The fight for the youth classification was only reintroduced by the Vuelta in 2019, but the list of winners since then does not lie. Who will join the ranks of Tadej Pogacar, Enric Mas, the late Gino Mäder, Remco Evenepoel, and Juan Ayuso in this tough edition of the Vuelta a Espana?
Latest winners of youth classification Vuelta a España
2023 Juan Ayuso
2022 Remco Evenepoel
2022 Gino Mäder
2021 Enric Mas
2019 Tadej Pogacar
Favorites youth classification Vuelta a España 2024
Florian Lipowitz - Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
We start our list with German wattage icon Florian Lipowitz of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. The powerful climber showed off his skills in this year's Tour de Romandie and was suddenly named a severe contender for the Giro d'Italia. There, he showed his talent at Oropa but was also forced to leave the round rather quickly ill.
Meanwhile, he finished second at the German championships and won the Sibiu Tour. However, this Vuelta will be especially about learning from guys like Primoz Roglic, Aleksandr Vlasov, and Daniel Felipe Martinez. Who knows, maybe Lipowitz can join them as a fourth man.
Max Poole - dsm-firmenich PostNL
Max Poole of dsm-firmenich PostNL rode his first major Tour last year with the Vuelta. He could not fulfill the high expectations then, but after one year and some life experience, he has already taken another step. The Brit finished second in the Tour of Burgos but became familiar with the other end of the deal in Tirreno-Adriatico.
Poole fell badly there and broke his elbow, which prevented him from participating in the Giro. His rehabilitation took some time, but now he is ready to represent the Dutch team in a three-week stage race.
Matthew Riccitello - Israel-Premier Tech
One of the world's greatest climbing talents is Matthew Riccitello, a compact climber from Israel-Premier Tech. The 22-year-old American already rode the Giro d'Italia last year and did well in the Tour de l'Avenir afterward. Still, this season took another step forward in the Tour of Switzerland, among others. There, he finished fifth.
Israel-Premier Tech aims to bring the young talent quietly and is not putting too much pressure on him for this Vuelta, but Riccitello may find himself among the big men in the mountain stages. For him, the more demanding, the better.
Cian Uijtdebroeks - Visma | Lease a Bike
Cian Uijtdebroeks finished an impressive second behind Juan Ayuso in the youth classification at last year's Vuelta a Espana. The Belgian has since moved from one team to another and is now back in the Spanish Tour on behalf of Visma | Lease a Bike, where he will undoubtedly be keen to show his best side again after dropping out of the Giro.
Uijtdebroeks competed for the white in that Giro, but Corona threw him out of the race. The Belgian was then unable to be the best version of himself on the Tour of Switzerland, but in the meantime, he is refreshed and ready to start the Vuelta.
Isaac del Toro - UAE-Team Emirates
The most intriguing talent before this Vuelta a Espana starts is UAE-Team Emirates' Isaac del Toro. The 20-year-old from Mexico is in his first professional year but made an immediate impression with a win at the Tour Down Under. He competed well in races such as the Tour of the Algarve, Tirreno-Adriatico, and Tour of Switzerland.
He is not yet a regular, but his talent allows Del Toro to showcase his qualities. Where will it take him? Who knows?
Lennert Van Eetvelt - Lotto-Dstny
Lotto-Dstny is counting on Lennert Van Eetvelt as a classification rider in this Vuelta a Espana. The 23-year-old rider already rode the round last year, finishing 23rd. Yet it earned him a better spot, as demonstrated by his impressive final victory in the UAE Tour this spring.
After that, Van Eetvelt had some setbacks, with a persistent injury and a collision, but he was fit in time for the Vuelta. He finished nicely third in Clasica San Sebastian last week.
Antonio Tiberi - Bahrain Victorious
This year's Giro white jersey winner will also be at the start of the Vuelta a Espana. Antonio Tiberi is considered one of the strongholds for Bahrain Victorious in the coming years, which will play the Italian out as a leader in a major tour for the second time this year.
Good old Damiano Caruso is also there for the necessary support, providing Tiberi with an excellent mentor. The Italian rode the Tour of Burgos as a preparation race for the Vuelta, in which he only came out on top in the time trial.
Thymen Arensman - INEOS Grenadiers
Thymen Arensman is 24 but is already starting his fifth Vuelta a Espana. Let that sink in. The classification rider from Deil is being put forward for this edition by his team INEOS Grenadiers as a co-leader for the general classification, so white could be just around the corner.
Arensman had his best Tour of Spain in 2022, finishing fifth and winning the queen stage. At the time, that earned him fourth place in the battle for the white jersey. Last year, he experienced terrible luck on the Tour of Spain due to a heavy fall, as he had to drop out of the race then.
Mattias Skjelmose - Lidl-Trek
Lidl-Trek is building a GC team, and Mattias Skjelmose is a vital part of that. The Dane is being groomed for the big time, and his team decided to do that this season via the Vuelta a Espana as its primary goal. Skjelmose previously rode the Giro and Tour but didn't go for a GC then.
He is doing that in this Tour of Spain, where he is heading into a great season: fourth in Paris-Nice, third in the Tour of the Basque Country, and third in the Tour of Switzerland. So he can now tick off those one-week stage races for the grand tours.
Carlos Rodriguez - INEOS Grenadiers
According to our (former) editors, the contender for white is Carlos Rodriguez of INEOS Grenadiers. The somewhat timid Spaniard is a killer on the bike and is seen as the man on the British team, along with Arensman, for the coming years. Rodriguez rode out the Tour this year with illness but still finished seventh.
In the process, he did well in races such as the Basque Country (second), Romandie (first), and the Dauphiné (fourth). His next step is the final podium in a grand tour and a shot at the white jersey in his country's round.
This list was compiled based on the opinions of (former) editorial board members of IDLProCycling, who passed on their top ten contenders.
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