Three Americans supporting Rigberto Uran at La Vuelta

American's Tejay van Garderen, Lawson Craddock and Logan Owen among the teams Roster

Rigoberto Uran will be the leader of EF Education First's roster for the upcoming Vuelta a España.

The team will start in the last grand tour of the season with a roster that mixes experience and young talent. "I think this year's race is one of the hardest we've had in the last 10 years because we have so many climbs every day," said sports director Juanma Garate. "It's going to be really tough. There are less big mountain climbs, but we have more climbs in general."

Uran is looking forward to starting the competition. "The Vuelta is a beautiful race," said the Colombian. "I have won stages here but never been on the podium. That's a huge motivation going into it. This year has been a bit of an unusual year. I've had very few days of racing, and I felt good at the Tour, so I see a great opportunity here at the Vuelta, especially with the strong team we have racing."

“Tejay is motivated, he is going well after his crash at the Tour de France, he’s talked to us and said that he’s feeling ready to race again,” Garate said. “I would really like to see a solid race for Tejay, him getting from stage one to stage 21 without any trouble, being competitive and at the top of his game. I want to see him get to stage 21, calm and having had a great race.”

Three Americans supporting Rigberto Uran at La Vuelta

Colombian Rigoberto Uran has two Combian compatriots debuting in the race: Daniel Felipe Martinez and Sergio Higuita. For Martinez, this will be the first time in the race and his third grand tour -after the 2017 Giro d'Italia and the 2018 Tour de France. "It's going to be emotional racing the Vuelta this year for me because it's a race that I've always dreamed of doing but have never raced it before," he said.

"It's also a great opportunity for me after not being able to ride the Tour because of my accident. I feel a bit nervous because I haven't raced that much going into it, but I think we're well prepared."

Higuita will experience in Spain his first grand tour. "To race the Vuelta is a childhood dream come true," he explained. "There have been many years of longing and sweating just so one day I would arrive at this point and be able to race this race. I just want to enjoy it, right up to the finish line of the 21st stage. I want to spend the race fighting for my team and learning with them"