Ian Stannard is ready to pitch in wherever he is needed at the Vuelta a España and is thrilled to be taking part in his second Grand Tour.

The 23-year-old got his first taste of the action at the Giro d'Italia last year with the Italian-based ISD-Neri team and rates the experience as one of the highlights of his career so far.

In that race he was forced to take on a number of differing roles and is more than happy to do the same again for Team Sky in Spain.

He said: "We haven't spoken in depth about specific goals yet but I'd imagine I'm going to be helping Swifty out in the sprints when they come around and also Thomas [Löfkvist] wherever I can as well.

"Hopefully, if the opportunity arises, I might get the chance to get in a breakaway as well, and if that happens, maybe have a go for a stage win. We'll just have to see how each stage pans out though.

"I'm definitely better prepared this time around than I was last year. I went into that race not really knowing what to expect but I learnt a lot there. I'm going to bring that experience into this race and hopefully that'll make it easier to get through the 21 stages because now I know what Grand Tour riding is about a bit more.

"I'm feeling really good, which is obviously a bonus. I've been flat-out recently but that's not been a problem because I really enjoy racing and it's brought my condition along nicely.

"The Tour of Poland was great preparation for here because it had some longer stages in it and I was happy to see my form carry through the Dutch Food Valley Classic and Vatenfall Cyclassics.

"Since then I've been keeping things pretty relaxed and I just want to get stuck in again now."

Treading new ground

When Stannard rolls down the start ramp for the team time trial on Saturday night, it will be the first time he has competed in Spain since his days as an amateur. He has fond memories from those days and is excited to be back in the country.

He added: "It's great to come back here as a professional and I've heard lots of good things about racing here. The crowds might not be quite as big as they are elsewhere in Europe, but they're all really friendly and seem to know a lot about cycling."

And while Stannard is clearly delighted to be taking part in the Vuelta, he also has a tinge of sadness at not being able to take part in the Tour of Britain due to their conflicting places on the calendar:

"It's always nice to ride your home race because everything feels really familiar. It's definitely a race I would have liked to have taken part in again, but I'm certainly not complaining about riding the Vuelta."