Stetina, Reijnen Vuelta-bound with Trek-Segafredo

Peter Stetina and Kiel Reijnen are both bound for the Vuelta a España as part of a Trek-Segafredo squad on the hunt for stage wins.

Trek-Segafredo is bringing a team of stage-hunters, led by sprinters John Degenkolb and Edward Theuns. Reijnen will help out setting up the sprints while Stetina will have free rein to hunt for a stage victory in breakaways.

“We do not go to this Vuelta with a team built around a single leader. Rather, we are taking a very complete team who can be competitive in all types of stages,” said sport director Yaroslav Popovych. “John Degenkolb has been training really hard in altitude. He recently rode the Tour de Pologne in preparation to find the speed and spirit of the sprint. John did some good results there, but he needs more, and for this, we hope he will achieve good results in the Vuelta.”

The 32-year-old Stetina will be starting his first grand tour since the 2017 Vuelta, while Reijnen, who recently extended his contract with Trek-Segafredo, will be starting his third Vuelta.

The U.S. pair is part of a growing contingent of riders heading to Spain that could see seven American riders in the Spanish grand tour. Other confirmed American starters include Sepp Kuss and grand tour debutant Neilson Powless for Jumbo-Visma. Ben King (Dimension Data), a winner of two stages last year in a breakout Vuelta, Lawson Craddock and Tejay van Garderen (EF Education) could also start.

Other starters include Gianluca Brambilla, Niklas Eg, Jacopo Mosca, and Alex Kirsch. Degenkolb, who boasts 10 career Vuelta stage victories, will be starting his first grand tour of the season after sitting out the Tour after the team brought a GC emphasis to France.