Volta a Catalunya 2026 stage 7 preview, profiles, favourites & predictions - Can Remco Evenepoel drop Jonas Vingegaard on the final Barcelona circuit?

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 7, which is expected to start and finish at 10:50 and 13:00CET.

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 race ends, as always, in the city of Barcelona with a circuit that is a perfect fit to the race and is perhaps the face of it. The first third of the stage is pan-flat and should be very fast, and very quickly the riders will begin an explosive route in and around the Parc de Montjuic.

The stage is a mere 95 kilometers in length, it's not designed to be a race of attrition but one where the peloton can explode at any moment. That is because the circuit, which the 2026 Tour de France will also be riding, is only 8 kilometers in length and either go up or down.

There is the ascent to Montjuic itself, 2.5 kilometers in length but what matters are the final 900 meters, which average 10% and at its steepest go quite above that. A very fast descent all the way to the finish line follows, interrupted by a small hilltop which is around 500 meters long at 6%.

The distances make it even more impactful. Not only is it a very difficult circuit but the efforts are very close to each other. From the final categorized ascent to the finish line there are also only a mere 4.5 kilometers to go.

GC Fight - Jonas Vingegaard has a firm control of the race, and all he needs to do is not crash and have a regular day on the bike. By no means it will be easy, it's not an easy circuit to control either, but if Visma can maintain men up front then all the way into the final climb, he will be safe. Lenny Martínez and Florian Lipowitz can't really put him under pressure, Valentin Paret-Peintre and Remco Evenepoel may attack instead.

Evenepoel certainly will, not in the main climb, but on the descents, over the top or the small mid-circuit ascent. This is a circuit where you can ride by yourself and do well, and if he gets a gap anywhere, he will be near-impossible to crash with the level he's shown today. Even in regular circumstances, with a small group finish, he can certainly with with a sprint.

But the race would have to be quite hard as Dorian Godon has been close to winning here in the past, is on flying form and has an INEOS that can fully focus on helping him as they have no GC men at this point in contention; Whilst Magnus Cort Nielsen himself can't be ruled out.

But the other danger for the stage win comes from attackers, both from a breakaway or early attack on the circuit, as several quality riders aren't in the mix and won't be covered much. Marc Soler, Giulio Ciccone, Brandon McNulty, Andreas Leknessund, Richard Carapaz or Ben O'Connor are specially dangerous riders for such terrain, if on a good day.

*** Remco Evenepoel
** Dorian Godon, Lenny Martínez, Giulio Ciccone, Marc Soler
* Ben O'Connor, Andreas Leknessund, Magnus Cort Nielsen, Lenny Martínez, Mattias Skjelmose, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Florian Lipowitz, Santiago Buitrago, Afonso Eulálio, Felix Gall, David Gaudu, Richard Carapaz

Pick: Remco Evenepoel

How: Solo win