The 16 Australians to watch in the 2022 Vuelta a España

The third of cycling’s Grand Tours starts this weekend, and there’ll be a record-breaking number of Aussies racing it.

No fewer than 16 Australians will start the 2022 Vuelta a España, comfortably eclipsing the 12 riders in 2013 (when a 22-year-old by the name of Michael Matthews won his first two Grand Tour stages).

Among them are four Grand Tour debutants, reliable workhorses, and genuine contenders for the overall podium.

About the 2022 Vuelta a España

Although it lives in the shadow of the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, the three-week Spanish race more than matches its elder cousins in excitement factor.

The Vuelta a España is always unpredictable. As the last big stage race of the year, it’s where unlucky GC racers go to save their sub-par season; stage hunters seek glory against a tiring peloton; young up-and-comers get noticed; and out-of-contract riders chase another year in the WorldTour.

All of this takes place on some of the most extreme terrain imaginable, including viciously steep mountain paths in the Asturias and Sierra Nevada.

This year’s race begins with a team time trial in the Dutch city of Utrecht and finishes in Madrid. It’ll run from August 19 to September 11.

The route consists of:

• 6x flat stages
• 4x hilly stages
• 7x mountain stages
• 2x flat stages with uphill finishes
• 1x individual time trial
• 1x team time trial

Without further ado, here are the 16 Aussies starting the 2022 Vuelta a España.

Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe)

Photo: Giro d'Italia

Where else to start but with Jai Hindley, Australia’s newest Grand Tour champion?

After winning the Giro d’Italia earlier this year, the West Australian climber will start as a bona fide contender for the maillot rojo – the red jersey worn by the overall victor of the Vuelta.

He’ll relish the steep, long mountain climbs that characterise Spain’s biggest stage race.

Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën Team)

Ben O’Connor is another West Australian climber with Grand Tour success, having won a memorable stage of the Tour de France last year.

This year, O’Connor starts the Vuelta looking for redemption. The Tour de France didn’t go his way – he crashed early and withdrew after stage 9.

In Spain, O’Connor’s French team will be built around his GC ambitions. A top-five finish is within reach – if not the podium.

Lucas Plapp (INEOS Grenadiers)

Photo: Con Chronis

We’re delighted to see the green-and-gold stripes at the Vuelta.

Australian road race champion Luke Plapp will make his Grand Tour debut, fresh off an entertaining performance at the Commonwealth Games.

His INEOS Grenadiers squad will probably support Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz in the hunt for the overall.

The 21-year-old from Brunswick Cycling Club will be a valuable engine in the team time trial and in the mountains, but fingers crossed ‘Plappy’ will be given freedom to show off his attacking racing style, too.

Michael Hepburn, Lucas Hamilton, Kaden Groves, Luke Durbridge, Kelland O’Brien, Callum Scotson (Team BikeExchange-Jayco)

Australia’s own WorldTour team brings six Aussies in its eight-man line-up – not a bad ratio!

Among them is fast man Kaden Groves, who’ll target the bunch sprints. But Groves is resilient enough to get over Spain’s smaller hills, so he’ll have his eye on some of the lumpier terrain, too.

The other Aussies will support 2018 champion Simon Yates in his tilt at a second overall victory.

Hepburn, Durbridge and Scotson bring diesel power for the flats, Hamilton is an important domestique for the mountains, and versatile track athlete Kelland O’Brien can switch between long-haul engine and sprint lead-out.

This will be the first Grand Tour for Groves and O’Brien.

Robert Stannard, Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

Canberran climber Jay Vine came oh-so-close to a stage win on debut last year. On stage 14 to Pico Villuercas, Vine made the winning breakaway but crashed while taking service from his team car. After chasing back, he still managed to finish third.

A year later, Vine is still searching for his maiden professional victory. He’s come close again, with runner-up places at the Tour of Norway and Tour of Turkey. Fingers crossed he can open the account over the next three weeks, where the uphill finishes will suit him.

An Aussie who has scored his first pro victory is Robert Stannard, who won the Tour de Wallonie last month. For the truly flat stages, Stannard will likely support sprinting teammate Tim Merlier, but the fast-finishing Sydneysider should get his own chances on the hillier days.

Rohan Dennis, Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma)

Photo: Con Chronis

Victorian climber Chris Harper and Australian and Commonwealth time trial champion Rohan Dennis will be working for Slovenian teammate Primož Roglič, who’ll be aiming for four consecutive Vuelta victories.

Harper and Dennis will be invaluable powerhouses, especially in the opening team time trial, where Jumbo-Visma will hope to put as much as a minute into some of their GC rivals.

Jarrad Drizners, Harry Sweeny (Lotto Soudal)

Neo-pro Jarrad Drizners will make his Grand Tour debut after having most of his season wiped out by a life-threatening crash at the UAE Tour in February, lacerating his liver. It’s good enough to see the South Australian back on the bike, let alone starting one of the world’s biggest races.

Harry Sweeny starts his first Vuelta after racing last year’s Tour de France. He’s on good form, climbing to second place on a mountain stage at the Tour de l’Ain this week.

Drizners and Sweeny are on a team of stage-hunting opportunists. Look for them in the breakaways.

Miles Scotson (Groupama-FDJ)

2017 road race national champion Miles Scotson will make his fifth Grand Tour start.

He’ll play a domestique role in support of his Groupama-FDJ teammates as they hunt for stage wins with French climber Thibaut Pinot and young British sprinter Jake Stewart.

How to watch the 2022 Vuelta a España

You can watch all 21 stages of the 2022 Vuelta a España live and free on SBS and SBS On Demand from August 20 – September 12. It’s also being broadcast on GCN+.

Feature photo: Russ Ellis