21-year-old Bob Jungels made a grand entrance onto the pro cycling scene in 2013, winning a stage and taking 5th overall in the Skoda Tour de Luxembourg, and taking both the individual time trial and the road race titles at the Luxembourg national championships. Now in his second year at the WorldTour level with Trek Factory Racing, Jungels has continued to develop as a talented all-rounder, with particularly strong performances in time trial stages in some of the year’s biggest races so far. This weekend, however, he will take part in his very first Grand Tour, the Vuelta a España. He talked to VH about the season-long buildup to the three-week event, his preparation, and his objectives for Spain’s biggest race, in which he hopes to gain experience for the future.

“The main goal of the season was to learn,” he told VeloHuman. “I did a lot of WorldTour races this year, so the main goal was just to get as much experience as possible, and of course the Vuelta now is the first big tour and a completely new thing for me. Of course, it’s a new challenge, but it’s a goal also, because I want to do well. But the most important thing is to learn for the future.”

As big a challenge as his first Grand Tour ride is likely to be, the considerable developments Jungels has made as a rider over the course of the season, which he thinks has gone well so far, have helped him feel more prepared for the race.

“I have progressed a lot in climbing this year,” he explained. “My time trial was not bad already last year, and I think I’ve made some big steps in stage races, and that is also my goal for the future, to be good in stage races. So the Vuelta is a good test for me to see how far I can go already. I’m really happy with my season until now; I’ve had a few good results in time trials and also in medium climbing stages, so I’m pretty happy with that.”

Though he acknowledges that the Vuelta a España will be a very new experience, when asked whether he’s nervous about this undertaking, Jungels says that he’s more looking forward to what lies ahead.

“I would not say nervous. For me, I’m a little bit in awe, to be in a big team, to be part of these nine riders in the Vuelta. I’m really looking forward to it. That’s maybe more the thing. Of course a little bit nervous because I don’t know how my body will react, but I’m definitely looking forward to it and I hope everything goes well,” he said.

Likely contributing to his excitement and confidence is the presence of a few seasoned veterans on Trek’s Vuelta squad, as riders like Haimar Zubeldia and Fabian Cancellara are set to make the start alongside Jungels and several other very young pros.

“For us young riders it’s always important to have a few older riders to help, riders who have more experience than we do,” Jungels said. “It’s a really important part for us to learn from them because, like I said, the most important thing is the experience for us and we don’t have it until now, so it’s pretty good to have guys with us from whom we can learn.”

Jungels has come close to major victories several times already this year, with Top 3s on stages in Paris-Nice, the Critérium International, and the Critérium du Dauphiné. When asked about what he thinks he is capable of in the Vuelta, he was cautiously optimistic about his chances for stage success.

“I think the line up for this Vuelta is quite special because a lot of guys had to abandon the Tour, like Froome, Contador, all these guys,” he said. “So I think it will be really hard, but one thing is for sure, I don’t have any expectations on the GC, so I’ll try to go for stages and do my best. I hope to get a good result in a stage.”

He hasn’t poured over the entire road book just yet to target any one particular stage, but he does have objectives for himself in the race.

“One thing, I try to do my best, that’s for sure,” Jungels said. “I haven’t really looked at every stage in particular, but of course I want to do well in the TTs and maybe in the medium climbing stages. One thing I want to prove a little bit is that I can climb pretty well, because I see in training that I’ve taken big steps in the mountains, so I think it should be a goal for me.”

Trek Factory Racing brings a versatile team to the race, and they look well-staffed to pursue several different goals.

“We will have a big meeting when we arrive over there but Haimar [Zubeldia] was really good and got a Top 10 in the Tour again, and if his shape is still good and if he still feels fresh, I think he can have some ambitions in the GC, maybe to do another Top 10,” Jungels said. “I think for the others, the main goal should be to do well in the stages, and maybe try to get a victory out of the stages. A little bit like in the Giro, where we also had a good performance.”

With only a few days remaining before the Vuelta kicks off in Jerez de la Frontera, Jungels is mostly focused on resting up to be as fresh as possible for the start.

“We decided to just do some good blocks [of training] after Poland and then basically for this week, it’s more or less like a rest week, and then of course a few days before the race we’ll try to do the recon of the team time trial course,” he said.

With some serious chrono talent, including Jungels, Fabian Cancellara, Jesse Sergeant, and Kristof Vandewalle, Trek will be a top favorite for that opening team time trial. After that, the two ITTs and several hillier days could be prime stage hunting grounds for Jungels, who is certainly a rider to watch in this Vuelta a España, and, as he continues to develop and gain experience, in future races as well.

-Dane Cash

Photo by Trek Factory Racing.