The wildcard entries for the Vuelta a España have been handed to Burgos-BH and Caja Rural--Seguros RGA, leaving 2022 entrants Eukaltel Euskadi and Equipo Kern Pharma off the start list, along with the relegated Israel-Premier Tech.
ProTeams Lotto Dstny and Total Energies, who both opted out of the Giro d'Italia, both took up their invitations to the Vuelta, which they automatically receive as the top two teams in the pro-rankings. That meant that there were just two wildcards available and four Spanish ProTeams, as well as Israel-Premier Tech, who secured wildcard entries for the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.
Last year the organisers were granted a dispensation to offer three wildcard entries, which, given the automatic invitations for the 18 WorldTeams and top two ProTeams, resulted in a field of 23 squads. However, it was made clear that this was not a measure that would be repeated in for the 2023 event, which runs from August 26 to September 17.
It was Burgos-BH, Euskaltel Euskadi and Equipo Kern Pharma that received the wildcard invitations last year. That left Caja Rural-Seguros RGA out of the race for the first time since it debuted at the Vuelta a España in 2012, making it eager to make the most of its return in 2023.
"Going back to La Vuelta is the best news we could have,” said Juan Manuel Hernández, manager of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA. “We are very grateful to Unipublic for their trust, it is the most important race for Caja Rural-Seguros RGA and we will give everything in this new opportunity.
"We will seek to combine a team for all terrains in addition to giving the opportunity for young cyclists to debut in a Grand Tour as we have always done.”
The 78th edition of the Vuelta a España will run from Barcelona to Madrid, as it stretches further into September this year to make way for the combined discipline UCI Cycling World Championships, with the road events taking place between 5 to 13 August.
After the August 26 start with a team time trial, the race quickly heads to the mountains in an edition that includes the Col du Tourmalet and the Alto de l'Angliru and a total of 10 summit finishes before the peloton reaches Madrid on September 17th to conclude the 3,153 kilometres of racing.
