seventh at the Vuelta a Burgos this year, also taking home the best young rider jersey in the process as he supported Gall to overall victory.

Bisiaux will again be at the service of the Austrian climber and US racer Matthew Riccitello in the high mountains but should get his own chances here and there, too.

Iván Romeo (Movistar)

• Age: 22
• Role: Domestique, puncheur, time triallist
• Where to watch: Monaco TT, hilly stages, working for team leaders

Iván Romeo has been around a while, having turned pro with Movistar back in 2023, but the Spaniard’s story has been one of gradual progress rather than a single big breakthrough, and this year he’s stepped up another level again.

The man from Valladolid is one for the hills rather than high mountains. He’s a strong time triallist, too, having been under-23 world champion in the discipline and finished seventh in the Caen TT at last year’s Tour de France.

He raced the past year as Spanish road champion, while this year’s top results have included overall victory at the Vuelta a Andalucía – ahead of Tom Pidcock – plus a stage win and fifth overall at O Gran Camiño. A successful lead-in to the Vuelta saw him race to third overall at the recent Tour de Pologne.

This debut at his home Grand Tour will see him working for Movistar leaders Cian Uijtdebroeks and Enric Mas, though he should get opportunities to send it in the hills – and watch out for him in the opening time trial in Monaco.

Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma-Lease a Bike)

• Age: 21
• Role: Stage hunter
• Where to watch: Mountain stages, breakaways

While Brennan will be active in the sprints for Visma-Lease a Bike, the Dutch squad have another young rider for the hills and mountains. Norwegian racer Jørgen Nordhagen is their man, with no Jonas Vingegaard or Matteo Jorgenson in the line-up. Instead, he’ll look to former race winner Sepp Kuss for guidance.

The 21-year-old was a top prospect in the junior ranks, winning the Course de la Paix and Eroica Juniores before joining the Visma development setup, winning the Giro Friulio Venezia Giulia before taking fourth at the Giro Next Gen and third at the Tour de l’Avenir.

His progression has continued this season, with a second place at O Gran Camiño and a fourth at the Tour de Romandie among his highlight results. A seventh place at Lagunas de Neila at the recent Vuelta a Burgos shows he has his climbing legs for his Grand Tour debut.

Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek)

• Age: 23
• Role: Stage hunter, puncheur
• Where to watch: Hilly stages

Belgian racer Thibau Nys will be looking to restart what has been a disastrous season to date in Spain, having missed the entirety of the spring after undergoing knee surgery and then falling ill with toxoplasmosis in June.

Nys has attributed his illness to eating a contaminated steak tartare during a team training camp in Mallorca. He’s undergone a 12-day course of antibiotics to be fit for the Vuelta, and will now return to racing as part of Lidl-Trek’s selection.

The German team will be competing on several fronts in Spain, with Mattias Skjelmose aiming for a top GC result to go with his sixth place at the Tour de France, and fellow Dane Mads Pedersen targeting the sprints and another points jersey, having won two here before.

Nys, who in 2024 won stages at the Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse, and Tour de Pologne, will surely be looking to add to his palmarès in Spain. This will be his second Grand Tour after last year’s Tour de France, and there are a host of stages that fit his profile as a punchy, explosive rider. He’s lacking in race fitness, however, with only seven race days to his name this season – all back in June.

“It is a year to forget quickly, but I hope to be able to turn things around in the Vuelta,” he told Belgian radio station JOE. “It didn’t look good for a long time. My coach and I had already buried the hatchet when it suddenly turned around. I feel ready for it. We are going from a lot of doubt to a feeling that something is possible after all.”

Markel Beloki (EF Education-EasyPost)

• Age: 21
• Role: Climbing domestique
• Where to watch: Working for team leader Richard Carapaz

Basque racer Markel Beloki heads to his second career Vuelta a España after making his Grand Tour debut at last year’s race. The 21-year-old has impressed in his second year among the WorldTour peloton, with a win at the Tour de l’Ain his highlight performance.

His surname shows his pedigree – he’s the son of Joseba, a four-time Grand Tour podium finisher and runner-up at the 2002 Tour de France. If he can come close to emulating his father, then he’ll have a very successful career; that much is certain.

This Vuelta, he’ll be working for EF Education-EasyPost leader and GC hopeful Richard Carapaz, rather than going for his own chances. He’s in strong form, too, having taken eighth place at the recent Vuelta a Burgos.

“During the season I had my own opportunities in different kinds of races, but now I’ll try to help the team as much as I can. That’s the main objective for the next three weeks,” Beloki said recently.

“I am climbing really well, so I can be close to him when he needs it on the climbs, or helping make a selection of riders.”

Others to watch

Alpecin-Premier Tech head to the Vuelta without their two big stars, Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen. Instead, the departing Kaden Groves leads the way, having won seven stages and two points jerseys in Spain. 20-year-old Sente Sentjens will be looking to learn from the Australian during his first Grand Tour. The Belgian is a fast finisher and has four top-10 finishes to his name in this, his neo-pro season.

The Belgian squad also features another promising youngster in 23-year-old Ramses Debruyne. Another Belgian, he’s starting his second Grand Tour of the year after racing the first 13 days of the Tour de France earlier this summer. Standout results to date include 13th at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, 18th at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and fifth place on the hilly day to Foix at the Tour. He’ll have freedom to be active in the hills and mountains.

Slovenia’s talent machine keeps on churning, with 20-year-old Jakob Omrzel the latest promising youngster to hit the pro ranks. The Bahrain Victorious rider won the Giro d’Italia Next Gen last year, and he’s taken third place at the Tour of Slovenia and sixth at the Tour of the Alps this season.

In addition to Brennan, another British rider to watch will be Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Callum Thornley, like Tuckwell another neo-pro at the German team. The 23-year-old is a time trial specialist and will be one to watch on the opening day in Monaco. Last year he was under-23 national champion and won a very short closing time trial at the Sibiu Tour, and he heads to the Vuelta with a top-three in the Tour de Pologne’s closing TT in his pocket.

Widar, Nys, Sentjens, and Debruyne are joined on our list by another Belgian in the form of Lotto-Intermarché’s 21-year-old, Steffen De Schuyteneer. A fast finisher, he’s racing his second year in the pros and scored a host of good results in the spring. He was second at the GP La Marseillaise on his first day of the season and also has top-10 finishes at Nokere Koerse, the Bredene Koksijde Classic, and Scheldeprijs to his name.

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