The 2023 Volta a Catalunya will have bonus seconds in 14 sprints
March 17 th 2023 - 17:44 [GMT + 1]
La Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2023, que es disputarà entre els pròxims dies 20 i 26 de març amb la participació dels millors ciclistes del món, comptarà amb dos esprints intermedis en cada una de les seves set etapes. Uns esprints que repartiran tant punts per la seva classificació com segons de bonificació que poden ser determinants per la resolució de la cursa.
Thanks to the collaboration of the towns that once again participate in the route of the race, which this year reaches its 102nd edition, the Volta a Catalunya will have fourteen intermediate sprints along its route, which will start on Monday 20th March in Sant Feliu de Guíxols and finish on Sunday 26th March in Barcelona.
The intermediate sprints of the Volta a Catalunya 2023 will distribute 3, 2 and 1 points for the points classification and the same bonus seconds. These will be added to the score at the finish line, where the first three finishers of the stages will add 10, 6 and 4 points to their classification and the same bonus seconds in the general classification, a fact that can end up marking the development of the race.
The first stage, with a distance of 164.6 kilometres starting and finishing in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, will have two sprints in the final part of the route in Santa Cristina d'Aro (km 132) and Calonge i Sant Antoni (km 152). In the second stage, which will link Mataró and the Vallter ski resort, the intermediate sprints will be located in Olot (km 106.6) and Camprodon (km 143), just before the final climb.
In the third stage, between Olost and the ski resort of La Molina, the sprints at Manlleu (km 25) and L'Esquirol (km 35) will be located in the initial part of the stage. In the fourth stage, the longest of the Volta a Catalunya with 188.2 kilometres between Llívia and Sabadell, intermediate sprints will be held in Ripoll (km 69.5) and Perafita (km 94.4).
The fifth stage, in which the Terres de l'Ebre will be the protagonist with a route between Tortosa and Lo Port, there will be intermediate sprints in Móra la Nova (km 69.1) and Roquetes (159.4), shortly before the start of the decisive final climb. In the case of the sixth stage, starting in Martorell and finishing in Molins de Rei, there will be a sprint in Terres de Lleida (km 66.1) and Pallejà (km 166), just 17 kilometres from the finish line.
Meanwhile, in the final stage of the Volta with start and finish in Barcelona, there will be intermediate sprints in Viladecans (km 61.5) and Castelldefels (km 65.9), which once again this year will be the scene of the last intermediate sprint of the race before the final battle on the Montjuic Barcelona circuit.
The 102nd Volta Ciclista a Catalunya is already set to be an exceptional edition, with a world-class participation headed by the reigning world champion, Belgian Remco Evenepoel, along with other world cycling references such as Primoz Roglic, Olympic champion Richard Carapaz (2nd in the last edition) and Tour de France winners such as Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas, who also know what it is like to climb the final podium of the Catalan race in the past.