2022 Volta a Catalunya – Overall Preview

By @EchelonsHub

As part of the peloton will be up in Belgium racing the rough cobbled classic of Flandres, another part will be in Spain as World Tour racing resumes with the Volta a Catalunya. A race that frequently attracts big names as the good weather and amount of mountains satisfies the urges of the stage-racers that are looking for big results. 

The Route

The official profiles are very misleading so you have to look at the altitude to understand better what the riders will be facing. With no Calella this year, the opening stage is more favourable towards the sprinters. It isn’t pan-flat, it does feature a small climb not too far from the finish, but the fast men will be going for the finish. 

The race will be heading towards France on the second stage. It is one for the sprinters, but again there are some hilltops that need to be tackled before getting there. Like the first day, it’s a stage suited for a breakaway. 

The race will head into the Pyrinees on stage three and the first finale will be at La Molina. A classic finish in the stage it will see a stage that’s not too selective but will be enough to dictate who are the riders who will be fighting for the overall classification. 

The queen stage will see the peloton go up Boí Taüll, The stage isn’t flat, but the differences will be made here. The finish is above 2000 meters of altitude in an unfamiliar ascent, 13 kilometers at 6%. It’s the queen stage and the place where the climbers have to do the most damage. 

Another sprinter day, however with a trap as usual in Catalunya. The start of the stage will have a climb that may see a strong group go up the road. The rest of the stage though is largely flat, and the sprinters will be looking to grab another win. 

The sixth stage will be suited for a breakaway. It’s a classic hilly day with the start and finish near Tarragona, which features a loop around the hills which should favour the puncheurs and rouleurs. 

The final day sees the traditional finish in Barcelona. With the new hard climb of Montjuic back in the stage, it makes it more explosive and selective. With the gaps unlikely to be big, this is a day that can make big changes in the overall classification if the race implodes. 

Weather for the Week 

This region is known for it’s good weather, so much so that dozens of pros choose Girona as their residence place, however that’s not likely what they’ll find this week. Although it can hold up in some days, rain and strong winds are expected in some stages. 

GC Contenders 

With a lot of mountains and in a region that is very much loved by a big portion of the peloton, it is no surprise that Catalunya has once again attracted a whole heap of world-class climbers and stage-racers who will be looking for top results. Some riders have been standing out in the last few weeks and they should be between the main favourites like Simon Yates and Nairo Quintana at Paris-Nice, who will find a better suited route here in Spain. 

The list of favourites spread far and wide, with form and feel in the Pyrenees to be a very decisive factor. Some teams have more than one card to play, like INEOS as the main example who have Richard Carapaz, Richie Porte, Carlos Rodriguez, Pavel Sivakov and Luke Plapp, all viable GC contenders. Movistar have Alejandro Valverde and Ivan Sosa, UAE have João Almeida and Marc Soler, EF have Rigoberto Uran, Hugh Carthy and Esteban Chaves, BORA have Jai Hindley and Sergio Higuita, Bahrain have Jack Haig, Wout Poels and Dylan Teuns, Jumbo have Tom Dumoulin and Steven Kruijswijk and Quick-Step have Fausto Masnada and Ilan van Wilder. 

There are more though as some riders are set to come in as sole leaders: Ben O’Connor for AG2R, Michael Woods for Israel, Guillaume Martin for Cofidis, Giulio Ciccone for Trek, Jan Hirt for Intermarché and one of the main wildcards for the week leading Uno-X will be Tobias Johannessen. 

The Sprinters 

Despite being more sprinter friendly, the race has still attracted a very modest sprinter list for a World Tour race. Nevertheless, there are some pure sprinters that are coming over this year and will make the flat sprints more exciting, Juan Sebastián Molano will be representing UAE Team Emirates, Hugo Hofstetter is surprisingly foregoing the cobbled classics to be here for Arkea Samsic where he’ll be eyeing the hilly stages aswell, and there are two duos of sprinters that have one pure and one puncheur. 

One is Bahrain with Phil Bauhaus and Sonny Colbrelli, who will eye different days, and the other is BikeExchange who have Kaden Groves and Michael Matthews. 

Prediction Time 

⭐⭐⭐S.Yates, Quintana, Porte 

⭐⭐Almeida, Soler, Valverde, Hindley 

⭐Woods, Higuita, Rodriguez, Haig, Sosa, Ciccone, Poels, O’Connor, Carapaz, Carthy, Johannessen, Uran, Masnada, Dumoulin, G.Martin 

I think Simon Yates will take advantage of his current form and enjoy the mountains that lay ahead. Competition will be hard, however it’s a route that suits the pure climbers. 

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Rúben Silva

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