The 2023 edition of the Volta a Catalunya will return to the Lo Port climb, one of the toughest climbs in the region, providing a much-needed shake up of the second half of the men's WorldTour stage race.
In 2018 Lo Port was the scene of a monumental three-way battle between Chris Froome, Alberto Contador and Alejandro Valverde, with Valverde coming out the best and taking an unbreakable hold on the overall.
Lo Port is 8.4 kilometres long with an average gradient of nine percent and the toughest parts of the climb reach 20 percent in places. It has only been climbed four times in the Volta’s 101 previous editions.
The other stages of the Volta a Catalunya 2023 route are more familiar, with a repeat of the 2022 opening stage starting and finishing in Sant Feliu de Guixols and the usual finish in Barcelona.
The mountains begin early, with the Pyrenean summit finishes at Vallter and La Molina, on stages 2 and 3. La Molina, a notably uneven ascent, has featured no less than seven times in the last eight editions and the much steadier, longer, Vallter both in 2021 and 2019.
In 2022 Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) and Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe) upended the Volta on a transition stage but the late March race is traditionally decided in the Pyrenees. The addition of the Lo Port finish will make for a much more unpredictable second half of the race, with the overall winner perhaps decided on the hilly Montjuïc circuit in Barcelona, the capital of Catalunya.
The full breakdown of the 2023 Volta a Catalunya complete with stage distances and intermediate climbs will be revealed in the New Year.
Volta a Catalunya 2023
Stage 1: Sant Feliu de Guixols - Sant Feliu de Guixols, Monday March 20
Stage 2: Mataro - Vallter, Tuesday March 21
Stage 3: Olost - La Molina, Wednesday March 22
Stage 4: Llivia - Sabadell, Thursday March 23
Stage 5: Tortosa - Lo Port, Friday March 24
Stage 6: Martorell - Molins de Rei, Saturday March 25
Stage 7: Barcelona - Barcelona, Sunday March 26
