This Monday, with a mid-mountain stage starting and ending at Mediterranean town of Sant Feliu de Guíxols (Girona) launching a new edition of Volta Ciclista and Catalunya with all the ingredients to enjoy the best cycling in the world: with a good portion of the best cyclists in the world and with a new hardened route for this year with up to three decisive stages of difficult mountains.
True to its history, the Catalan round – the third oldest cycling race in the world after Tour de France and the Italy is spinning– Brings together a distinguished list of talented runners, led by the Belgian Remco Evenepoel, making his debut in the quiz. The current world champion, 23 years old, comes to Volta after dominating the Touring the UAE and probably his great rival was the Slovenian Roglic is a cousin. The triple winner of Lap back to back after participating in the 2016 edition with the aim of adding his second victory of the season after sweeping days before in Tirreno-Adriatico.
The participation of Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) assumes the existence of two winners of Tour de France, who already knows what it is to climb the podium of the Volta, third in the 2019 edition in the case of the Colombian and 2021 in the case of the Welshman. A long-awaited return to Bernal’s case after his lengthy recovery from knee problems that forced him off the bike after Back to San Juan in Argentina and leave behind the fatal accident suffered in 2022 that almost cost him his life. For his part, he Olympic champion Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost)second in 2022, is again one of the great attractions of the race, accompanied by a powerful team with names like Rigoberto Urán and Esteban Chaves.
The best test before the Giro d’Italia
It is true that when the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya finishes next Sunday in Montjuïc there are still 41 days left for the start of the Giro d’Italia, but the Catalan round will be the first real face-to-face of the season between the two great candidates to embrace the glory in the city of Rome: the Belgian Remco Evenepoel and the Slovenian Primoz Roglic. The show was served
The number 1 will be worn by the last winner of the Giro d’Italia, the Australian Jai Hindley (Bora-hansgrohe)in the absence of the defending champion, his teammate Sergio Higuita. There will also be a third type of final edition, the Portuguese Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates)accompanied by the Volta 2021 winner adam yates and the catalan Marc Soleralong with many of the great climbers on the international scene such as Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious)who did not participate in the race since the 2017 edition, Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo), Romain Bardet (Team DSM) or Ben O’Connor (Ag2r Citroën), stage winner last year at La Molina.
A high altitude tour
The squad of back tackle seven dreary stages on Catalan roads, creating a varied and attractive route in which three mountain stages stand out: high altitude arrivals in Vallter, La Molina and the summit of the portin Terres de l’Ebre (Tarragona), in stages 2, 3 and 5, which has not been experienced since the 2001 edition.
In total, there will be 25 scoring climbs in the seven stages of the race, which maintains its explosive finish in Barcelona’s Montjuïc circuitto close a new epic and magical trial.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
