Martorell will live the best cycling in the world with Volta a Catalunya on 25th March
February 8 th 2023 - 18:06 [GMT + 1]
After almost 30 years, Martorell will once again be a protagonist on the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya route. The Baix Llobregat city, which has been designated as European City of Sport for 2023 by the European Capitals and Cities of Sport Association (ACES Europe), will be the starting point of the sixth stage of the 102nd edition of the historic Catalan cycling race on 25 March. The presentation of the stage was held this Wednesday, February 8, in the Plenary Hall of the Martorell City Council, in an event where all the details about the stage were announced.
Among the numerous sporting activities that Martorell is preparing for 2023 is the start of a stage of the Volta a Catalunya 2023, something that has not happened in the town since 1994. It will be on the penultimate day of the race, with a 177-kilometre route that will finish in Molins de Rei after overcoming the Alt de la Creu d'Aragall and the Alt de Fontpineda.
Martorell will be able to enjoy the best cycling in the world hosting the start of a stage of the Volta a Catalunya, an ideal occasion to see closely the whole infrastructure of a UCI WorldTour cycling race and its participants.
The start of the stage will take place from Carrer Josep Vilar, in front of the Torrent de Llops Sports Complex, an epicentre of sport in Martorell. From 11.30 am, the fans will be able to see the presentation of the 25 participating teams, and at 12.40 am the neutralised start of the stage will take place. The route before the real start, located on the B-224 road, will go through the new neighbourhood of La Sínia and its Central Park.
At the presentation ceremony on Wednesday, in addition to the details of the start of the stage, the big stars of world cycling who have made public their intention to participate in the Volta were announced, a list headed by the world champion, Belgian Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step), Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), triple winner of the Vuelta a España and reigning Olympic time trial champion, and Colombian Egan Bernal (Ineos-Grenadiers), winner of the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, among others.
The history of the Volta and the town of Martorell goes back to two editions of the race: in 1975 and 1994. In 1975, Martorell was the main protagonist of a double sector day, a common event at that time. In the morning there was a stage finish in the city after having gone from Manresa, with victory for the Italian Pierino Gavazzi, while in the afternoon there was a very special second sector: a time trial starting from the emblematic Pont del Diable and finishing in Terrassa, with victory for Fausto Bertoglio. In 1994, the last precedent of the relationship between Martorell and the Volta, the stage with start and finish in the municipality ended with the victory of another Italian, Massimo Donati.
The mayor of Martorell, Xavier Fonollosa, explained during the presentation this Wednesday that it is very important for the city to live again a stage start of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya: "We are proud that an event with international relevance bets for our city, especially in one of the key moments of the competition, as it will be the start of the penultimate stage of the Volta 2023. Martorell has been declared European City of Sport for 2023 and the organisation of events as important as this one reinforces our nomination. We encourage all our neighbours to enjoy this stage start first-hand, a unique opportunity to see elite international and national sportsmen from a first hand".
Gerard Mimó, sports councillor of the Martorell City Council, has given importance to the great joint work between the city council and the organisation of the race: "The stage start next 25th March will be a new proof of our capacity to lead high-level sport events in the city and of the great joint work we carry out with the Volta".
"The Volta a Catalunya is a great world showcase and represents a double privilege: the fact of bringing a world-class event to the streets of Martorell, while at the same time placing the city on the map thanks to its important international diffusion", explained Rubèn Peris, general director of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya.
The 102nd edition of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya will be held from 20 to 26 March 2023, with the participation of the 18 best teams in the world, the UCI WorldTeams, and 7 wildcards from the UCI ProTeams category. The last winner of the race was the Colombian Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe), who added his name to a long list of great figures in the history of cycling who will write a new chapter of the Volta a Catalunya this 2023.
Photo: Ajuntament de Martorell