PREVIEW | Volta a Catalunya 2025 stage 3 - Primoz Roglic and Juan Ayuso headline first battle in the mountains

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 3.

Stage 3 takes the riders into the Pyrenees for the well known finale into La Molina. A mountain stage with quite a lot of climbing towards the end - where differences are of course expected - however the gradients in all of the climbs are relatively shallow and so the strongest might find themselves in a tactical battle above all.

It is a long day however and one finishing almost 1700 meters above the starting altitude. The spotlight will be on the final two ascents, the first one quite long with 20 kilometers at over 5% which will ultimately split things up and thin down the peloton - but don't expect any major attacks.

The summit finish will be at La Molina at 1692 meters of altitude, not the toughest of summit finishes but one where the endurance aspect may prove crucial. 8.3 kilometers at 6.5% makes the first and hardest part of the climb, before a small descent that allows for some recovery. However, the explosive uphill ramp to the line at 10% always make for an interesting finale.

A slight cross-tailwind on the final climb means we could potentially see some offensive racing. This will be the first mountain stage of the race and so not many will want to risk it all, but instead access where they stand. However, this is a climb where it can get tactical, because it's never very hard and there's no set man to beat. BORA definitely do not have a team to control it for Primoz Roglic and there will be plenty riders who could want to attack and make the difference.

UAE will want to test Roglic, they should as they have several strong riders who can make the difference. The pure climbers like Mikel Landa or Enric Mas can certainly give it a shot but that would have to be early in the climb. This will either be tactical and have an outsider win the stage as no-one sees him as a direct threat, or it will come down to a small group sprint between those who survive the climbs.

*** Primoz Roglic, Juan Ayuso, Lennert van Eetvelt
** Mikel Landa, Felix Gall, Enric Mas, Lenny Martínez
* Adam Yates, Wilco Kelderman, Simon Yates, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Egan Bernal, Laurens de Plus, Richard Carapaz, Ben O'Connor, Matthew Ricittello

Pick: Primoz Roglic

How: Honestly I think he should be outnumbered, but the climb just isn't that hard and there is a chance that the rivals covering each other, in addition to a couple teams having the men to work can bring it back to a sprint. And although there's many quality riders to handle it, at his best form he remains a force to be reckoned with in such an explosive finale.