South African Nicholas Dlamini will line up for his first Grand Tour at the Vuelta a España which starts in Salinas de Torrevieja, Spain, on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Dimension Data rider will be one of two debutants for the team, with Norwegian Rasmus Tiller the other.
“I’m really looking forward to the Vuelta,” said Dlamini.
“I’m super excited and nervous at the same time. It’s a special one for me as it’s my first Grand Tour so I don’t know what to expect really, but I’m looking forward to racing and adding good value to the team.
Nicholas Dlamini will line up for the Vuelta a España which starts in Salinas de Torrevieja, Spain, on Saturday. Photo: Stiehl Photography
“I have had a reduced racing programme so I’ve been training really hard for this Vuelta.”
He will be joined by fellow South Africans Louis Meintjes and Jaco Venter.
Meintjes, 27, has Grand Tour top-10 experience, while Venter will start his seventh Grand Tour.
The 32-year-old Venter will be tasked with supporting Edvald Boasson Hagen in the sprints before looking after the climbers later on.
“It will be nice to return to the Vuelta and I look forward to this different approach to the end of my season,” said Boasson Hagen.
“I really enjoy racing in Spain even though it doesn’t happen often. But there are some nice stages at the Vuelta this year so we hope to do well.”
Also included in the eight-man team are Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier, Ben O’Connor and Ben King.
“After finishing a very difficult Giro d’Italia this year I have come into the second half of the season with some good strength and so I have very high motivation now,” said Ghebreigzabhier.
The Eritrean added that last year was his first Vuelta and in the third week he could still achieve a top-10 result.
This year he felt he was stronger and more experienced so he hoped to be able to secure a good result for himself, the team and his country.
“I’m feeling strong after the Tour de France and am excited to be returning to the Vuelta with good memories,” said King.
“We have a relatively young but very talented team. Having a card to play on every type of stage will guarantee there’s never a boring stage for us.”
