Alejandro Valverde and Iván Sosa will lead Movistar Team at the Volta a Catalunya 2022
February 3 rd 2022 - 11:00
Barcelona (03-02-2022).- The 101st edition of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya is getting closer and closer, and the main teams are starting to confirm the riders who will take part in the race, which will be held between 21 and 27 March. Movistar Team has confirmed to the organisers the presence of the three times winner of the race Alejandro Valverde, who will be accompanied by Colombian climber Iván Sosa at the front of the team.
The presence of Alejandro Valverde (1980) is always a luxury for the Volta a Catalunya. The rider from Murcia is one of the most outstanding riders in the history of the event: overall winner in the 2009, 2017 and 2018 editions, he is also the seventh rider with the most stage victories in the history of the Volta with 9. At 41 years of age, the former world champion will once again be present on the Catalan roads in the 101st edition of a race in which he has always been a protagonist, this time in his farewell season.
This 2022, Valverde puts an end to his extraordinary career, and thanks to his presence in the Volta, the Catalan fans will have the privilege of saying goodbye to one of the great cycling references of the last two decades. It will be Valverde's 12th participation in the Catalan race, where he will arrive with the ambition that has characterised him throughout his long career, as he has confirmed starting the year with a victory in the Challenge of Mallorca. Without going any further, in the last 100th edition of the Volta -where one of the six special intermediate sprints in tribute to great riders in the history of the race was named after him-, he was fourth in the final classification, being the cyclist who came closest to a podium that ended up being topped by Adam Yates, Richie Porte and Geraint Thomas.
At his side, he will have one of the most important signings of the Navarre team for 2022. The Colombian Iván Ramiro Sosa (1997) wants to consolidate his position among the best climbers in the world after three years with the INEOS Grenadiers team and he will have in the Volta a Catalunya one of his first major goals with Movistar Team. Winner of prestigious races such as the Vuelta a Burgos (2018 and 2019) and the Tour de La Provence (2021, with a stage win at Mont Ventoux included), he has at the age of 24 the ideal moment for his explosion.
Eusebio Unzue's team, as usual, will take part in the Volta a Catalunya with a very solid squad that includes regular Volta riders such as Carlos Verona and the Catalan Antonio Pedrero, who will make them a reference for the mountain stages.
The 101st edition of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya will be held between 21 and 27 March and will once again feature the world's best cyclists in its seven stages, which will start in Sant Feliu de Guíxols and finish in Barcelona. The presence of the race in the UCI WorldTour calendar will once again guarantee the participation of the best teams in the world on Catalan roads.
