Vuelta organizers give a rather surprising reason for wildcard selection: "No one even noticed that…"

Vuelta boss Javier Guillén (and the entire Vuelta organization) recently faced much criticism. Equipo Kern Pharma, which had won no less than three stages the year before with Pablo Castrillo and Urko Berrade, was not invited to the Tour of Spain even though the organization was allowed to invite an extra team. The Spanish team was - of course - anything but happy that they did not receive an invitation. "We are deeply disappointed that we will not return to the Vuelta after what happened in 2024. Thank you for all the support and encouraging messages," the team said shortly after the announcement.

After the phenomenal victories of Castrillo and Berrade, the cycling world wondered aloud what the decision was based on. The Spanish media Mundo Deportivo asked Guillén. "In the end, you must make a choice," the Spaniard explained. "First, we were allowed to invite two teams, but in the end, there were three. It's up to the organizer to decide how to fill those spots. I think it's clear that La Vuelta is committed to Spanish cycle racing."

So the Vuelta a España is committed to Spanish cycle racing but has invited Tom Pidcock's Q36.5 Pro Cycling, a Swiss team, at the expense of a Spanish team. How does that make sense? Guillén has a clear answer to that. "Spanish teams are angry that they are not allowed to go to the Vuelta even though they are Spanish. Q36.5 has an exceptionally talented rider, but no one has noticed that it also has five Spaniards. Ultimately, we also have to consider a foreign team that selects five Spaniards and can deliver the quality of a Pidcock. Because that is what we would rather see than Spanish teams that only select foreigners." Whether the argument proves convincing remains to be seen, as last year, Equipo Kern Pharma appeared at the start of the Vuelta with an all-Spanish selection.

The Spanish team openly expressed dissatisfaction about not being invited, which does not seem to bother Guillén. "The team's dissatisfaction is completely understandable. The only difference is that Caja Rural and Burgos (Spanish teams not selected last year, ed.) did not go public about it last year. They have every right, just as La Vuelta has every right, not to comment on certain decisions. Ultimately, it's the same old story: some people are very happy, others are very sad. Not everyone reacts the same, and Euskaltel (Spanish team that was not selected this year, ed.) has not commented on it either," the Spaniard said.

The Vuelta organization is more concerned with whether world champion Tadej Pogacar will head to Spain for the Vuelta this year. The Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates - XRG has already said he wants to win the Vuelta a España to add it to his list of all the grand tours he has won. According to Guillén, there is hope he will participate this year. "So far, Pogacar has not ruled out the Vuelta. He has said he will ride the Tour and the World Championships, but he never said he wouldn't ride the Vuelta."

This keeps the Vuelta organization optimistic. "We believe that with his ambition to compete and his will to achieve, he is the most interested rider. We are rooting for him to win the three grand titles. I'm not going to pressure him, says Guillén, who realizes that a negative answer is not the end of the world either. Hopefully, he says yes, and if not, we'll wait another year because cycling is lucky to have a rider like Tadej."