The last World Tour stage race of the month takes place between 21-27 March.
One of the oldest stage races in the world, Volta a Catalunya comes with plenty of changes from last year’s edition, but at the end of the day, it will once again favour the climbers, even more than in 2021, as the individual time trial is absent from the route of the 101st edition.
Following nine consecutive years, the peloton won’t depart anymore from Calella, which has been replaced by Sant Feliu de Guixols. One day later, Perpignan will make a return after 67 years, while the summit finishes of Vallter 2000 and Port Ainé tackled last year make way for La Molina and Boi Taüll, the ski resort that was last used two decades ago and which will take the peloton above 2000 meters. But if some things change, others remain the same, and the race will once again conclude in Barcelona, where the famous Montjuic climb – set to feature six times – will be the main attraction.
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s team for the seventh World Tour event of the season will be a mixture of youth and experience, as it will comprise Andrea Bagioli, Dries Devenyns, Tour of Oman runner-up Fausto Masnada, Pieter Serry, Ilan Van Wilder, neo-pro Ethan Vernon and Louis Vervaeke.
“We have quite a strong team for the Volta a Catalunya, featuring several riders who can go for a good result. As always, there will be a lot of climbing next week, especially on stages three and four – which will be the most important for the general classification – but there should be some opportunities also for breakaways and bunch sprints, and for the latter, we have Ethan, who can try to get involved. Concerning the overall standings, Fausto and Ilan will be our two guys, they come here with a lot of motivation and confidence”, explained Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl sports director Geert Van Bondt.
Photo credit: ©Wout Beel
