Major blow for the Volta a Catalunya: stage 4 summit finish at Vallter 2000 cancelled due to extreme wind forecast

The Volta a Catalunya has been forced to alter the route of its fourth stage, scheduled for this Thursday. It's a decision that significantly reshapes the upcoming general classification battle, reducing the number of GC stages from three to just two.

The organisers announced that, due to a level-3 VENCAT alert - with forecast gusts up to 90 km/h at the summit of Vallter - the original course has been shortened. The stage, which was set to finish on the demanding climb to the ski station, will now conclude in the town of Camprodon.

The change removes the day’s key difficulty, a summit finish expected to open meaningful gaps among the contenders.

Without that uphill finale, the stage loses much of its decisive weight for the GC, likely leaving a more open and less selective scenario. The duel among favourites, anticipated to flare on the slopes of Vallter, is postponed to later, more mountainous stages.

Alongside the route change, the timetable has also been adjusted. The start from Mataró is delayed by 30 minutes to 13:05, while the team presentation will run from 11:55 to 12:55.

Thus, the fourth stage goes from being a key day for the general classification to a transitional day conditioned by the weather, where the favorites might choose to conserve energy for the more decisive terrain.

We'll see if there's any battle among Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Joao Almeida, Cian Uijtdebroeks, and the rest of the favorites for the overall victory in the Catalan stage race. This certainly makes the race even more interesting on a weekend that's about to become completely decisive.