This is the Volta a Catalunya 2023 that we have ahead of us
The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2023 has all the ingredients on the table to experience a spectacular 102nd edition between the next days 20 and 26 March. A five-star participation with names like Remco Evenepoel, Primož Roglič, Richard Carapaz, Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas are the focus before the start of the Catalan UCI World Tour race, which in its seven stages between Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Barcelona will feature three big mountain stages
The current world champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) leads a stellar participation that will make the Volta a Catalunya the world epicenter of cycling between the next 20 and 26 March.
The Belgian star, only 23 years old, will have his great stage challenge in Catalonia before the Giro d’Italia against his great rival, the triple winner of the Tour of Spain Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), in the eyes of all the world after his dominance in the recent Tirreno-Adriatico, who returns to the Volta after participating in the 2016 edition.
The participation of Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) means the presence of two winners of the Tour de France, who also already know what it is like to climb to the podium of the Volta a Catalunya (third in the 2019 editions in the case of the Colombian and 2021 in the case of the Welshman). A long-awaited return in the case of Bernal after his long recovery.
For his part, after being a great protagonist in the last edition, the Olympic champion Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) will once again be one of the great attractions of the Volta 2023, accompanied by a powerful team with names like Rigoberto Urán and Esteban Chaves.
Continuing with the luxury poster of the Volta a Catalunya 2023, the number 1 will be worn by the last winner of the Giro d’Italia, the Australian Jai Hindley (Bora-hansgrohe), in the absence of the defending champion, his teammate Sergio Higuita.
The third classified of the last edition, the Portuguese Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates), accompanied by the winner of the Volta 2021 Adam Yates and the Catalan Marc Soler, along with many of the great climbers on the international scene such as Mikel Landa (Bahrain) will also be present. Victorious), who had not participated in the Catalan race since the 2017 edition, Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo), Romain Bardet (Team DSM) or Ben O’Connor (Ag2r Citroën), stage winner on Last year in La Molina.
Exactly the eighth participation of Marc Soler (3rd in the 2017 edition) leads an exceptional Catalan participation with numerous cyclists participating in the home event, along with David De La Cruz (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Joel Nicolau (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA ), Abel Balderstone (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Eduard Prades (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Antonio Pedrero (Movistar Team), Roger Adrià (Kern Pharma Team), Kiko Galván (Kern Pharma Team) Pau Miquel (Kern Pharma Team ) and Marc Brustenga (Trek-Segafredo).
A high altitude tour
The 102nd Volta Ciclista a Catalunya that will start this Monday, March 20 in Sant Feliu de Guíxols will have a varied and attractive route where three mountain stages stand out: the arrivals in height at Vallter, La Molina and the summit of Lo Port , in Terres de l’Ebre, in stages 2, 3 and 5 of the competition, a fact that has not been experienced since the 2001 edition. In total, there will be 25 points scoring ports in the seven stages of the race, which maintains his explosive finale to the Circuit de Montjuic in Barcelona.
Sant Feliu de Guíxols will be the starting point of the Volta for the second year. The city of the Costa Brava will be the start and finish of a first stage of 164.6 kilometers that can bring surprises, with up to four scoring ports (the Alto de Àngels, in the 2nd category is added) and an explosive finish that in the last two visits of the race (2019 and 2022) have had Australian Michael Matthews as winner.
The high mountains will arrive in the Volta 2023, with a first arrival in height in the second stage, which will unite Mataró and Vallter on a 165.4-kilometre route. The Coll de Coubet, in the 1st category, will be more demanding before the finish at the top of the ski resort, a special category pass that has hosted a finish line in the Catalan race six times.
The second mountain stage will not be long in coming and will take place on the third day, which will have 180.6 kilometers between Olost, an unprecedented start in the centenary history of the race, and La Molina, a modern classic of the last decade where he has won four final winners of the Volta.
Previous climbs at Coll de Coubet (1st category) and Coll de la Creueta (one of the three special category passes on this year’s route) will help make the selection.
The fourth stage of the Volta Catalunya 2023 will cover 188.2 kilometers between Llívia and Sabadell in the longest day of this edition, one of the most favorable to a sprint finish, despite the fact that the starting ascent in La Molina (1st category) and the climbs to Collet de Sant Agustí and Coll de Lligabosses (3rd category) will add even more wear and tear on the legs of the Volta peloton.
If something makes the route of this 102nd edition of the Volta a Catalunya exceptional, it will be the fifth stage, a day of 176.6 kilometers that will show the cycling potential of the four regions of Terres de l’Ebre, starting from Tortosa and a monumental finish at Lo Port, only seen in the 1985, 1991 and 2017 editions. It will be the third high-altitude finish of the edition, in a special category port with the necessary hardness to be decisive in the final resolution of the race.
The sixth stage will unite Martorell and Molins de Rei, two towns in Baix Llobregat that are returning to the Volta route after decades of absence on a 183.2-kilometre journey that will take cyclists through leg-breaking terrain through the center of Catalonia, arriving to the territory of Lleida. In the final part, the ascents to Alt de la Creu d’Aragall (2nd category) and Alt de Fontpineda (3rd category) can bring surprises.
Finally, Barcelona will once again be the judge of the Volta a Catalunya in its seventh stage, starting and finishing in the capital of Catalonia on a 135.8-kilometre route that this year includes the Alt de Begues (2nd category) before return to the final circuit in Montjuic, which always offers a competitive spectacle with a special public to close a week of emotions.
In short, all the ingredients to experience a great show in the 102nd edition of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, which will once again bring the best cyclists in the world to the Catalan roads. The UCI WorldTour test, which will distribute its images internationally in 190 countries, can be followed live in Spain through Esport3, Teledeporte and Eurosport.
