Froome leads Sky into Vuelta with 'unfinished business'
Tour de France champion Chris Froome will go for the double at the Vuelta a Espana, where he says he has unfinished business.
Chris Froome has "unfinished business" with the Vuelta a Espana after being named as Team Sky's lead rider for the final Grand Tour of the year.
Froome is looking to match the achievement of Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault and become only the third rider to triumph in the Vuelta and the Tour de France in the same season, having claimed a fourth victory in the latter last month.
The Kenya-born Brit has been runner-up on three occasions in Spain but believes he has never had a better team around him for the Vuelta as he bids for the historic double.
"It certainly feels as if I've got unfinished business with this race," Froome told Team Sky's official website.
"I've finished second three times now, but I've got a good feeling about this year's Vuelta. It feels like we're on much more of a mission this year, and aiming for the Tour/Vuelta double this season has been a huge motivation.
"I don't think we've been to the Vuelta a Espana with a team as strong as we've got this year.
"It's a race I love doing, but it's relentless. The course is always a lot more mountainous than the Tour de France and the conditions are tougher. Being mid-August in Spain, it's quite common to have temperatures up in the mid 40s. It's absolutely brutal.
"One thing that really sets the Vuelta apart from other races is where it is in the season. You have this mixture of riders who have targeted the Vuelta specifically, and others who are coming off a big season already.
"Typically, it's a very aggressive race and a very punchy style of racing, which always makes for great viewing for the fans."
Sky team in full: Chris Froome, Wout Poels, Mikel Nieve, Diego Rosa, David Lopez, Gianni Moscon, Salvatore Puccio, Ian Stannard and Christian Knees.