The 2021 Vuelta a España runs this Aug. 14 to Sept. 5 and includes many stars who could compete for the final overall victory when the race wraps up in Santiago de Compostela.

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Below, we look at five of those riders, including the winner of the last two editions, Primoz Roglic.

Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma)

Roglic's season has been a strange one. Normally we are used to seeing him win everything heading into the big appointment. For the 2021 Tour de France, he raced little to take a different approach. However, he crashed early on and abandoned on day eight. We didn't see him again until the Olympics, where he won the time trial. If the Olympics showed anything, it's that he's ready for revenge and that he's making up for lost time. Expect him to win the opening time trial and keep a firm grip on the red leader's jersey over the three weeks.

Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma)

The American originally had a chance to lead the super-charged Dutch team in Spain, and that may or may not still be the case. This year, he looked off, at least that was until he one the Andorra stage of the Tour de France to remind us all of his incredible talent. So will he now lead the Jumbo-Visma team? A lot of that will depend on Primoz Roglic, who without a chance to win the Tour, is going for the Vuelta overall.

Team Ineos Grenadiers

At the start of the season the plan was that Adam Yates would lead Ineos Grenadiers in Spain, but now the team may want to further cover itself after learning some lessons in the Tour de France. In the Tour, it had four leaders but only one – Richard Carapaz – came through and finished third overall. Now, after winning the Olympic Road Race Gold, he will be on of the team's Vuelta's stars. Another will be Colombian Egan Bernal, who earlier this year won the Giro d'Italia.

Hugh Carthy (EF Education-Nippo)

Hugh Carthy truly blossomed last year in the Vuelta a España with his stunning stage win on the Angliru and a third place overall. This year, the team gave him a chance to lead the Giro d'Italia and he built on his palmarès with an eighth overall. However, he loves Spain and loves climbing – which is perfect since there are nine summit finishes on offer in 2021.

Chris Froome (Israel Start-Up Nation)

How could we make a Vuelta favorites list without including the four-time Tour de France winner and the two-time Vuelta winner, Chris Froome? Sure he is still suffering from his 2019 crash and recovering from the Tour de France where he placed only 133rd, but this is Froome. It will be a big challenge, but Froome could pull off something special if he finds his strength again.