Mikel Landa will lead the team between 24-30 March, at the 104th edition of the prestigious World Tour event.
Sant Feliu de Guixols will once again host the start and finish of the inaugural Volta a Catalunya stage, before the race heads to Figueres, the hometown of Salvador Dali, the famous and extravagant painter whose influence can still be seen in art, film, music and fashion.
La Molina, where Remco Evenepoel triumphed after a fantastic duel in 2023, is set to be the race’s first summit finish and the place where the custodian of the leader’s jersey should change. There won’t be any moments of respite for the peloton, who just twenty-four hours later will tackle the Montserrat ascent, making a return after three decades.
The last uphill finish of the week will be Queralt, on the penultimate stage, followed by the traditional day in Barcelona, where the Montjuic climb promises another exciting battle for the victory and the general classification, especially if the gaps won’t be big between the favourites by that point.
Runner-up at last year’s edition, Mikel Landa will lead the line for Soudal Quick-Step in Catalunya, where he makes an appearance after a solid seventh place in Tirreno-Adriatico: “I had a very good outing in Catalunya last year, and I look forward to doing it again. I have a pretty good shape and I am confident going into the race. There will be a lot of strong riders fighting for the general classification, which is good because many of them will also be at the Giro d’Italia, so it’s going to be a nice opportunity to see where I am and continue to build up my shape for May.”
The experienced Basque climber will be surrounded by a strong team consisting of Gianmarco Garofoli, British Champion Ethan Hayter, James Knox, Junior Lecerf, Tour of Oman runner-up Valentin Paret-Peintre and Pieter Serry.
“The course is more or similar to what we are used to. La Molina will be an incredibly hard stage, with around 5000 meters of climbing, but also the other days in the mountains will take their toll on the riders. We could have a couple of sprint opportunities, but this remains to be seen. Mikel comes to the start after a very good Tirreno-Adriatico and he has a strong team around him as he tries to do a good general classification, but we want to see what Ethan can do in the sprints. It’s a solid team and we are looking forward to the week there”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Geert Van Bondt.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
