Esteban Chavez and Mikel Nieve will lead Mitchelton-Scott in the Vuelta a España (October 20-November 8), looking for both stage wins and GC.

The Australian team was concerned about competing in the Spanish Grand Tour after COVID-19 was five times positive at the Giro d'Italia and subsequently withdrew from the race. However, after discussions with management on Wednesday, the team decided to head to Spain.

However, there is no slot for Adam Yates. He was at one time a candidate for the eight-man slot, but has yet to recover from his fall in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He is set to move to Ineos Grenadiers at the end of the year and is unlikely to race in Mitchelton-Scott's colors.

"We are casting our nets wide for all possibilities in this year's Vuelta. Esteban was in good form at the end of the Tour de France and said he was really on form."

"He's healthy and can go into the Vuelta without any crashes or illnesses. Mikel has recovered from his crash in the Tour and is progressing well, he may need a little time to get back into the running, but he has had stage wins in Grand Tours before. Robert Stannard and Callum Scottson are making their Grand Tour debuts. Alexander Edmondson, Dion Smith, and Nick Schultz make up the rest of the team.

Smith competed in the Bink Bank Tour and impressed in several one-day events after the race resumed; he won the Coppa Sabatini in September and finished in the top 10 in Milan-San Remo and Milan-Turin.

According to Dean, the 27-year-old will be given a chance from the start, but with no GC contenders, Mitchelton-Scott will be looking for a chance to shine.

"Dion Smith is another rider I would like to give a chance. Dion Smith has had a great season and has won some races. He needs to be competitive early on this year if he wants to be on the podium and on top of GC. We have Tourmalet on stage 6 and a couple of hilltop finishes before that. This is especially true of some of the stages in Asturias and in Langrille.

"In general, we are looking to maximize our chances with the potential we have in our team lineup. We have some young guys like Scottson and Stannard who are the future of the team and I hope we can help them get through their first Grand Tour.

Chaves finished third in the Vuelta a España in 2016, but has struggled to match that level in recent years; he was plagued by a virus in 2018 and while he showed his former brilliance, he has never been a GC contender for more than three weeks in recent years The Tour de France has never had a GC battle lasting more than three weeks. However, he was relatively fresh in the Tour de France a few weeks ago.

The 30-year-old Colombian finished 23rd in Paris and tried to make some breaks. Adam Yates also supported the British rider in his quest for a top-10 finish, and the Colombian is relishing the chance to secure more space in the Vuelta.

"This year, like everyone else, it's a little weird because of the timing and circumstances of the race, but I feel like I'm arriving in good shape, especially after the Tour and the World Championships," Chaves said. "Sometimes after a Grand Tour you don't feel so good or you're super tired, but this time, after the Tour, I didn't feel that way. If things continue like this, the Vuelta will be no exception.

"The race will be hard from the beginning. There are really many hills, so if you have good legs, you need to be aggressive and take your chances from the start.