Despite being listed on the provisional start list for upcoming La Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain), a Garmin team official said last year’s Tour of Missouri winner will instead return to defend his title.

Christian Vande Velde, an Illinois native, finished in the top 10 for the last two years in the Tour de France. He won the 2008 Tour of Missouri, riding for team Garmin-Slipstream.

The Vuelta, a grand tour lasting three weeks, begins Aug. 29, which overlaps with the Tour of Missouri, running Sept. 7-13.

When asked about the conflicting races, the team’s communications director said Thursday they were unsure why his name was included in the Vuelta race, and that Mr. Vande Velde will compete in the Tour of Missouri, the sixth stage of which ends in St. Joseph on Sept. 12.

Further, the 33-year-old cyclist posted a message on his Twitter account earlier this month saying he was “Looking forward to going home and racing in da midwest (sic),” and said Monday that he was “Looking forward to Missouri.”