2023 Volta a Catalunya Stage 1 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 1 of the 2023 Volta a Catalunya! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
The Volta a Catalunya begins with a race of 164.6 kilometres with start and finish in Sant Feliu de Guíxols. The home straight runs uphill, so strongmen sprinters are expected to shine.
Before last year’s Sant Feliu de Guíxols stage, the Volta a Catalunya opened nine times in a row with a race from Calella to Calella. Although the start and finish were the same, the route never was. This is not the case with the route of the Sant Feliu de Guíxols stage. On the contrary, it’s a carbon copy of last year.
Which makes sense. The finale in particular is too good to neglect. Following a technical section with lots of twists and turns the 1 kilometre home straight runs slightly uphill. This finale was also used in 2019 and both that year and last year the same victor emerged in Sant Feliu de Guíxols: Michael Matthews.
The riders climb from the start and crest the first KOM peak after 25 kilometres. The Alt de Santa Pellaia is a 5.9 kilometres climb at 4%.
Following a flat, to undulating phase, the last two KOMs of the day are crested in the last 60 kilometres. The Alt de la Ganga is 3.5 kilometres long and averages 4.1%, while the Alt de Romanyà adds 5.8 kilometres at 4.5% to the KOM mix. That last climb is done and dusted with roughly 25 kilometres left to race.
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