Peter Stetina to ride Vuelta a España with Trek-Segafredo squad
Headlining the team will be 10-time Vuelta stage winner John Degenkolb with fast-man Edward Theuns targeting the spint stages
The 74th edition of the Vuelta a España will commence in the picturesque nature park Las Salinas de Torrevieja, in southern Alicante. The final Grand Tour of 2019 will start with a variety of stages covering a team time trial, hilly stages, and a flat stage.
Trek-Segafredo is fielding a diverse and robust team who will compete for stage wins. Headlining the team will be 10-time Vuelta stage winner John Degenkolb who will seek to add to his impressive tally. Alongside him will be fast-man Edward Theuns, climbers Gianluca Brambilla, Peter Stetina, Niklas Eg, and all-rounders Alex Kirsch, Kiel Reijnen, Jacopo Mosca.
Peter Stetina last rode the Vuelta in 2017, supporting three-time champion Alberto Contador who went on to win two stages and finish fifth overall.
The American missed out on all three Grand Tours last year after having started four times at the Giro d'Italia, two Tours de France and one Vuelta in the previous seven years. "I'm stoked to go back, I missed out on a Grand Tour last year due to my health stuff, so it's really nice to go back. That's where I've had the best races of my career."
Sport director Yaroslav Popovych commented on the selection: “We do not go to this Vuelta with a team built around a single leader. Instead, we are taking a very complete team who can be competitive in all types of stages.
“For the flatter stages, we have John Degenkolb, who has been training really hard in altitude. He recently rode the Tour de Pologne in preparation to find the speed and spirit of the sprint. John did some good results there, but he needs more, and for this, we hope he will achieve good results in the Vuelta."
“Alongside him will be Edward Theuns who has been showing recently that he is going well with some good sprints at the Binck Bank Tour. He is in good condition and hungry for victory, and we will help him to try and make this dream a reality. For sure, Edward and John will work together for the sprint stages. We will look at each stage finish and see which rider it suits best."
“We have two versatile riders in Kiel Reijnen, and Grand Tour rookie Alex Kirsch who together will be playing a crucial role in helping John and Edward get in a good position in the last kilometers for the sprints. Alex will have a free card on some stages where he can go in the breakaway to try for a stage also, if a chance comes for Kiel to go in a breakaway then why not, because he has a fast finish.
“Also, we are hoping for some nice results with our climbers on the hilly stages. Gianluca Brambilla recently showed he has some good condition with a strong final stage in Poland, while Peter Stetina and Niklas Eg are riding strongly at the currently ongoing Tour of Utah. Niklas is a young rider with still a lot to learn, and this is an excellent opportunity for him to gain some experience."
“Finally, we have Jacopo Mosca, who has recently joined us for the rest of the season. We will give him a lot of chances to improve and to show something for the next year.”
The complete Trek-Segafredo line-up for the Vuelta a España 2019:
Gianluca Brambilla (ITA)
John Degenkolb (GER)
Niklas Eg (DEN)
Alex Kirsch (LUX)
Jacopo Mosca (ITA)
Kiel Reijnen (USA)
Peter Stetina (USA)
Edward Theuns (BEL).
John Degenkolb (GER)
Niklas Eg (DEN)
Alex Kirsch (LUX)
Jacopo Mosca (ITA)
Kiel Reijnen (USA)
Peter Stetina (USA)
Edward Theuns (BEL).