2023 Volta a Catalunya Stage 2 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 2 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 serves its first mountain-top finish as early as the 2nd stage. The route travels from Mataró to Vallter 2000 in the Pyrenees. The finish climb is 11 kilometres long and the average gradient sits at 7.6%, while the total race distance is 165.4 kilometres.
The Volta a Catalunya last visited Mataró in 2021. Peter Sagan sprinted to triumph in the street of the coastal town just north of Barcelona. The four editions before that Mataró served as a starting venue. Which will again be the case this year.
The riders set sail for the Pyrenees and, eventually, a summit finish in Vallter 2000. The ski station is situated at 2,150 metres above sea level and to get there the road climbs for 11 kilometres at 7.6%.
Adam Yates won the last two stages in Vallter 2000. Two years ago with a solo, and in 2019 he outsprinted his fellow-attackers Egan Bernal, Dan Martin, Nairo Quintana and Miguel Ángel López.
The run-up to the finish climb is not very remarkable. The riders travel mostly on flat to rolling roads. The Alt de Can Bordoi appears early on and a 15 kilometres false flat begins around the midway marker and leads to the intermediate sprint in Diot. Shortly the Coll de Coubet ascends for 9.2 kilometres at 5.5% with some sections at 10%. Following a relatively short downhill the road climbs at very shallow gradients to the base of the finish climb.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while intermediate sprints come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
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