Another Volta filled with mountains
The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya is one of the most mountainous one-week races of the season, and once again, the pattern remains. While rouleurs and classics specialists compete in the big spring classics in France, Italy, and Belgium, Catalonia offers an alternative week of competition for climbers, who, as every year, will attend in large numbers.
Route
As mentioned, the 2025 Volta features an undeniably mountainous route. Out of the seven stages, three have summit finishes that will be decisive for the general classification: stage 3 in La Molina (12.2 km at 4.4%), stage 4 in Montserrat (8.8 km at 6.5%), and stage 6 at the Santuari de Queralt (5.9 km at 7.5%), where another massive reception for Sepp Kuss (800) is expected, with his fan club once again organizing a celebration on one of the final turns of the climb.
The remaining stages offer two opportunities for sprinters (stages 2 and 5) and two traditional medium-mountain routes such as the uphill finish in Sant Feliu de Guíxols (stage 1) and the final circuit in Barcelona (stage 7). This last stage has been shortened from 138 to 88 km, but the six laps on the circuit, including the Montjuïc Castle climb (2.7 km at 4.6%), remain unchanged.
Favorites
Many teams have yet to confirm their lineups, but Primož Roglič (1200), Juan Ayuso (1000), Adam Yates (1200), Mikel Landa (1000), Sepp Kuss (800), Enric Mas (1000), Simon Yates (800), Richard Carapaz (800), Egan Bernal (600), Felix Gall (1000), and Lennert Van Eetvelt (600) already stand out as the main favorites for the general classification.
For the sprints, Kaden Groves (1000), Marijn Van Der Berg (600), Pavel Bittner (400), and Ethan Hayter (400) are among the few sprinters on the provisional start list.
Photo: © Volta Ciclista a Catalunya