Vacansoleil may face the risk of having to step down to ProContinental status but they plan to show off all their strengths in what could be their final grand tour as a WorldTour team. Almost all of the team's big-name riders have been included in the 13-rider pre-selection from which the final 9 riders will be chosen.

Vacansoleil still hasn't found a replacement for its main sponsor who won't continue in the 2014 season and the team is prepared to lose most of its riders who are now desperately hunting results to gain attention and secure a new contract. The Dutch team still hopes to continue as a ProContinental team but the chances of the team keeping its WorldTour status are bleak.

Nonetheless, the team plans to make a huge impact on the final grand tour of the year, the Vuelta a Espana, and the team has announced its 13-rider pre-selection which is mostly a list of its big-name riders. From that list, the final 9 riders will be chosen when we get close to the start on August 24.

Wout Poels, Lieuwe Westra and Thomas De Gendt had all hoped to make an impact on the Tour GC but all fell out of contention and had disappointing rides in France. Those three riders all hope to make amends in Spain and are included on the long list. While De Gendt finished 3rd in last year's Giro and Poels 17th in the 2011 Vuelta, Westra still hasn't shown his abilities as a grand tour rider. While Poels is likely to focus on the GC, should he get selected, De Gendt and Westra could also target stage wins.

That will certainly be the objective for Juan Antonio Flecha and Johnny Hoogerland who also both raced the Tour and have been included in the pre-selection. Both rode aggressively in France but came out empty-handed.

The team's best GC card could well be Pole Tomasz Marczynski who finished 13th in the Vuelta last year when he made his grand tour debut. He planned to race this Tour this year but illness saw him miss most of the spring season and the Grand Boucle but his recent showing in the Tour de Pologne indicates that he is riding himself into form for the Vuelta.

Rafael Valls is another GC option. He was well-placed in the Giro but a broken rib saw him lose all options later in the race. Sergey Lagutin raced the Tour and is another rider that could both target stage wins or potentially the GC.

The team has two sprinters in its pre-selection and they are of a completely different nature. Young Barry Markus could make his grand tour debut and impressed in the early season where he was close to Mark Cavendish twice in the Tour of Qatar. An injury forced him to miss the Giro but now he hopes to finally get his grand tour debut.

While Markus is a man for the pure bunch sprints, Grega Bole is a much more resistant sprinter who thrives in the harder finishes. The Slovenian is currently racing in the Tour de Pologne, finishing 4th in today's sprint, and also raced the Giro earlier this year.

Finally, the team has also included a couple of domestiques in its pre-selection as Willem Wauters, Wesley Kreder and Frederik Veuchelen all have a chance of getting a spot on the roster.

“The group of riders is very motivated and all riders have a strong motivation to start in this race," sports director Aart Vierhouten said. "With for example De Gendt still wanting to show something in 2013, Poels looking forward to follow-up on his Tour de France and Flecha eager to race to his hometown. For the team it is great to have Tomasz Marczynski back after a lot of injury. I believe we are ready for a great race.”

The race kicks off with a team time trial in Galicia.

Vacansoleil pre-selection for the Vuelta a Espana

Johnny Hoogerland, Wesley Kreder, Barry Markus, Wout Poels, Lieuwe Westra (The Netherlands), Thomas De Gendt, Willem Wauters, Frederik Veuchelen (Belgium), Juan Antonio Flecha, Rafael Valls (Spain), Grega Bole (Slovenia), Tomasz Marczynski (Poland) and Sergey Lagutin (Uzbekistan)