Volta a Catalunya 2026 stage 4 preview, profiles, favourites & predictions - Will Vingegaard dominate? Is Evenepoel recovered from crash? Can Pidcock or Almeida challenge?

The 2026 Volta a Catalunya takes place from the 23rd to the 29th of March. The Catalan race has been widely regarded as the most important mountain test throughout the spring and is one of the most difficult races outside of the Grand Tours; which often sees many of the best climbers in the world go head-to-head in the Pyrenees. We preview stage 4, which is expected to start and finish at 12:45 and 16:55CET.

The race was first held in 1911, won by Sebastián Masdeu at the time. The race stopped during World War 1 but not during World War 2, remaining one of the top races in the calendar throughout those years. It is not only an event that holds great importance currently, as in the past none other than Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx won it on consecutive occasions. The race's winner list is no joke, featuring the likes of Felice Gimondi, Bernard Thévenet, Freddy Maertens, Francesco Moser, Sean Kelly, Robert Millar, Miguel Induráin and Fernando Escartin still in the 20th century.

This century the race has become part of the then-created World Tour and has been won by Spain's golden generation with Alberto Contador (later removed), Alejandro Valverde and Joaquím Rodríguez all in the winner list; Nairo Quintana, Richie Porte and most recently two Slovenians have won the race. In 2024 Tadej Pogacar took the title and in 2025 Primoz Roglic did it for the second time in his career.

Stage 4 is the first true mountain stage of the race, an 'unipuerto', as the Spaniard call it. Whilst not completely flat, it is a day where most of the terrain is flat, until the riders reach the final climb to Vallter 2000, one of the race's most famous ascents, which is certain to create important differences.

The stage is all about that final climb, which brings in the altitude factor to the table - the finish line is at 2143 meters of altitude. The climb in itself is 11.4 kilometer long at 7.6%, most of the time spent a little above that however as from 5 to 3 kilometers to the finish there is a slight lowering of the gradients. A key day, and one which will create a clear order in the fight for the overall classification.

Jonas Vingegaard - So far, it's safe to say the race is going according to plan for the Dane. He kept it safe on stage 1, saved the legs on stage 2 and looked incredibly strong by being able to follow Remco Evenepoel with his attack on the flat this afternoon. He is in great form, and that looks undeniable. This mountain stage will be important, he cannot be raided in such terrain as the stage is mostly flat, and so he has to take the opportunity and try to strike first, and take time on his rivals. The climb is hard enough to do it, and I do believe that even if the competition is strong, the Visma leader is able to do damage here.

Remco Evenepoel - It will be a big and very important question: How is Evenepoel's form? His crash today was bad, and he will be feeling it on the mountain stages for sure. Above all, it can hamper his recovery quite a lot, and all of these are less than ideal scenarios. He worked on his climbing in Teide over the past few weeks, and I expected a better version of him on the summit finishes. However, it's hard to gauge where he will stand after this happened. The team doesn't have to choose just yet, but Florian Lipowitz will likely be a more reliable option, whilst Jai Hindley can also be important in the big picture.

João Almeida - The Portuguese has spent the first stages under the radar, more so than all other big favourites. I wouldn't say that's neither a good or bad indication, but here we will know where his form stands. He would benefit from more climbing on the day, but nevertheless the 'unipuerto' format won't harm him. He should do good, even if UAE has lost Jay Vine in the least difficult stages of the race.

Tom Pidcock - The Briton is in great form, as shown in Milano-Sanremo. His potential fatigue from there is still something that stays in my mind, I feel like he is prone to having a bad day. Will it happen here? Or not at all? I think this, out of all the mountain stages, is the one where Pidcock may perform best, as the final climb will be the only big effort of the day. Yes the Briton may fight for the stage win, even with a strong Vingegaard and everyone else on the road, I wouldn't be surprised.

But there is so much competition on the road, it is incredible. Bahrain have Lenny Martínez, the man who beat Jonas Vingegaard recently at Paris-Nice, and also has here a very well suited stage with one big effort and one that is long and steep. The Frenchman has good chances, and is backed up by Santiago Buitrago who is also ambitious...

Felix Gall and Matthew Riccitello are also two riders who can aim high in this summit finish and honestly, they can both be in the mix for a spot on the podium, whilst Decathlon is a team that is often not afraid to work and attack hard early on the climbs.

Mattias Skjelmose (backed by a strong Lidl-Trek), Oscar Onley, Lorenzo Fortunato, Cristian Rodríguez, Mikel Landa, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Richard Carapaz, Georg Steinhauser, Enric Mas, Cian Uijtdebroeks, Ben O'Connor, Guillaume Martin, Abel Balderstone, Byron Munton and Terres de l'Ebre winner José Manuel Díaz are all riders who must be taken into consideration on this stage. Afterwards, there will be more order on who stands where.

*** Jonas Vingegaard
** João Almeida, Tom Pidcock, Florian Lipowitz, Remco Evenepoel, Lenny Martínez
* Brandon McNulty, Mattias Skjelmose, Lorenzo Fortunato, Mikel Landa, Matthew Riccitello, Felix Gall, Santiago Buitrago, Richard Carapaz, Cian Uijtdebroeks

Pick: Jonas Vingegaard

How: Solo win.