Karpin Galicia in its second ProTour race of the season

Spanish Professional Continental team Karpin Galicia will dispute the Volta a Cataluña, which runs from May 19 to 25. It will be second time this season that the squad lines up for a ProTour event, after the Vuelta al País Vasco, where Ezequiel Mosquera finished in ninth place overall.

Directeur sportif, Álvaro Pino, is hoping that "we can get into the top ten and score a stage victory. If the race is selective enough, we can hope to get into the top five or on the podium, but the mountains are far from the finish and I think in the toughest stages, there could be a group of at least 20 riders getting to the finish line. In those circumstances, the options of Ezequiel Mosquera are greatly diminished."

Pino was a bit unhappy with the possibility of selecting the team, since a portion of it is racing in Portugal. "We go to the Volta with the team we currently have available ... Unfortunately, we cannot count on Herrero and Castaño. Those were our riders for the Volta a Cataluña, as the route is tailored to their strengths."

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It was also an event that the two riders were targeting. "Herrero started strong, with the Critérium International serving as build-up to be in the same shape in Cataluña as he was in the Vuelta al País Vasco. And Carlos Castaño had this as his primary objective for the first part of the season," Pino lamented the fact that both riders are out. The Spaniard explained that "a case of mononucleosis has not allowed [Castaño] to reach the same form he had in the Tour of Turkey."

In Pino's opinion, the prologue of 3.2 kilometres in Lloret de Mar is very important, as there is no big mountain stage to get time gaps."The seconds of the first day may be decisive. Not because the one who wins the prologue may win the Volta, but because of the small gaps that may establish between the leaders of the teams [of the strongest riders]."

Karpin Galicia will take to the start of Cataluña, kicking off with a 3.2-kilometre prologue in Lloret de Mar, with Ezequiel Mosquera, Gustavo Domínguez, David García, Gustavo C. Veloso, Gonzalo Rabuñal, Iban Mayoz, Alberto Fernández and Eduard Vorganov.