Volta a Catalunya 2026 stage 5 preview, profiles, favourites & predictions - Jonas Vingegaard the man to beat on queen stage; Evenepoel, Pidcock and Almeida close by

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 5, which is expected to start and finish at 11:40 and 16:00CET.

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.

The queen stage? Perhaps, as the organizers have decided to host a stage finish in La Molina (only by name) however through a new mountain, which changes everything. Although there are only 155 kilometers on the menu, this is a stage with 4500 meters of climbing, an insanely difficult day.

When looking at the profile it becomes clear where this comes from, as the day features five categorized climbs, evenly spaced throughout the day, each with its own descent. It begins with the Port Coldarnat (15.4Km; 4.8%); followed by the Coll de Josa (2.6Km; 7.2%):

The real difficulty begins with the Coll de Fumanya, which is 5.5 kilometers long at 9%, featuring some very steep ramps. It ends with 62Km to go and is followed by a very technical descent. The fourth climb is slightly easier, being 7.3 kilometers long at 6.7% - the Coll de Sobirana ends with 35 kilometers to go.

However the difficulty of the final climb is such that it is unlikely that anyone will take major risks beforehand. Now it must be said, the riders won't actually finish in the La Molina station, but instead on the Coll de Pal. The climb is 16.5 kilometers long at 7.2%, a true mountain where it is impossible to hide and where the altitude - 2109 meters at the summit - will also play a role. A proper pure mountain stage.

Essentially, we are having a repetition of what I expected to see today. The stage is much more guided towards the pure climbers than the Valter 2000 stage would be, but that won't ultimately make a meaningful difference. It is the queen stage of the race, but at the same time the first mountain stage in which the riders will truly understand their form. In four days of racing there has been no climbing action whasoever, and so the long efforts will still throw in surprises.

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 on stage 3. Then, Evenepoel's crash further boosts his chances of being the best uphill. He is in great form, and that looks undeniable. The multiple, long and also steep climbs suit him perfectly. I expect him to be the strongest.

Remco Evenepoel - It will be a big and very important question: How is Evenepoel's form? His crash 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. 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. UAE has lost two riders whilst both Brandon McNulty and Marc Soler have been burning energy in the sprint stages, which is not ideal. But he will usually just follow wheels and then do his own pace on the final climb, regardless of what his rivals do.

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? The high mountainous terrain is not ideal for him, it won't be easy to perform with the very best, but he certainly looks very confident and is also the best positioned of the GC riders.

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. 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