Volta a Catalunya, 23-29 March 2026

[Berniece]

Last 20km's will have headwind around 20-30km/h, but won't impact the sprint, then it comes mostly from the side.

 

[Rob5091]

My guess for the entire race? Remco will struggle going uphill. All the top teams have skinny climbers eager to prove their places at the GT's so it's going to be full gas from the get go. I reckon Remco and Chumil will be about equal on the climbs.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

I was looking forward to reading a bit of analysis about the illustrious Volta a Catalunya 2026 but every thread seems to just merge into the same discussion, we should have a poll whether to close the forum or not.

If you want some analysis of catalunya, perhaps have a read of this interview from pre race favourite remco evenpoel, who says that he should be the team leader for the race because of his sprint

'This week should suit me well, and there are also a lot of bonus seconds at the finish. So sprinting will be important.'

Certainly an interesting approach to a race with 3 mountain finishes. Hopefully he hasn't been ignoring his fans wishes to train for long climbs because of his obsession with sprinting

Personally I am looking forward to watching remco sprint his way to the win this week.

Remco Evenepoel wil in Catalonië kijken of hij verbeterd is en nuanceert slot van hoogtekamp: "Meer gedoe dan nodig was" | sporza

Het heeft heel wat voeten in de aarde gehad, maar Remco Evenepoel is toch in Catalonië geraakt, waar hij vanaf morgen aan zet is in de zevendaagse WorldTour-rittenkoers. Evenepoel kampeerde de jongste weken op de Teide, maar het slot van zijn hoogtekamp werd gefnuikt door stormachtig weer. "Maar...

sporza.be

 

[Devil's Elbow]

If you want some analysis of catalunya, perhaps have a read of this interview from pre race favourite remco evenpoel, who says that he should be the team leader for the race because of his sprint

'This week should suit me well, and there are also a lot of bonus seconds at the finish. So sprinting will be important.'

Certainly an interesting approach to a race with 3 mountain finishes. Hopefully he hasn't been ignoring his fans wishes to train for long climbs because of his obsession with sprinting

Personally I am looking forward to watching remco sprint his way to the win this week.

Remco Evenepoel wil in Catalonië kijken of hij verbeterd is en nuanceert slot van hoogtekamp: "Meer gedoe dan nodig was" | sporza

Het heeft heel wat voeten in de aarde gehad, maar Remco Evenepoel is toch in Catalonië geraakt, waar hij vanaf morgen aan zet is in de zevendaagse WorldTour-rittenkoers. Evenepoel kampeerde de jongste weken op de Teide, maar het slot van zijn hoogtekamp werd gefnuikt door stormachtig weer. "Maar...

sporza.be

This brings back memories of him throwing everything at an intermediate sprint at the 2021 Giro one day before completely cracking on the sterrato stage.

 

[cafe_rider]

My guess for the entire race? Remco will struggle going uphill. All the top teams have skinny climbers eager to prove their places at the GT's so it's going to be full gas from the get go. I reckon Remco and Chumil will be about equal on the climbs.

Remco will be up against Byron Munton again - same as UAE

 

[Berniece]

According to his coach, Pidcock is not going for GC. Wants to win stages and uses Catalunya as preparation for Ardennes classics

 

[Pozzovivo]

My guess for the entire race? Remco will struggle going uphill. All the top teams have skinny climbers eager to prove their places at the GT's so it's going to be full gas from the get go. I reckon Remco and Chumil will be about equal on the climbs.

Here we go again with the provocations. I'll take the bait.

Do you really believe that? If so, I'll happily give you 10-1 odds on that statement. Do you want to take that bet?

Just to be clear, my position is that Remco will ride faster than Chumil on all the relevant GC climbs, meaning Vallter 2000, Pal, and all three of the final climbs on stage 6.

 

[Pozzovivo]

After seeing a good but not great Vingegaard at P-N last week, I think Remco will have a good chance against him.

 

[CyclistAbi]

After seeing a good but not great Vingegaard at P-N last week, I think Remco will have a good chance against him.

Out of curiosity, which part, beyond TTT, was bad?

 

[Pozzovivo]

Out of curiosity, which part, beyond TTT, was bad?

No part was bad. I never suggested that. As I said, he was good but not great (imo). A great Vingegaard would mean dropping Lenny Martinez with ease on the last stage, for instance.

 

[Alien Performance]

If you want some analysis of catalunya, perhaps have a read of this interview from pre race favourite remco evenpoel, who says that he should be the team leader for the race because of his sprint

'This week should suit me well, and there are also a lot of bonus seconds at the finish. So sprinting will be important.'

Certainly an interesting approach to a race with 3 mountain finishes. Hopefully he hasn't been ignoring his fans wishes to train for long climbs because of his obsession with sprinting

Personally I am looking forward to watching remco sprint his way to the win this week.

Remco Evenepoel wil in Catalonië kijken of hij verbeterd is en nuanceert slot van hoogtekamp: "Meer gedoe dan nodig was" | sporza

Het heeft heel wat voeten in de aarde gehad, maar Remco Evenepoel is toch in Catalonië geraakt, waar hij vanaf morgen aan zet is in de zevendaagse WorldTour-rittenkoers. Evenepoel kampeerde de jongste weken op de Teide, maar het slot van zijn hoogtekamp werd gefnuikt door stormachtig weer. "Maar...

sporza.be

I am about to walk over to the first intermediate, time bonuses on offer for Remco to sweep up?

 

[Pozzovivo]

According to his coach, Pidcock is not going for GC. Wants to win stages and uses Catalunya as preparation for Ardennes classics

Crazy if true. Doubt that it is.

 

[search]

Gilmore has just confirmed that NSN will ride for him today

 

[Berniece]

I am about to walk over to the first intermediate, time bonuses on offer for Remco to sweep up?

Would expect an attack beforehand, otherwise I can imagine GC riders going for it

 

[cafe_rider]

No part was bad. I never suggested that. As I said, he was good but not great (imo). A great Vingegaard would mean dropping Lenny Martinez with ease on the last stage, for instance.

Do you think Remco will be on the podium? Vingegaard and Almeida will both be further on with the Giro coming but Remco/ Lipowitz/ Gee-West/ Gall/ Mas/ Onley all will be pushing for the podium

 

[Pozzovivo]

Do you think Remco will be on the podium? Vingegaard and Almeida will both be further on with the Giro coming but Remco/ Lipowitz/ Gee-West/ Gall/ Mas/ Onley all will be pushing for the podium

I think Remco will podium the race in GC, yes. I see him as 2nd favorite behind Vingegaard, but probably a close fight between the two for the GC Win.


Very strong field indeed!

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Do you think Remco will be on the podium? Vingegaard and Almeida will both be further on with the Giro coming but Remco/ Lipowitz/ Gee-West/ Gall/ Mas/ Onley all will be pushing for the podium

Mas is for sure not going to be a factor in the podium battle after his dismal showing on Saturday. Onley abandoned Paris-Nice with illness 10 days ago and Gee-West also didn't look good at all in Milano-Torino, so the odds are stacked against them too.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Do you think Remco will be on the podium? Vingegaard and Almeida will both be further on with the Giro coming but Remco/ Lipowitz/ Gee-West/ Gall/ Mas/ Onley all will be pushing for the podium

Mas is for sure not going to be a factor in the podium battle after his dismal showing on Saturday. Onley abandoned Paris-Nice with illness 10 days ago and Gee-West also didn't look good at all in Milano-Torino, so the odds are stacked against them too.

Ithink ricitello is being underrated as a GC threat this week

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Ithink ricitello is being underrated as a GC threat this week

Him and especially Lenny Martinez are more likely than some of the names in the post I quoted.

 

[Berniece]

Ithink ricitello is being underrated as a GC threat this week

Could see him ride top 5 if he has gotten better after Algarve. Did he do altitude yet?

 

[Berniece]

Do you think Remco will be on the podium? Vingegaard and Almeida will both be further on with the Giro coming but Remco/ Lipowitz/ Gee-West/ Gall/ Mas/ Onley all will be pushing for the podium

Remco needs to be top in Ardennes classics, so I would expect he’s closer to his peak than Almeida/Vingegaard. Then again, different types of races.

No clue in what kind of shape Almeida will show up

 

[cafe_rider]

Mas is for sure not going to be a factor in the podium battle after his dismal showing on Saturday. Onley abandoned Paris-Nice with illness 10 days ago and Gee-West also didn't look good at all in Milano-Torino, so the odds are stacked against them too.

Gall and Gee-West both ahead of Remco at UAE though and Uijtdebroeks might even be the leader for Movistar

 

[Berniece]

Could see him ride top 5 if he has gotten better after Algarve. Did he do altitude yet?

Looked it up. Riccitello already did altitude before Tour de la Provence

 

[Pozzovivo]

Gall and Gee-West both ahead of Remco at UAE though and Uijtdebroeks might even be the leader for Movistar

Cian is really good. I expect a solid fight for top 5 GC.

 

[Berniece]

Cian is really good. I expect a solid fight for top 5 GC.

Would expect that too, maybe he struggles too much on the punchier parts of a stage though. In pre-race interview he said he's targeting top 10.