The Vuelta a Espana may have a reputation as a revenge race for riders who missed out in the Tour de France but there won't be much redemption in the air ar this year's Spanish grand tour. Instead, the race has attracted a formidable line-up of grand tour stars who travel to Spain on the back of what has mostly been highly successful seasons. Giro champion Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and local heroes Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) have attracted most pre-race interest but they will have to contend with exciting talents Sergio Henao (Sky), Carlos Betancur (Ag2r), Rigoberto Uran (Sky), Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and Rafal Majka (Saxo-Tinkoff) and accomplished grand tour veterans Michele Scarponi (Lampre), Ivan Basso (Cannondale) and Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel). Defending champion Alberto Contador and the best two riders from the Tour de France may be absent but apart from that Vuelta organizers Unipublic could hardly have imagined a stronger line-up for their race. CyclingQuotes.com takes a thorough look at this year's favourites and outsiders and finds out all about their strengths and weaknesses.

Last year's Vuelta a Espana evolved into a local battle between the three Spanish grand tour giants Alberto Contador, Joaquim Rodriguez and Alejandro Valverde but this year's race should have a much more international flavour. Valverde and Rodriguez are back after having impressed in the Tour de France but those two join Samuel Sanchez on the list as the only genuine Spanish winner candidates.

Italy's three grand tour winners Vincenzo Nibali, Ivan Basso and Michele Scarponi have all made the Vuelta a prime target and a host of exciting Colombian talents are ready to continue their recent domination. On a course that offers no less than 11 uphill finishes, such a bunch of climbers can only create a very exciting bike race and the race could very well shape up to be the closest of this year's grand tours.

CyclingQuotes.com has taken an in-depth look at the race's favourites, assigning 5 stars to the race's biggest favourite, 4 to his two biggest rivals, 3 to three other potential winners, 2 to four of the podium contenders and 1 to 5 of the race's minor outsiders. In this article, we take a look at the 2-star riders that should all be solid podium candidates.

Ivan Basso (**)

It has been a couple of horrible seasons for Ivan Basso. Having returned to grand tour glory in the 2010 Giro d'Italia, the veteran Italian had put all his energy into the 2011 Tour de France but an unfortunate crash during training ruined all his chances and he could only manage 7th. He had similarly bad luck one year later when another crashed ruined his Giro campaign and he had the unusual experience that his diesel engine faded during the final week. He still took 5th but it was a far cry from the win he had targeted.

This year he had a smooth spring season and all was set for a return to the spotlight in the Giro. Just a few days prior to the start, he was once again unfortunate as a perennial cyst forced him to cancel his participation. His original plan of making amends at the Tour also came to nothing and instead he has put all his eggs in the Vuelta basket.

This time there is plenty of reasons to expect great things from Basso. The veteran Italian has had a perfect build-up and has expressed plenty of confidence in his own chances. What makes Basso a danger man is his unusually good results in his build-up races. The Italian has always had a tendency to be far away from his best level in his preparation events but this time it has been different.

In the Tour de Pologne, he surprised most by finishing 8th but his real stand-out performance was delivered in the Vuelta a Burgos. He stayed out of trouble during the hectic first stages and lost plenty of time but when he got to the mountains, he proved his strength. He left Vincenzo Nibali behind on the steep Lagunas De Neila climb and finished 3rd behind Nairo Quintana and David Arroyo.

That was a confidence booster for Basso who will also be pleased with the course and its many uphill finishes. He would have preferred fewer of those short, steep climbs where his lack of explosiveness is likely to see him lose time but the longer climbs suit him perfectly. The three consecutive Pyrenean stages are tailor-made to his diesel engine and he is a master on very steep climbs, having founded his 2010 Giro win on the Monte Zoncolan. Look out for him to mix it up with the best on Hazallanas and Angliru.

His main asset may, however, be his freshness. Unlike most of his rivals, he has no grand tour in his legs. At the same time, he usually gets stronger and stronger through a grand tour while his more fatigued rivals could all fade during the very hard final week of the race. He would have preferred a gentler introduction to the race as he always needs a bit of time to get going but he can't be too displeased with the lay-out of the course.

The time trial remains, however, his weakness. In his pre-suspension career, he had developed into such a strong time triallist that he even planned to target the world championships. After his comeback his performances have been a far cry from his previous results and he could only manage 22nd in the flat Tour de Pologne time trial recently. The hilly course plays to his strength but he is expected to lose some time on stage 11.

Finally, he is not surrounded by the super team that helped him to glory in 2010. On the contrary, he will not have much support in the mountains and that will pose a problem against explosive attackers. Basso prefers a steady, high pace and needs a domestique to set it. He hasn't and that could create that kind of stop-and-go riding that has always been Basso's weakness. Nonetheless, everything suggests that Basso should get back into the spotlight during the Spanish three-week race and a podium spot is certainly within his capabilities.

Samuel Sanchez (**)

Only a few riders have a stronger track record than Samuel Sanchez in the Vuelta a Espana. The Spanish grand tour was his preferred stomping ground when he burst onto the scene with 10th, 7th and 3rd places during the 2005-2007 seasons. He made a first attempt at Tour glory in 2008 but was back in his home race for the 2009 edition, finishing a best-ever 2nd.

Since then he has turned his back on the Vuelta to fully focus on the Tour de France. This year he will make his return after a 4-year absence on the back of what has been an unusual season. Having still not won a stage in the Giro, Sanchez decided to put all his energy into the Italian race. He never achieved his goals in May and was a shadow of his former self in the first part of the race. However, Sanchez has always improved as a grand tour goes on, and that was also the case in his most recent outing. He got close to a stage win in the mountain time trial where he was only beaten by Nibali.

He won a stage in the Criterium du Dauphiné and has since spent time recovering for the Vuelta. Sanchez is known for his diesel engine that is often a little bit behind the rest at the beginning of a stage race but allows him to finish the race on the top. That will serve him well in this year's race which has a very tough final week and many of his main rivals will have had a much heavier race schedule which could prove costly later in the race.

What really mark Sanchez out this time is his recent showing in the Vuelta a Burgos. The Spaniard has always been far behind in his preparation races but that wasn't the case when he finished 8th in the Spanish race. This was an almost unprecedented performance by the Euskaltel captain and is a sign that he has maybe learnt from his Giro mistake where he was too far from the best during the first week. The hilly Vuelta course suits him well and he will find the hilly time trial to his liking as his has usually performed well on difficult courses, having even won last year's Vuelta al Pais Vasco time trial.

On the other hand, Sanchez was at his best when he finished 4th in the 2010 Tour de France (3rd following the disqualification of Alberto Contador) and has never reached the same heights since that race. He may have won the mountains jersey and a stage to Luz-Ardiden one year later but he has never reached his 2010 level again. On the contrary, his performances have been on the decline during the recent seasons. At 35, it may be too late for Sanchez to ever win a grand tour and he has already acknowledged that some of his rivals are stronger than him.

Finally, he has not raced two grand tours in one season since the 2005 season when he last made a Giro attempt. On that occasion, he finished 11th in the Vuelta and won a stage along the way and so he had a successful outing on home soil. It is almost untested territory for the veteran Spaniard but if anyone has the characteristics to do a grand tour double, it must be Sanchez. A Sanchez win would be a big surprise but a podium spot for the Euskaltel captain cannot be ruled out.

Domenico Pozzovivo (**)

Domenico Pozzovivo has never reached the grand tour glory that his splendid climbing would suggest. Having finished 9th in the 2008 Giro d'Italia, he drew much attention from the press but got famously known for his many failures in his home grand tour. Last year he finally put everything together to win a stage and finish 8th overall, thus fulfilling the expectations that had been built up over the years.

Prior to this season, he made a long overdue debut on a ProTeam when he signed with Ag2r. All was set for a strong Giro showing when he climbed side-by-side with Bradley Wiggins and Vincenzo Nibali in the Giro del Trentino but one day later he was left on the ground with a broken rib. He managed to recover in time for the Giro but his preparations had been severely hampered. When he also crashed on the descent from the Telegraphe, it spelled a definitive end to his lofty ambitions but he still managed to finish 10th in the race.

Since then he has prepared for what will be his debut Vuelta a Espana and his only competitive outing during the second half of the season indicates that he is ready. He finished 7th in the Tour de Pologne and was one of the strongest riders in the hard Dolomitian stages. That's in line with his general performances this year which have always allowed him to be up there with the best when he hasn't been hampered by bad luck.

His lack of results have put him far down the list of favourites but it would be a costly mistake to overlook the tiny Italian. Combining forces with Carlos Betancur, he is part of a formidable duo which could make the mountain stages explode. With 11 uphill finishes, the course suits him down to ground and he is favoured by the extremely steep gradients that the riders will encounter along the way - just recall how he crushed the opposition on the excessively steep Punta Veleno climb in last year's Giro d'Italia. Furthermore, he is rather explosive as well and should handle the punchy finishes well.

His main weakness is the time trial but people tend to forget that his tiny stature doesn't make him a terrible time triallist. Compared to the best, he will lose time on stage 11 but the hilly course will allow him to limit his losses. He recently finished 19th in the mostly flat Tour de Pologne time trial which is just another testament to the fact that he isn't too bad when he rides against the clock.

Pozzovivo will probably never win a grand tour but on this very hilly course, he should not be too far from a podium spot.

Rigoberto Uran (**)

When illness forced Bradley Wiggins to leave the Giro d'Italia, Sky captiancy duties fell onto the shoulders of Rigoberto Uran. The Colombian was up to the challenge and delivered a consistent, albeit unspectacular performance, to finish 2nd. Being part of Sky tactics, he was allowed to slip up the road and gain time on the stage to Altopiano del Montasio when Wiggins was still the focal point, and that put him into the GC mix.

Despite leaving the team next year, Uran has been granted a spot on Sky's Vuelta roster where he will once again line up alongside compatriot and close friend Sergio Henao. However, there will be no captaincy role for Uran his time as the team has made the wise decision to fully bag Henao in the final grand tour of the season.

His decision to leave the team may have played a role in that division of responsibilities but from a sporting point of view, Henao's leadership role is also the only logical strategy. While Uran is a solid climber and has made steady progress, his many years on the European racing scene have never revealed the kind of talent that should turn him into a winning candidate at a grand tour. At just 26 years of age, he is already a grand tour veteran with 7 three-week races under his belt but so far he has only made it into the top 10 twice and he has never featured prominently in the week-long stage that are often the testing ground for future grand tour talents.

Nonetheless, Uran is a very reliable climber and a top 5 result is not beyond his reach. The race is loaded with big favourites and so Sky is not expected to carry the main responsibility which could allow Uran to take a good result despite his role as a domestique. The many uphill finishes suit him well and with his fast sprint, he will relish the short, steep finishing climbs.

As it is the case for most of the race favouites, his main weakness is the time trial but he has done a great job to improve in the discipline. He is more or less equal with teammate Henao when it comes to racing against the clock and his impressive 12th place in the long Giro time trial shows that he should not be too far off the mark on the hilly stage 11. His strong Sky team will allow him to gain some time on many of his rivals in the team time trial and so he will not be too disadvantaged in the two timed events of the race.

Uran will use the race to prepare himself for the role of Omega Pharma-Quick Step GC rider and he will be eager to show himself. He won't win the race but if Henao has bad luck, he will once again be the rider to step into a captaincy role and then a top 10 result should be almost guaranteed.