Alexandre Vlasov, who finished fourth in the Giro d'Italia, will head into the Vuelta a España as Astana Premiers Tec's team leader, supporting a strong Spanish rider.

Astana Premiers Tec, which Vlasov will join Bora-Hansgrohe in 2022, will be joined by Ion, Gorka Izagirre, Luis Leon Sanchez, Omar Freire, Oscar Rodriguez, and Alex Aramburu in their home tour that starts Saturday. He said he will be looking for opportunities to win stages.

"Alexandre Vlasov is our leader and he is motivated to improve on his previous result here at La Vuelta," team performance manager Dmitry Fofonov said in a statement. After a very short break after the Olympics, he is getting back into form. He is gradually improving at the Vuelta a Burgos and we hope he will be able to join the fight for the top overall positions.

"Also, we have six Spanish riders in our team. So Ion, Gorka, Luis Leon, Alex, Omar, and Oscar will try to help Vlasov in the decisive stages and find their own chances in the battle for stage wins."

The last rider on the team is Yuriy Natalov, 24, who is making his Grand Tour debut.

Vlasov finished 11th in last year's Vuelta, marking the 25-year-old's first Grand Tour to the end; his second was this year's Giro d'Italia, where he was in second place until midway through but dropped two places in the Monte Zoncolan stage, finishing fourth.

After the Giro, Vlasov competed in the Olympic Games and then the Vuelta a Burgos, his second Grand Tour this year.

After finishing 34th in the Burgos Vuelta, his form heading into this year's Vuelta is a bit uncertain. However, after podium finishes in the Tour de Alps and Paris-Nice, he went to the Giro, but lost a bit of form in the final week.