The Vuelta a España is known as the grand tour for pure climbers. This year’s Vuelta lives up to that reputation and then some. With 57 categorized climbs and eight summit finishes in the 2019 Vuelta, there will be no shortage of battles amongst the peloton’s top climbers throughout the three weeks of racing. 

Below, some of the key climbers lining up for this year’s Vuelta.

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Alejandro Valverde

Valverde will line up for his home grand tour before heading to Yorkshire to defend his world champion jersey. Valverde is a former winner of the Vuelta a España and will be flanked by Nairo Quintana and Richard Carapaz, both of whom are proven grand tour winners. 

Valverde will likely ride in support of Quintana throughout the three week race, but nobody would be surprised to see him steal an opportunity in the mountains to win one more race in the rainbow stripes.

Sepp Kuss

Sepp Kuss is perhaps the finest climber that America has in the World Tour. The young mountain biker from Colorado shot through the domestic ranks in two years before being signed by Jumbo-Visma. 

The Dutch team has been developing his talents in the mountains, where Kuss was a key domestique for Primoz Roglic in this year’s Giro d’Italia. 

The 2019 Vuelta will be Kuss’ third grand tour in his nearly two years on the World Tour. He will be joined by a powerful team of climbers, all of whom will be riding in support of Primoz Roglic and Steven Kruijswijk.

Rafal Majka

Majka is one of the peloton’s most exciting riders in the mountains. The explosive Polish rider uses his climbing legs to great effect, having won the polka dot jersey twice in the Tour de France. He's also won three stages of the Tour de France, and one stage of the Vuelta, in addition to finishing third overall at the Vuelta a España in 2015. Whether he is stage hunting or chasing jerseys, you can expect a show from Majka.

Louis Meintjes

Meintjes was touted as a future grand tour winner following top ten finishes in the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. At 27 years old, the South African has not yet managed to improve on the benchmark he set early in his career. Much like his Dimension Data team, Meintjes has had a rather unremarkable season. However, he is still young and when he is on form, he is one of the best climbers in the world. 

Will Meintjes be able to salvage his season and that of Dimension Data in the mountains of Spain?

Hugh Carthy

At only 25 years of age, Hugh Carthy is already realizing his potential in grand tours. The young British rider had a very successful Giro d’Italia securing three top ten stage finishes and 11th overall. He followed up on those performances with a solo win in the queen stage of the Tour de Suisse.

Carthy has not ridden the Vuelta since 2016, when he raced for the Spanish pro continental outfit Caja Rural. Carthy will return to the Vuelta as one of the best climbers in the peloton and a genuine threat for the young rider jersey as well.