Amidst all the Spring Classics which might be going down in Europe these days, the Volta a Catalunya gives a possibility for the GC experts to clutch some glory all the way through this moderately sparse duration of the season for them.
On the other hand, absent from the beginning record are the 2 easiest GC riders on this planet these days, protecting Volta champion Pogačar is opting for as an alternative to concentrate on the Spring Classics, while Vingegaard has been pressured to drop out of the race overdue on after injuring his hand in a crash in Paris-Great.
Their rival Remco Evenepoel may be sidelined via harm, as he’s nonetheless improving from his crash closing December, which left him with a fractured rib, shoulder blade and hand. He’s anticipated to make his go back simply in time for the Ardennes Classics at De Brabantse Pijl.
Within the Belgian’s absence, the Soudal Fast-Step squad will likely be led by means of closing 12 months’s Volta a Catalunya runner-up Mikel Landa, who believes that the ability vacuum left by means of the ‘giant 3’ makes for a a lot more open and competitive fight for the whole victory on the race.
Landa, who completed runner-up in 2024 and 5th in 2023 on the Volta, has taken section in numerous races with each Vingegaard and Pogačar, and he believes that “there’s a different kind of mentality without them.”
“So that really affects the way the race develops. It’ll be a much more open race without them, probably there’ll be a a nice fight between [Primoz] Roglič and [Juan] Ayuso.”
The most recent race content material, interviews, options, opinions and professional purchasing guides, direct on your inbox!
“Those two should dominate but the rest of us could be close behind. Even though there’s so many mountain stages, the Volta is a race that often ends up being decided by just a few seconds and this year might not be any different.”
The toughness of the Volta direction is its defining function. Having ridden the race on six events, together with his debut participation coming in 2013 with Euskaltel-Euskadi, Landa mentioned that “I’d say it’s one of the stage races that’s changed the least since I started racing.”
“When I started as a pro, it was always very hard, and very fast, and it still is. There are virtually no sprinters taking part, so even on the flatter stages, riders can try to break away.”
“There’s always something going on. The seven days are always very hard, even the easier stages normally have 2,000 or 3,000 vertical metres of climbing. So it makes for a very intense week.”
Landa himself is in encouragingly sturdy shape and is positive of a robust consequence, having simply taken 11th in Strade Bianche and 7th in Tirreno-Adriatico, even though he is aware of the Volta gives a lot harder demanding situations than any race observed thus far this 12 months.
Futhermore, as some of the many most sensible riders set to race each the Giro d’Italia and Excursion de France this season, Landa additionally values the Volta as a reference level for the way he will be appearing at the giant climbs in Would possibly.
“Last year worked out very well, this year I’m in good shape too, so I’ll see if I can be close to the best.”
“Whatever happens, though, in weeklong stage races, it’s very hard to find stages with so many mountains as you get in Catalunya, with vertical climbing of four to five thousand metres some days. That’s very similar to the last week of the Giro, so it’s also very useful for later.”
In terms of hiking demanding situations, level 6 includes a ambitious collection of prime mountains in central Catalunya, finishing with the class 1 ascent to Queralt, making it the hardest day within the race, simply because it used to be in 2024.
“It’ll be a stage for the bravest of riders,” Landa says, “I remember last year how nothing much happened on the toughest climb [the Hors Categorie Col de Pradell – Ed.] but then in the two that followed, Pogačar attacked and blew the race apart. But the summit finish stage to Monserrat [stage 4] will already have created GC differences as well.”
“Really, though, even the last stage through Montjuic in the Volta can decide the overall. There’s a first high mountain stage to La Molina [stage 3] but I remember in 2022 how Sergio Higuita and Richard Carapaz weren’t the strongest there or maybe even in the race overall, but they managed to turn things around completely in a hillly stage just before the last day.”
“For me, this race is never over until you reach the final finish line.”
What additionally provides to the Volta’s depth, Landa issues out, is that for some most sensible riders, Catalunya is their closing race previous to the Giro d’Italia, in order that supplies an additional level of motivation to go away no stone unturned of their seek for optimum efficiency.
“For me personally, there’s still too far to go to the Giro start to test myself fully, it’s not like the time gap between the Dauphiné or Suisse, say, compared to the Tour de France.”
“But for riders like Roglič and Ayuso, it’s their last race until Italy and in some cases they’ve not raced for a while either. So in the Volta, they’re going to want to put it all out there.”
The Volta a Catalunya starts on Monday, with the outlet level beginning in Sant Feliu de Guíxols. The race will then traverse a lot of the area at the Mediterranean Coast sooner than the general level at the Montjuïc circuit in Barcelona subsequent Sunday.
