After Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana have already confirmed their participation, Chris Froome is the third rider from the Fabulous Four to announce that he will be at the start of the Spanish grand tour.

Since he stepped down from the podium in Paris, Froome has made it clear that he was seriously considering his first grand tour double since he was second and fourth in the 2012 Tour and Vuelta respectively. Today the Brit used his Twitter account to confirm that he is ready for the challenge.

"Looking forward to taking on the @lavuelta.Tough but always exciting for the viewers #bringiton," he tweeted.

The decision marks a changed stance for Froome. When he finished the 2012 Vuelta, he said that the strains of two consecutive grand tours was too much for him. However, back then he had been doing the Olympics in between while he has had a much better chance to recover for this year's race.

In addition Froome, Nibali and Quintana, Fabio Aru, Mikel Landa, Joaquim Rodriguez, Tejay van Garderen and Alejandro Valverde are some of the main contenders.