Volta a Catalunya: Evenepoel and Roglič clash in Giro preview
Michael Woods set for a lot of climbing in Spain
Photo by:
Sirotti
The Giro d’Italia is still nearly 50 days away, but its two favorites Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič—like Tour heavyweights Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard at Paris-Nice—are set to go head to head in a preview event, the WorldTour stage race Volta Ciclista a Catalunya in northeastern Spain from March 20 to 26.
Both have won 2023 WorldTour stage races. Evenepoel bore away the laurels in February’s UAE Tour, and Roglič, a late entry in Tirreno-Adriatico, hoisted his first Neptune’s trident trophy just last week.
The 102nd edition boasts a typically climby parcours, with Cat. 1 or HC-rated summit finishes on Stages 2, 3 and 5 and a final day in the hills around Barcelona including six ascents of the Montjuic climb.
Besides Roglič and Evenepoel, there will be Richard Carapaz in his first stage race for EF Education-Easypost, Tirreno-Adriatico runner-up João Almeida, Giulio Ciccone of Trek-Segafredo, another Giro contender in Geraint Thomas, and Egan Bernal coming back from a knee injury that has prevented him from racing from January 28.
Michael Woods, having scored 20th after a late entry to the Race of the Two Seas, will race alongside compatriot Guillaume Boivin.
Following hard on the heels of Volta a Catalunya, the next WorldTour stage race is another Spanish dandy, Itzulia Basque Country, April 3 to 8.
