La Seu d’Urgell hosted the Volta a Catalunya twelve times between 1930 and 2011. The first victor in the Pyrenean town was Mariano Cañardo, who still holds the record with the most GC wins, namely seven.
The riders set off from La Seu d’Urgell to traverse flat terrain for the first 30 kilometres. Then they tackle the Coll de Boixols, a climb of 18.4 kilometres with an average gradient of 4.3%.
Another flat section of some 30 kilometres appears in the valley. The route returns to climbing at very shallow gradients after La Pobla de Segur. It gets steeper along the way and then the riders enter the Port de la Creu de Perves. This is a 13.5 kilometres climb at 4.5%, that peaks out at 1,310 metres above sea level.
The downhill features a few false flat kilometres and back in the valley the riders enter yet another false flat. This one leads in roughly 20 kilometres to the base of the finish climb.
Boí Taüll did not feature on the Volta a Catalunya in twenty years. The ski resort lies at the end of a 14.2 kilometres climb with an average gradient of 5.5%. It’s a steady ascent with a false flat kilometre halfway.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while intermediate sprints come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 4 Volta 2022.
Another interesting read: results 4th stage 2022 Volta a Catalunya.
Volta a Catalunya 2022 stage 4: route, profile, more
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