The Vuelta a España will again expand the field of WorldTour teams this year with four teams from the second division. Today the Swiss formation IAM around Sylvain Chavanel, Heinrich Haussler and Roger Kluge, the South African outfit MTN-Qhubeka around Gerald Ciolek and Linus Gerdemann as well as the teams Cofidis and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA received corresponding wildcards.
For IAM and Cofidis, the wildcards will be cause for celebration. Both teams are also at the start of the Tour de France.
While Cofidis has repeatedly caused a sensation in Spain in recent years, the wildcard for the Spanish team Caja Rural-Seguros RGA was inevitable - not least because of the commitment of Luis Leon Sanchez.
For MTN-Qhubeka, the start in Spain will be the first in a three-week national tour. Gerdemann should be particularly pleased about this. The former Tour de France yellow jersey holder only returned to racing at the beginning of the year and clearly feels at home in Spain.
The line-up of the IAM team, which will align its squad for the two major national tours, will be exciting.