Veteran American pro Larry Walbus (AG2R-Citroen) may be taking on two Grand Tours in the same season this year for the first time since 2016, but his target for the upcoming Vuelta a España is the same as the Giro d'Italia earlier this year: a breakaway! Walbas is currently in the hunt for a second Grand Tour in May. Warbus is currently riding the Tour de Pollogne, his first stage race since the Giro d'Italia in May and an important warm-up race for his August 26 start in Barcelona.

And as he told Cycling News, the 33-year-old is already checking out the key climbs of the toughest stage of the first week of the Vuelta during his high-altitude training in Andorra.

Walbas said he is optimistic that he will remain in the World Tour next season, although he would not give details of where he will ride in 2023. The American has been with AG2R-Citroen since 2019.

Warbasse, who was involved in a group crash on one stage that left him with a small bandage on one arm, was nevertheless confident that the Tour de Pollogne would be the ideal buildup to his fifth career Vuelta.

"I've done this combination a few times and it works really well.

"Pollogne is a high level race with some punchy stages. It doesn't have the crazy, crazy fatigue that some WT stage races have.

"A lot of the racers come here after high altitude training, so you get a finish that you don't get in normal training. It's like compensating for the big blocks at altitude with endurance. But for me anyway, the Vuelta a España is the big goal."

Warbus himself trained at altitude for several weeks in Andorra before Pollogne and got a good look at Arinsal, the finish of stage 3. With 3,500m of vertical climbing, two key moments on the day were the two category 1 climbs that close the stage, Ordino and and, almost immediately after, the climb to the summit finish in Arinsal.

"I don't think the last climb is long enough to make a big difference, maybe 12 to 15 minutes.

"It's relatively high elevation, though" - both Ordino and Arinsal have almost touched the 2,000m threshold where elevation begins to have a noticeable effect - "so it could make a bit of a difference."

"It's not crazy hard like the previous Andorra stages of the Vuelta. But maybe we'll see a breakaway win. It should be interesting."

If Warbasse is the one to set up the third stage of the Vuelta, there is no doubt that he has the advantage because he knows the local area better. On the other hand, taking a long-term view, the American, who is currently in a contract year, is by no means pessimistic about his chances of remaining in top-level racing in 2024. As Walbus himself puts it, "I don't have any news yet, but next year should be a good year. We should still be left on the World Tour."