The South African climber Louis Meintjes, who won a stage at Les Praeres with Intermarché-Wanty in 2022, is preparing for his tenth Vuelta and his twentieth Grand Tour participation, a record for an African cyclist.

Meintjes, eighteenth at this year's Giro d'Italia, will be the captain of Intermarché Wanty and will have his loyal teammates Dion Smith and Simone Petilli by his side: together they will complete the Giro-Vuelta double. The New Zealander, who won the Volta NXT Classic, and the Italian climber are about to take part in their eighth and tenth Grand Tour respectively.

The young Huub Artz, a talent from the Wanty-NIPPO-ReUz Development team and current U23 European champion, is one of the three debutants in this selection. He has had an impressive season as a new professional, with several top 10 placements in time trial events to his name.

Finally, a Belgian quartet completes the Intermarché-Wanty selection. Sprinter Arne Marit returns to the Vuelta after narrowly missing the podium last year, while Dries De Pooter makes his race debut after his first Giro in 2024. Kamiel Bonneu and Luca Van Boven, who joined the team this season, are about to face their first Grand Tour.

Pieter Vanspeybrouck, Team Sports Director, explains: "True to its reputation, La Vuelta offers an ideal route for climbers. With Louis Meintjes we have ambitions for the general classification and, given the numerous summit finishes, we also see several opportunities for him to repeat his 2022 feat, when he won. With Kamiel Bonneu and Simone Petilli, he will have two climbers supporting him in the mountains. We are well-equipped for group sprints with Arne Marit and for the most difficult stages with Huub Artz, who can surprise both in breakaways and in sprints with a small group. With Dries De Pooter, Dion Smith and Luca Van Boven, we have important cards for any scenario".