The Vuelta a España is back, and the 2024 edition kicks off this Saturday, promising three weeks of dramatic racing—especially following the Jumbo-Visma drama and Sepp Kuss's victory last year.

Yes, the American from Durango is back to defend his title. He will face his former teammate, Primoz Roglic, who's now with Team Red Bull and recovering after his crash in the Tour de France.

We are going to break down the route and the favorites to keep an eye on over the three weeks, from August 17 to September 8.

The Vuelta a España 2024 Route

Like the Tour de France, the Vuelta a España starts in a neighboring country this 2024. The race kicks off in Portugal's capital of Lisbon with a 12km time trial, a relatively easy day considering what's to come. This is a typical climb-heavy Vuelta with nine summit finishes! We don't climb the famous Angliru or travel through the Pyrenees, but we have the super hard Cuitu Negru and epic Lagos de Covadonga in the second and third weeks.

The hits keep coming because on the last Saturday, the riders face the toughest climbing day that wraps up on the Picón Blanco. From the heights in Burgos, in northern Spain, 24 hours later, the 2024 Vuelta concludes with a fast and flat 22km time trial in Madrid.

The Vuelta a España 2024 Favorites

From Lisbon to Madrid, 3300km—a lot of racing, a lot of favorites in the 2024 Vuelta a España.

Number 1 on our list and racing with the number 1, Sepp Kuss of team Visma-Lease a Bike. The Colorado native adopted by Spain is back for more, and coming into form just at the right time. After suffering in the early season, being knocked out by Covid prior to the Tour, Kuss is back. He just won the Vuelta a Burgos to show he's ready to defend his Spanish crown.

The rivals are many, however. Let's talk about the locals who are not happy with American intervention in their home tour. Enric Mas leads team Movistar in search of success. This 2024 hasn't been kind to Mas and he'll want more, and more than his sixth place in the 2023 Vuelta.

Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers). He finished fifth and won a stage in last year's Tour de France. This year, a stage win in the Critérium du Dauphiné and seventh in the Tour. It will be a lot to ask for the 23-year-old to back it up in the Vuelta, but he has Egan Bernal in the Ineos team as well.

Mikel Landa (Soudal-Quick Step) will be off the reins after helping Remco Evenepoel in the Tour de France. Though 34 years old, remember he placed fifth in the Vuelta last year and fifth in the Tour this year.

Juan Ayuso, fourth overall and best Spaniard in 2023, is left off the start list in 2024. This comes after he fell sick and abandoned the Tour de France shortly after having a dispute with the UAE team over his work Tadej Pogacar. UAE will still come with an almighty squad fresh off the Tour de France win: Adam Yates heads up the team, backed by João Almeida who starts in his home country of Portugal, and American Brandon McNulty.

Ben O'Connor will be racing his last big race with Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale, before joining home team Jayco-AlUla for 2025. He was fourth overall in the Giro d'Italia this spring and just placed 11th in the Clásica San Sebastián.

Will Primoz Roglic Race The 2024 Vuelta A España

What about Primoz Roglic, three-time Vuelta winner? We don't know. Remember he crashed and then abandoned the Tour. It seemed he would not race the Vuelta, but now it seems he will. If he does not, Team Red Bull will rely on Russian, Aleksandr Vlasov.

Note: On August 12, Team Red Bull confirmed Primoz will race. Rolf Aldag, Chief of Sports Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe: "We are also going into the third Grand Tour of the year with great ambitions. We have nominated eight riders with whom we won't be hiding but want to compete aggressively for the GC. However, we will have to wait and see to what extent we can do this. After all, the crash injuries and five-week break from racing for both Primož and Aleks were not the ideal preparation for a Grand Tour."

With this explosive route and a power-packed lineup, it's sure to be another dramatic and thrilling Vuelta a España.