Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto-Belisol) will play a support role only at the Vuelta a Espana as he admits his post-Tour form is a bit of an unknown.

The Belgian team, who this month celebrated their first WorldTour stage race win in their current incarnation when Tim Wellens triumphed at the Eneco Tour, have named a team to support Maxime Monfort at the Vuelta a Espana.

And Van den Broeck, who was third at the Criterium du Dauphine before finishing 11th at the Tour de France, is keen to offer support to his compatriot, who was sixth in the race in 2011.

“My role in the team will be different compared to the one I had in the Tour,” he told the team website. “I didn’t race since the Tour so I don’t know in which shape I will be.

“Presumably I will have to gain strength during the Vuelta. Maxime Monfort is our team captain. If my legs are good I will definitely do whatever I can to stand by his side.

“But on the other hand my shape could go up and down, I’ll find out about that really quick in Spain. A stage race suits better than a one day race anyway. So the choice between fall races and the Tour of Spain was pretty obvious.

“I will certainly give it my best shot, I don’t feel comfortable by just riding in the middle of the peloton. But like I said, it will be hard to predict my shape.”

Wellens’ Eneco Tour victory means the team will be riding the crest of a wave at the Vuelta, having been propelled up to 13th in the WorldTour rankings after the win.

Adam Hansen – who will ride his 10th consecutive Grand Tour – is also included in Monfort’s support team, alongside Pim Ligthart,

Bart de Clercq, Sander Armee and Vegard Breen also make the cut, while Gregory Henderson and Belgian champion Jens Debusschere will be looking for sprint victories on the flatter stages.

Lotto-Belisol for 2014 Vuelta a Espana

Maxime Monfort (BEL)
Jurgen van den Broeck (BEL)
Adam Hansen (AUS)
Pim Ligthart (NED)
Bart de Clercq (BEL)
Sander Armee (BEL)
Vegard Breen (NOR)
Greg Henderson (NZL)
Jens Debusschere (BEL)