Not just Pogačar – Five storylines to follow at the Volta a Catalunya

Twelve months ago, a double act topped the bill at the Volta a Catalunya, as Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel jousted across the race’s seven days. This time out, there is but one marquee name, as Tadej Pogačar lines up for his first stage race of 2024.

The Slovenian had dominated attention in the build-up, and he is the clear favourite for overall victory in Barcelona next Sunday, but the narrative of the week ahead promises to be a multi-layered one. The Volta a Catalunya, a race older than the Vuelta a España itself, has always provided intrigue, and in the WorldTour era, it has established itself as one of the races of the year.

For some, the week in Catalonia is a crucial work-out ahead of the Giro d’Italia in May. Others are looking further ahead, to the Tour de France in July. But everybody is looking for assurances in the here and now. Ahead of the start on Monday, we look at some of the key storylines to follow this week.

Pogačar’s lone pre-Giro tune-up

The race programme may be different this year, but the level of dominance looks the same as it ever was. After soaring to Strade Bianche and leaving his mark on Milan-San Remo, Tadej Pogačar switches into stage racing mode for the one and only time this side of the Giro d’Italia when he lines up in Catalonia.

Pogačar has never raced the Volta a Catalunya before, but that’s unlikely to prove a handicap for a rider who finds friendly terrain at just about every race on the calendar. The summit finishes at Vallter 2000 (stage 2), Port Ainé (stage 3) and Queralt (stage 6) should all be to his liking, while the rugged final stage around Montjuic looks like the kind of day that would tempt Pogačar onto the offensive.

The Slovenian won’t lack for opportunities here to run through his climbing repertoire before the Giro, in other words. He’ll be joined in the UAE Team Emirates line-up by a pair of key men from his Giro challenge in Jay Vine and Felix Grossschartner, while Tour men Pavel Sivakov and João Almeida will also be by his side.

Despite a field of considerable depth, Pogačar is the overwhelming favourite for overall victory, not least because the rest of the so-called ‘Big Four’ – Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglič and Remco Evenepoel – are at home this week preparing for their projected rendezvous at Itzulia Basque Country next month.

Who will be Visma-Lease A Bike’s next man up?

Pogačar has done typically Pogačar things in his fleeting appearances so far, and his UAE Team Emirates squad has amassed victories in his absence too. The peloton’s outstanding collective, however, remains Visma-Lease A Bike, and they hammered home that point by becoming the first team to win both Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice in the same season.

Neither Tirreno winner Vingegaard nor Paris-Nice winner Matteo Jorgenson are on hand at the Volta a Catalunya, but Visma-Lease A Bike still line up with two potential winners and one of the deepest rosters in the race.

After serving as Vingegaard’s foil at O Gran Camiño and Tirreno, Cian Uijtdebroeks has a chance to ride for himself here as he builds towards the Giro, where he sets out as Visma’s designated leader. The week also provides the 21-year-old with a chance to measure himself against the Giro favourite Pogačar and contenders like Geraint Thomas and Aleksandr Vlasov.

Sepp Kuss, of course, will also view the Volta a Catalunya as an opportunity to be seized. The Vuelta a España champion looked comfortable when the road climbed at the Volta ao Algarve last month, but his GC challenge was hindered by a poor time trial. 

There’s no race against the watch in Catalonia, where the longer climbs are also more obviously suited to Kuss’ powers of endurance. The Andorran resident knows the roads in the area better than most to boot. Despite Uijtdebroeks’ clear ambitions, Kuss appears the more obvious leader of a strong Visma team that also includes the on-form Attila Valter and the evergreen Steven Kruijswijk.

Geraint Thomas follows his own rhythm towards Giro d’Italia

In an era of fast starts – witness Pogačar, Evenepoel and Vingegaard’s opening acts in 2024 – Geraint Thomas’ more restrained approach is something of a throwback. In keeping with his successful philosophy of the past two seasons, the Welshman has been content to ease himself into the new campaign.

Thomas used last month’s Volta ao Algarve as something akin to a training camp, as evidenced by his 40th-place finish in the time trial, and there is little reason to believe his approach will be altogether different in Catalonia. Last season, after all, Thomas rode to an anonymous 45th overall at the Volta a Catalunya before showing steady improvement at the following month’s Tour of the Alps and then coming within 14 seconds of winning the Giro itself.

The Giro is on Thomas’ agenda again this year, and he’s proven time and again that he knows how to time his run towards a Grand Tour to perfection. Regardless of where he finishes relative to Pogačar this week, Thomas will expect to be ready for the corsa rosa.

It will be fascinating too, of course, to gauge the progress of Ineos teammate Egan Bernal, who has been following a heavy race programme since the season began. The Colombian has just put together his most consistent body of work since his life-threatening training crash in January 2022. After placing 5th at the Tour Colombia, third at O Gran Camiño and 7th at Paris-Nice, Bernal will set out with ambition here.

Nairo Quintana re-enters the fray in Europe

Nairo Quintana’s return to Movistar didn’t start on an especially upbeat note at the Tour Colombia, the rapturous homecoming for Boyacá’s most popular cyclist notwithstanding. After a year on the sidelines in the wake of his positive tests for Tramadol on the 2022 Tour de France, it remains unclear what impact Quintana can make in his second coming at Movistar, and the evidence from Colombia was inconclusive.

Quintana was unceremoniously dropped from the leading group on the summit finish on the Alto del Vino, losing more than seven minutes, but mitigation arrived a few days later when it emerged that the 34-year-old had tested positive for COVID-19. That diagnosis ruled Quintana out of his planned European debut at O Gran Camiño, and so the Volta a Catalunya takes on even greater significance as he builds towards the Giro d’Italia.

A decade on from his overall victory at the corsa rosa, it seems fanciful to imagine that Quintana can challenge for the podium this time around, but Movistar have designated him as their leader in May all the same. The Volta a Catalunya offers Quintana a chance to test those nebulous ambitions against the hard reality of Pogačar, Vlasov, Uijtdebroeks et al.

The race is also a test for Quintana’s stablemate Enric Mas, who made a rather unsteady start to his campaign at Tirreno-Adriatico. The Mallorcan was a distant 12th, almost five minutes down on Vingegaard and barely in the same postcode when the Dane attacked on successive mountain stages. Movistar will expect altogether more in his first race on Spanish roads this year.

What will Lenny Martinez do next?

It would be remiss to label Lenny Martinez as the breakout rider of 2024 given that he already triumphed atop Mont Ventoux last season, but the 20-year-old has arguably been the most impressive rider thus far from beyond the established marquee names of the peloton.

The second-year pro made an immediate impact with his late surge to snatch the Classic Var atop Mont Faron, a climb where his father Miguel and grandfather Mariano had themselves shone in generations past. Martinez proceeded to deliver an uninhibited display at O Gran Camiño, where he was the best of the rest behind the unassailable Vingegaard.

He followed that up with a pair of assured showings in Italy. After soloing to victory at the Trofeo Laigueglia, Martinez placed eighth at Strade Bianche. He will hope to get a little closer to Pogačar on the climbs in Catalonia.

Martinez’s emergence makes him the obvious man to fill the void at Groupama-FDJ left by Thibaut Pinot’s retirement, but the Frenchman has yet to decide on whether he will remain with Marc Madiot’s squad in 2025. Martinez wants sporting assurances from Groupama-FDJ before committing his future to the team, with Bahrain Victorious reportedly a very persistent suitor. A strong showing at WorldTour level this week will strengthen Martinez’s hand still further.