Joao Almeida and Brandon McNulty are among the UAE Team Emirates competing in the Vuelta a España, while teenager Juan Ayuso will make his Grand Tour debut.

The team also includes Ivo Oliveira, Marc Soler, Yann Polanc, and sprinter Pascal Ackermann and his lead out man Sebastian Morano.

As already announced, Tadej Pogacar will not compete in this year's Vuelta. The Slovenian, who finished second in the Tour de France, has decided not to compete and will concentrate on one-day races during the final week of the season.

Almeida led the UAE Team Emirates challenge in Spain, winning the final stage to Lagunas de Neira in the Vuelta a Burgos and finishing second overall.

"This is my first Vuelta and I am very excited to start," Almeida said in a statement released by the team. The last few months have not been easy and the conditions have not been 100%. We finished in great shape in Vuelta Burgos, and to win on the last day gives us confidence. Winning on the last day gave me a lot of confidence.

Almeida had hoped to be on the podium at the Giro d'Italia in May, but with four days to go the race was suspended due to a COVID-19 diagnosis. The Portuguese champion's best finish in a Grand Tour was fourth at the 2020 Giro.

"I'm feeling good on the bike again and with a strong team I think we can do really great things in this race," Almeida said. 'I think as the race goes on our goals will become clearer. It will be a long way from Utrecht to Madrid, but I am really looking forward to the challenge."

McNulty will flank Almeida. McNulty entered the Tour as a member of Pogacar and gained attention for his incredible pace-making on stage 17 in Peyragudes. Like Almeida, he is an American who is competing in his first Vuelta.

Soler is the only UAE rider representing the Tour here. The Spaniard fell ill in the final week of the Tour and finished outside the time limit on the first Pyrenees stage to Foix.

Ayuso's Grand Tour debut will be quite remarkable due to his recent form; the 19-year-old Ayuso won the Gesso circuit two weeks ago after finishing fourth in the Plueva Villafranca.

The Spaniard, who is under contract with UAE Team Emirates until 2028, is in his first full season at the World Tour level, finishing fifth overall in the Catalunya Volta and fourth in the Tour de Romandie.

There are nine summit finishes in the Vuelta, and UAE Team Emirates is hoping Ackermann can make the most of his sprinting opportunities.

Ackermann won two stages when he competed in the Vuelta in 2020 and will come into this year's event on the strength of his stage win at the Tour de Pollogne.

The Vuelta will begin with a team time trial in Utrecht on August 19 and conclude in Madrid on September 11.