Volta a Catalunya to miss main climb of toughest stage because of high winds

Forecasts of high winds have played havoc with the Volta a Catalunya's toughest mountain stage this year, with race organisers forced to suspend the mid-stage ascent of the hors categorie Col de Pradell on Saturday.

Stage 6 will be drastically reduced in length as a consequence, from 159km to just 118km, but the final category 1 summit finish of Queralt will remain in place. The other two ascents, the Col de Battaola (Cat. 3) and Collada de San Isidro (Cat. 1), are also still part of the dramatically-revised route.

The local authorities recommended that the Col de Pradell, which peaks out at 1,700 metres above sea level and is more than 500 metres higher than any of the other climbs, should not be ascended because of high winds expected in the area, forcing the organisers to revise the route.

"This 6th stage will be shortened in distance, and it will not be possible to climb the Coll del Pradell because its summit is at an altitude of 1,700 meters, where the hazards are more severe," organisers stated in a press release, noting that activation would be taken under the VENTCAT emergency procedure plan.

The Pradell climb is 15 kilometres long and averages 6.7%. There are gradients in some places of 18% and with cemented segments close to the summit, making  the Pradell far and away the hardest climb of the 2025 Volta. It was introduced for the first time last year on a near–identical route to this editioin, won by Tadej Pogačar with a solo attack on the San Isidro.

The organisers also noted in the press release that race infrastructure will be reduced at the summit of Queralt to try and ensure they do not get overly affected by the high winds. The stage is also delayed by over an hour to 13:55 local time.

The strong winds currently affecting Catalunya were already very noticeable throughout the day in stage 5, helping to spark some major echelons in the last hour of racing. As race leader Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) put it, "there was no surprise there were echelons, the only question was when".

It remains to be seen what effect this will have on the GC outcome, where Ayuso  currently leads by one second over Primoz Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

This is far from the first time that weather has altered the route of the Volta a Catalunya, mostly in the Pyrenees, where several mountain passes have been cancelled in past editions. This year, however, the race came through the Pyrenees on stage 3 with no meteorological setbacks, only for the biggest stage of the race to be affected. 

The race ends on Sunday with 88.2 kilometres, half of that on six hilly circuits in Barcelona.