Argos-Shimano will follow tradition by lining up a roster mostly consisting of youngsters and with a clear focus on stage wins at the Vuelta a Espana. Without star sprinters Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb in the line-up, it is the team's less experienced sprinters that will target success on the flat stages while the team hopes to show off two of their exciting climbing talents.

Argos-Shimano has never been a GC team in the grand tours and the team has no intentions of bucking the trend in the Vuelta a Espana which starts in less than two weeks. Instead, the team hopes to continue on from its recent success at the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France and has selected a roster with a clear focus on securing a stage win that will make its collection of grand tour stage wins complete.

“We will be looking for stage wins in the upcoming Vuelta a España," sports director Christian Guiberteu said when announcing the roster." We head to Spain with a diverse young line-up with different riders who can be successful in both the flat and the hilly or mountainous stages,”

As usual, the team will put its greatest emphasis on the sprints but star sprinters Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb have both decided to skip the Spanish grand tour. Instead, it will be three grand tour debutants that will spearhead the team when it comes to the fast finishes on the flat stages.

Ramon Sinkeldam had a hugely successful month of May where he broke through with a number of top performances in the 4 Jours De Dunkerque and the Tour of Belgium. Those performances have earned him a spot on the Vuelta roster and the Dutchman has recently finished his preparation in the Arctic Tour of Norway.

In that race he helped neo-professional teammates Nikias Arndt to his first ever win and 3rd overall. The young German will also make his grand tour debut on the back of his very solid showing in Norway.

The final sprinter on the roster is Reinhardt Janse Van Rensburg who was a stand-out performer last year when part of the MTN-Qhubeka squad. His strong showing and many victories earned him a contract with Argos-Shimano and after a difficult start to the season, his legs have finally started to come around. He most recently performed well at the Tour de Pologne and has set his sights on the sprints in the more selective stages.

“For the flat stages we have fast guys like Ramon Sinkeldam, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg and Nikias Arndt who recently won a stage in the Arctic Tour of Norway," Guiberteau explained.

For the hillier stages and high mountains, the team lines up two exciting young talents. Tour de l'Avenir winner Warren Barguil will already make his grand tour debut during his first professional season and has shown his capabilities by finishing 18th in the Dauphiné and 17th in the Tour de Pologne. He will join forces with Austrian Georg Preidler who has been in numerous attacks in the mountains throughout the season, getting close to a stage win on the queen stage in the recent Tour de Pologne.

“This year’s Vuelta parcours is very tough with several uphill finishes and we are prepared for these with talented riders Warren Barguil and Georg Preidler who can handle themselves in these kind of stages," Guiberteau said. "By using an offensive strategy they can show the progress we have made with them this season."

The team is completed by climbers Johannes Fröhlinger, Tom Peterson and Thierry Hupond and time triallist Tom Stamsnijder who will work for the team and race aggressively whenever the opportunity presents itself.

“The more experienced riders in the team like Johannes Fröhlinger, Tom Peterson, Tom Stamsnijder and Thierry Hupond, are eager to look for chances to get into the breaks or to support the team as best as possible," Guiberteau explained.

By lining up 5 grand tour debutants, the team has once again selected a very inexperienced roster. It is, however, an important part of the team's mission to develop young riders into world stars.

“After the sporting successes of winning stages in both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France we are of course aiming for further success at the Vuelta", general manager Iwan Spekenbrink said. "But the development of our young talents is also very important to us. Right from the birth of this team we adapted a strategy to develop riders with intensive support from our coaching team so they can grow into riders that can compete at the highest level possible. Our young talents have developed very well this year and have shown their potential, so they deserve their Vuelta a España selection. Their selection is for both the present and the future: they will contribute to the team’s performance, and the Vuelta will support their development.”

The Vuelta starts on August the 24th with a team time trial in Galicia.

Argos-Shimano roster for the Vuelta a Espana

Ramon Sinkeldam, Nikias Arndt, Reinhardt Van Rensburg, Georg Preidler, Warren Barguil, Tom Peterson, Thierry Hupond, Johannes Fröhlinger and Tom Stamsnijder