Vingegaard dominates with a masterclass at La Molina/Coll de Pal
March 27 th 2026 - 17:08 [GMT + 1]
The 105th edition of the Volta a Catalunya has a new leader following its fifth stage, and that leader is Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike). The Dane, who arrived at the Catalan race as the clear favorite, demonstrated his superiority in the high mountains and claimed both the stage victory and the overall lead after breaking away from his rivals and riding solo for the final 6 kilometers of the grueling La Molina/Coll de Pal summit in Berga. Vingegaard now leads the general classification by 57 seconds over Félix Gall (Decathlon-CMA CGM Team) and 1'09” over Lenny Martínez (Bahrain-Victorious) ahead of another decisive mountain stage between Berga and Queralt.
151 The cyclists set off on the 5th stage of the 2026 Volta a Catalunya, which was originally scheduled to cover a 153-kilometre route starting in La Seu d'Urgell and finishing in La Molina/Coll de Pal, but was shortened by just over two kilometers due to a wind warning. The climbs of Colldarnat (1st category), Coll de Josa (2nd category), Coll de Fumanya (1st category) and Collada Sobirana (1st category), many of which were making their competitive debut, set the scene for a special category finish considered one of the most demanding in Catalonia, and which lived up to its reputation.
Following a fierce battle for the breakaway on the day’s first mountain pass, a strong group of five climbers formed, comprising Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Davide Piganzoli (Team Visma-Lease a Bike), Junior Lecerf (Soudal Quick-Step), Einer Rubio (Movistar Team) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), who ended up being the star of the show.
The Italian, stage winner at Vallter in 2023, broke away from his breakaway companions and tackled the Coll de Pal climbs alone until he was caught by the group of favorites 6 kilometers from the finish. Earlier, on the descent of the Collada Sobirana, Britain’s Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling), who was second in the general classification, suffered a crash that ended his chances of victory.
At the moment Ciccone was neutralized, Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) made a significant breakaway move that put him alone at the front of the race, with Felix Gall (Decathlon-CMA CGM Team), Lenny Martínez (Bahrain Victorious), Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) as his main pursuers. Meanwhile, Vingegaard’s other major rival, Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), was in a third group and crossed the finish line 1’38” behind the Dane.
Vingegaard is now the new leader of the Volta a Catalunya, 57 seconds ahead of Felix Gall and 1 minute 9 seconds ahead of Lenny Martínez, whilst Remco Evenepoel drops to 6th place, 1 minute 28 seconds behind, and Tom Pidcock trails by 29 minutes. Tomorrow, Saturday 28 March, the sixth stage will feature the second high-mountain challenge with another non-stop day’s racing between Berga and Queralt.
