Preview: Volta a Catalunya. Top climbers to battle in the Pyrenees

Sunday, 20 March 2022 at 23:52

As part of the peloton will be up in Belgium racing the rough cobbled classic of Flandres, another part will be in Spain as World Tour racing resumes with the Volta a Catalunya. A race that frequently attracts big names as the good weather and amount of mountains satisfies the urges of the stage-racers that are looking for big results.

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The seven days of racing will start with a couple of hilly stages by the coast, two that suit the sprinters however features some non-insignificant ascents that may cause issues to the fast men if they are attacked.

The race will be decided on stages three and four likely, as the peloton heads into the Pyrinees for the two mountainous stages of the race. The first one finishing over 1600 meters above the starting altitude, with the traditional summit finish in La Molina. Stage four sees the peloton ride into Boí Taüll for the first time since 2002 in the race, it's a stage where everything is to be decided on that ascent and will make the biggest differences.

The final three stages feature a very mix set of courses. Stage five is likely a day for the pure sprinters as long as the first hour of race is controlled, stage six is a day for the breakaway on paper as it features a very hilly route with a descent finish in Cambrils, and the final day sees the peloton head to Barcelona. This final stage may see changes in the general classification as it features six ascents of the Alto de Montjuic, in what is a very explosive circuit to wrap up the race.

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Although the startlist is not yet confirmed, we are expected to see in the race the following riders: Ben O'Connor, Richard Carapaz, Richie Porte, Carlos Rodriguez, Pavel Sivakov, Phil Bauhaus, Sonny Colbrelli, Jack Haig, Wout Poels, Dylan Teuns, Tobias Johannessen, Simon Clarke, Michael Woods, Giulio Ciccone, Michael Matthews, Simon Yates, Jan Hirt, Sergio Higuita, Jai Hindley, Hugh Carthy, Esteban Chaves, Thomas de Gendt, David Dekker, Rohan Dennis, Tom Dumoulin, Fausto Masnada, João Almeida, Juan Ayuso, Marc Soler, Michael Storer, Guillaume Martin, Alejandro Valverde, Ivan Sosa, Hugo Hofstetter and Nairo Quintana.