La Volta recovers Montserrat and repeats the show of Pradell and Queralt

Centenary races need symbols to continue growing and Volta to Catalonia has sought to ally with a great reference in its 104th edition, which is played from March 24 to 30. Coinciding with the millenary of the foundation of the Monastery of Montserrat, the organization recovers the up to the abbey and the visit to the Moreneta as the end of the fourth stage, just one day after the arrival in La Molina that will be held on Wednesday.

“Catalonia is a luxury scenario. We work with a success formula in which we always contribute news, ”explained Rubèn Peris, general director of the race in the presentation of the tour. And that surprise is the return to Montserrat, who had not welcomed a goal of the Volta. The last winner was the Frenchman Laurent Jalabert, who with the eleven took the lead in 1995 and no longer released him until he went up to the podium of Barcelona.

Winner of the 1995 Volta

Laurent Jalabert won on the previous arrival at the Abbey, grabbed the franjiverde jersey and did not release it anymore

“It is a mythical climb,” defined the cyclist Pau Miquel, of Kern Pharma. “It will be a spectacular ending,” Mireia Benito cataloged, of the AG insurance-female.

The Catalan Round, which will come out on March 24 of Sant Feliu de Guíxols for the fourth year, has not been able to do deaf ears or cover his eyes to the show that was seen last year with the HAPPONE For the Berguedà. Therefore, he has not hesitated to repeat the idea in search of new film images that delight fans with the impossible ramps of the Pradell Coll that reach up to 18%. Unpublished until 2024, it will be the antepenultimate port since then the Collada de Sant Isidre and the climb to Queralt will come, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the triumph there of Eddy Merckx in a chrono -scarce of the Catalan setman.

Regular final in Montjuïc

The Catalan Round starts on March 24, Sant Feliu de Guíxols and will have three final finals: La Molina, Montserrat and Queralt

Last year there was an exhibition of Tadej Pogacar postcard already dressed in the leader franjiverde jersey. The Slovenian ended up winning the general and four stages.

Without it, the Volta has managed to attract the other great aspiring to the Tour of France who is Jonas Vingegaard (Visma). Together with the Danish, who abandoned this Friday in Paris-Nice as a result of a fall of the previous day, Primoz Roglic (Red Bull), winner of 2023, Juan Ayuso (UAE) and Enric Mas (Movistar) promise a cult volta, with the monastery of Montserrat and the Sanctuary of Queralt and with the usual final in Montjuïc with six steps by the Alto del Castillo.

Second edition

The female career seeks to consolidate thanks to the imposing coll de pal

If Tadej Pogacar put the brooch of gold to the men’s edition of 2024, the female volta, which premiered, did not leave the triumph of Marianne Vos, a legend, triple world champion of the world en route.
“We come from a historic year but satisfaction is double because we have consolidated the female test,” said Rubèn Peris. “We want a place to be gone among the best races in the world,” said Patricia Ortega, sports manager of the Volta to Women’s Catalonia, which will have, like last year, three stages and that will start on June 6.
To do this they have an imposing trick on the second day, with the fearsome, imposing and eternal coll de pal. It rises to 2,100 meters and has 19 km up. Who leaves the leader will have a lot of cattle to proclaim champion the next day on Maria Cristina Avenue in Barcelona.