Sam Bennett has said he has compete confidence in his two main lead-out men for La Vuelta, even though another one of the usual sprint train, Shane Archbald, was not in the team.
The Irishman added being a slightly older rider now is likely to be an advantage as his endurance is better. Because of that, he believed he would get better as the race went on and was aiming for the points jersey and stage wins, especially the big final stage in Madrid.
"I think I'll get better as the race goes on," he said. "I always get better as a Grand Tour goes on. I'm an older rider so the endurance is something that won't be a problem.
"It's just about getting that top end (sprint) and I think the racing will bring that on, with the three weeks," he said, adding "a couple of stages and the green jersey" was the goal, though he knew that was "ambitious".
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While he had just two lead-out men for the race, he believed both of them could do a very good job and get him ready to pounce in the sprints.
"Ryan is the one with the big engine, he'll be the one to get us inside the last kilometre in good position," Bennett said of his compatriot and now Bora-hansgrohe team mate.
"He probably has one of the harder jobs because he has to take a lot of the wind. And until you get into that moment, there's a lot of lead-out men getting out of the way, there's GC guys trying not to lose time…
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"It all filters out by the last 800 metres or 500 metres but it's quite messy before that, so that's an important job," he added of Mullen pulling him and Van Poppel into place.
He added Van Poppel was another very important rider as the final lead-out man.
"I put my life in his hands, I'm sitting in his back pocket and he tries to get me into the last 200 metres as fresh as possible and at the highest speed possible. He can make all the difference," he said, adding the team would look to take up the sprints "quite late".
Bennett said while he had not studied the course in fine detail, there seemed to be chances for him between stages 6 and 9. However, if he could pick just one stage to win, it would be the finale into Madrid.
"I've won the 21st stage of the Giro in Rome, I've won the 21st stage of the Tour de France on the Champs-Élysées and this is the last one I'm missing, so I'd like the complete set.
"So that (final stage in Madrid) would be one that I'd really want. But the problem with that is, you have to get through three weeks of racing, it's not just about what happens on the day. Well, it is when you get there, but there's three weeks before that."
He added the 2nd and 3rd stages were also targets for him but his "heart was set on Madrid". Bennett added Tim Merlier and Pascal Ackermann appeared to be his main rivals, though Tour de Pologne stage winner Gerben Thijssen of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux could also be a threat.
He felt his endurance would not be a problem during the Vuelta and that the length of the race would bring on his top end speed.
