PREVIEW | Volta a Catalunya 2025 stage 1 - Can Primoz Roglic surprise to win dangerous and explosive sprint finish?

From the 24th to the 30th of March the World Tour peloton returns to Spain, more specifically Catalunya, for one of the most exciting and difficult stage-races in the calendar. The Volta a Catalunya is always a massive test for the climbers, but equally other riders will also get their opportunities. We preview stage 1.

The seven-day race begins once again in Sant Feliu de Guíxols where some sprinters and puncheurs will fight for victory in the same uphill finish as the past few years. The stage features a few ascents early in the day where a strong breakaway can be formed.

Before the riders go on to finish the race, they find another small hilltop ends with 7.8 kilometers to go, and then most of the way into town is a very fast and twisty descent.

The final 750 meters then have a 5% gradient. It is not nothing, sprinters will certainly arrive here but this is an effort of over a minute that can be all-out from bottom to top. A sprint is almost certain but some riders will not have the legs, whilst some puncheurs and climbers may surprise because they will be better capable of putting in an actual sprint.

We've got southern wind early in the day, and then some from the west albeit weaker during the afternoon. However this shouldn't make much of a difference... What can is the rain that should fall, specially towards the final kilometers. This will become a very dangerous finale because the technical descent into the final kilometer will lead to an even more tense fight for positioning - between both GC and sprinter teams.

This is going to be a crazy finale, without a doubt. With so much up and down, GC teams will go all-out to keep their riders in front on the wet roads and punchy climbs. This will be key not only to protect their GC ambitions, but you can expect the same for the stage win.

Out of the GC contenders there are a few that can with no doubt win such a stage however, this was the case in 2023 where Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel had an epic face-off in the sprint. Roglic is a rider who knows it well and how to win, and he will be a main favourite to win the stage. Juan Ayuso and Lennert van Eetvelt, besides brilliant climbers and riders who must be in good form, are also very explosive and should without a doubt be in contention for the top positions on the stage as well. Egan Bernal at his best could also be an option, but there are a few riders who should be in the mix at least to just try and avoid time.

But what if this is a day that really does end in a sprint? It also wasn't the case last year where Nick Schultz surprised on the final climb to win ahead of Tadej Pogacar... This time around we've got Kaden Groves coming in once again as a card and hoping to enter well positioned - although Quinten Hermans can be a good second card for Alpecin. Without a doubt Groves is the strongest sprinter in the race, and he just finished fifth at Milano-Sanremo proving his good form.

We've got a few sprinters/puncheurs who all have a strong finish who really like the climbs such as Ethan Hayter, Marijn van den Berg, Matthew Brennan, Axel Laurance, Nils Eekhoff, Corbin Strong, Ide Schelling and Decathlon duo Dorian Godon and Andrea Vendrame who can challenge for the win here.

*** Primoz Roglic, Lennert van Eetvelt
** Marijn van den Berg, Nils Eekhoff, Corbin Strong
* Juan Ayuso, Ethan Hayter, Matthew Brennan, Dorian Godon, Andrea Vendrame, Quinten Hermans, Ide Schelling, Axel Laurance

Pick: Primoz Roglic

How: I think the fighting for positioning will be so long and difficult, that some sprinters will be finished by the time they reach the final sprint. Lots of quality riders but none who stands out for such a final climb... So I will go with Primoz Roglic to win as he did two years ago.