Philip Deigan will not ride the Vuelta with Team Sky. His omission from the line-up, while disappointing, was not wholly unexpected.
Irish rider Philip Deignan will not be on the start line of the Vuelta on Malaga on Saturday.
Team Sky has named its line-up, without Deignan or its big stars Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome.
And in the absence of Froome and Thomas, the selection is an unusual one for the British WorldTour outfit.
It includes Michal Kwiatkowski, David de la Cruz, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Jonathan Castroviejo, Sergio Henao, Salvatore Puccio, Pavel Sivakov and Dylan van Baarle.
Team Sky has indentified no clear leader, opting instead for three of the riders - Castroviejo, Henao and Puccio – to ride in support of the other five.
However, unfortunately Philip Deignan has not made the line-up.
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His finest moment came in the Vuelta of 2009 when he won stage 17 and was 9th overall when the race reached its conclusion in Madrid.
Deignan’s career stalled after that and after indifferent years in 2010 and 2011 he went to the UnitedHealthcare ProContinental team.
He regained his form, enjoying fantastic results racing in the US and securing a place on Team Sky.
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He has been with the team for the past five years. And though he has not ridden the Tour de France with Team Sky, he’s ridden the Giro three times and Vuelta once.
His selection for this Vuelta was perhaps more hoped for by Irish fans than expected.
However, with the likes of Egan Bernal, Froome and Thomas missing the selection was a little more open this time.
However, it is now confirmed Deignan will not ride. Ireland will still have Nicolas Roche (BMC) and Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates) in the race.
Dave Brailsford said the Team Sky selection for the Vuelta was a mix of youth and experience which could do very well.
“In Michal Kwiatkowski, I believe we have a rider who is capable of one day winning a Grand Tour,” he said.
“He has already showed his ability in one day races and now he is progressing well in his development as a stage racer.
“David de la Cruz is in a similar situation and continues to develop as a GC rider.
“In Tao Geoghegan Hart and Pavel Sivakov, we have two young riders who I’m convinced will experience success in Grand Tour in the future.
“They’ve both enjoyed strong seasons and we’re especially delighted they’re making their Grand Tour debuts with the team.
“Dylan van Baarle’s development this season has also been very pleasing and the Vuelta will be key in his progression.
“With Jonathan Castroviejo, Sergio Henao and Salvatore Puccio we have an experienced trio that have all been a part of winning Grand Tour teams with us – they are right up there with the world’s best at their specific roles.
“They’ve got an abundance of experience that will complement the other riders as we look to finish the Grand Tour season strongly in Spain.”
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