Vuelta a España 2026 also awards wildcards, selection favors Spanish ProTeams
Following the Tour de France, ASO has also allocated the teams for the 2026 Vuelta a España. The choice is not entirely surprising, with the Spanish teams Burgos Burpellet BH and Equipo Kern Pharma selected.
The wildcard distribution for the Vuelta follows the same principle as the Tour: Cofidis, Tudor Pro Cycling, and Pinarello–Q36.5 receive guaranteed wildcards based on their 2025 performances. Grand Tour organizers, due to a UCI rule change last year, may award two additional wildcards to teams of their choice, provided the ProTeam finished in the top 30 of the UCI Team Ranking the previous year.
Therefore, Burgos-Burpellet-BH and Equipo Kern Pharma faced competition from TotalEnergies, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Unibet Rose Rockets, VF Group Bardiani-CSF Faizanè, and Polti-VisitMalta. Since ProTeam Euskaltel-Euskadi did not finish in the top 30, it was not eligible for selection.
For Equipo Kern Pharma, this marks a return to the race after winning three stages two years ago. Burgos Burpellet BH participated last season. Former stage winner Urko Berrade still rides for Equipo, along with Iván Ramírez Sosa and Jesús Antonio Soto. José Manuel Díaz, Eric Fagundez, and Merhawi Kudus lead the charge at Burgos, where Jetse Bol serves as the Dutch directeur sportif.
View this post on Instagram
