After competing against Tadej Pogačar in the Tour of Flanders, the Critérium du Dauphiné, and the Tour de France, Matteo Jorgenson makes no secret of his relief at the world champion's absence from the Vuelta a España.

The American will be part of a very strong Visma-Lease a Bike team supporting Jonas Vingegaard , second in the Tour, in the race starting Saturday in Turin. Jorgenson will be one of the Dane's key domestiques, with his versatility making him invaluable on any terrain.

"Is it a relief? Yes, indeed," Jorgenson admitted candidly. " The race will be very different without him because every rider will race differently. When Pogačar is here, he forces everyone to race differently, whether you're aiming for a stage or the general classification. It's not often that you can race without him, I'll enjoy it."

Vingegaard was more diplomatic , commenting in the pre-Vuelta press conference: "On the one hand, it's always nice to race against Tadej, but on the other, it's also nice to race when he's not there. Obviously, you want to win regardless of his presence, but it's more satisfying when he's racing."

Visma-Lease a Bike will start as the favorite, with Vingegaard theoretically stronger than Ayuso and Almeida of Team UAE. But anything can happen in three weeks of racing, making the support of riders like Jorgenson and Kuss crucial to getting the Dane to the top step of the podium in Madrid.