Team Giant-Alpecin is heading to this year’s third and final Grand Tour of the year, the Vuelta a España. The race gets underway with a 7.4km team time trial on Saturday evening.

The main focus for the team will be on stage success in the sprint stages. In addition, the team remains focused on the general development process of the riders.

John Degenkolb (GER) returns to the race having won the green jersey of the points leader in 2014, and he will be looking to make the most of the sprint opportunities over the three weeks. Team Giant-Alpecin has a strong lineup to support Degenkolb, but one that is also versatile enough to challenge across other fronts. The roster will include Tom Dumoulin (NED), who will have an eye on the race’s individual time trial on stage 17 as well as the puncheur-style finishes, and Lawson Craddock (USA), who showed his progress once again at the Tour of Poland by taking third on the toughest stage of the race.

"My main goal is to win at least one stage, and in doing so I hope to reach the best possible form for the world championships next month. Also, we want to develop as a team and improve further. As a leader of the team I will have an important role in that process," Degenkolb said.

"I hope to regain racing rhythm quickly and get the right feeling on the bike again, since my last race was some time ago.  

"We will look at our chances day by day, not only for me but also for my teammates. Stage 4 might be the first sprint chance, but the finale is uphill so we will have to wait and see how it develops. The next stage, stage 5, will be an ideal course for a bunch sprint."

"I am at the necessary level to compete for a stage victory, and I will also help my teammates as we pursue our target of winning a stage. John has already proven that he is capable of winning stages here in Spain, so he will be our primary man," Dumoulin said.

“My personal goal is to get a good result from the time trial in the third week, as well as look for opportunities in the classics-like stages.

“I went to an altitude training camp to prepare after my crash at the Tour. The training in the last weeks went well, but we’ll have to see how the racing goes again. During the first week I will take the opportunity to get the right feeling back.”

"Ever since I dropped out of the Vuelta last year, I’ve been looking forward to redeeming myself. I had a strong Tour de Pologne and I want to build on that. I am motivated and we will see what I can do here," Craddock said.

“Personally I want to have a good first two weeks so that I can experience what it takes to be a GC rider, and after that we will see how it comes and make the most out of it.

“I am here to learn and I want to finish. I also want to help John in the sprint stages, which we were quite successful at last year, so I hope we can replicate that."

"We are here at the Vuelta with the aim of winning a stage. With Koen [De Kort], Luka [Mezgec], Zico [Waeytens] and Tom D. we have a strong lead-out for John. With Lawson we are working toward longer-term development, so we will not target specific GC ambitions but rather aim to help him learn how to ride as GC rider," coach Christian Guiberteau said.

“We have shown at the Giro and the Tour that we are ready to take any opportunities that come, and on the transition stages we will look to profit from breakaway opportunities. In addition we have Tom D. here, who will look to target the TT along with the classics-style stages.”