Nieve to skip Vuelta

Despite a solid first part of the season that saw him place 10th in the Giro and fifth at the Tour de Suisse, Mikel Nieve will as anticipated forego the Vuelta a España later this year.

So says team DS Gorka Gerrikagoitia. Talking to BiciCiclismo, 'Gerri' says there's "no way" he'll line up for the Spanish GT in late August. Instead, he'll take on a lighter racing schedule and concentrate on shorter stage-races and the fall classics.

"He's deserved a break, so he'll take some time off and prepare for the last part of the season", the Euskaltel directeur sportif told the Spanish website. He'll make his return to competition, either, at the Tour of Britain (9-16 September), or at the Canadian WorldTour events GP Québec and GP Montréal (7th and 9th of September respectively). He'll then go on to the Giro di Piemonte, Il Lombardia and the Tour of Beijing.

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