With eight summit finishes and only five ‘flat’ stages for the sprinters, this year’s Vuelta a Espana points jersey will once again be contested by the climbers.

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) has triumphed in the classification in the last two years, and it is difficult to look beyond the Spaniard this time out too in the race for the green jersey.

But with Valverde possibly side-tracked by commitments to pre-race favourite Nairo Quintana, could there be an opportunity for another rider to deny him a hat-trick – particularly with Tour de France points king Peter Sagan in the mix.

A strong list of climbers, too, means Valverde will face stiff competition for points in the mountains too.

So who will be pulling on the green jersey in Santiago de Compostela? We have rounded up the men who could be in contention over the following pages.