The 2016 Volta a Catalunya will boast an all-star cast thanks to the presence of the winners of last year’s three Grand Tours, Alberto Contador (Tinkoff), Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Fabio Aru (Astana), and two-time Tour de France runner-up Nairo Quintana (Movistar).
Prior to the Criterium du Dauphiné, the Volta a Catalunya (March 21-27) is the one occasion in the first half of the 2016 season in which Froome and almost all of his top Tour de France rivals will cross swords. Two very tough Pyrenean stages and the prestige of winning Spain’s oldest stage race, which began in 1911, will likely ensure the Volta is once again much more than a mere warm-up exercise en route to July.
After his early win in the Herald Sun Tour and his training camp in South Africa, the Volta a Catalunya will mark Froome’s debut both in Europe and in a WorldTour event this season. A bout of illness last year made the Volta a Catalunya a tough race for Froome, and he may well want to set the record straight in 2016, particularly when there are so many of his key rivals present.
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Even for an event that has grown increasingly popular in recent years among cycling’s top stage racers, this year’s Volta a Catalunya has a bumper crop of star names. Apart from Contador, Aru, Froome, and Quintana, the start list includes defending champion Richie Porte (BMC Racing), Rafal Majka (Tinkoff), Robert Gesink (LottoNL-Jumbo), Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge), Daniel Martin (Etixx-Quick Step), Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing), Warren Barguil (Giant-Alpecin) and Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale).
Double overall winner Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), missing from last year’s race because of illness, will be another key name to follow.
The publication of the Volta’s detailed route this week reveals its usual combination of very hilly stages, a two-day incursion into the Pyrenees where the race will almost certainly be decided, and a final showdown in Barcelona’s Montjuic park.
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