Volta a Catalunya 2025: The Route

The Volta a Catalunya featured several hilly stages, two opportunities for sprinters, and three mountain-top finishes, two of which came after demanding mountainous routes. The race started on Monday, 24 March, and concluded on Sunday the 30th.

For the fourth consecutive year, La Volta opens with a race from and to Sant Feliu de Guíxols. The route is not a copy of last year’s, but the finale is. The home straight on the Carretera de Girona runs uphill at around 5% for the last 500 metres, so powerful sprinters are expected to shine.

The 2nd stage, starting from Banyoles, brings the Catalonian race back to Figueres, which has not been included for 56 years. There are certainly some obstacles to be dealt with, including the Coll del Puig de Pení (4.8 kilometres at 5%) and Coll de Sant Pere de Rodes (7.7 kilometres at 6.4%), but still, the sprinters are expected to shine, as the climbs come relatively early.

Stage 3 is a different story entirely. The 218.6-kilometre route packs in over 5,000 metres of elevation gain before culminating in the first of three summit finishes in this edition. Following intermediate climbs on Coll de Estenalles (13.3 kilometres at 3.9%), Coll de la Batallola (7 kilometres at 3.4%), and Coll de la Creueta (20.3 kilometres at 5.1%), the finish comes at the La Molina ski station (12.1 kilometres at 4.3%).

Back in 1995, Laurent Jalabert was the last winner on the iconic Montserrat, and now he gets a successor to mark the mountain monastery’s thousand-year anniversary. The lumpy route of stage 4 finishes on an 8.8-kilometre climb with an average gradient of 6.6%.

The 5th stage traverses Terres de l’Ebre, a diverse region in the south of Catalonia. Two years ago, La Volta finished uphill in the demanding Lo Port mountain range, but this time the route stays in the lower parts. In fact, there is only one climb, the Coll de la Font (7.3 kilometres at 3.4%), early in the stage, so the fast men should be in for a treat. On the other hand, the final section skirts the Ebro Delta, bringing the looming threat of echelons.

Climbers and GC contenders should be wide awake for the 6th stage. As last year, Berga hosts the start of a demanding stage with over 4,000 metres of climbing in a relatively short route (159 kilometres). The riders tackle the Coll de la Batallola (11.6 kilometres at 3.2%), Coll de Pradell (15.1 kilometres at 6.7%), Collada de Sant Isidre (5 kilometres at 8.8%), before arriving back in starting venue Berga. That’s when they face the final haul up to the Queralt Monastery, which is a 5.9 kilometres test with an average gradient of 7.5%.

Setting off from Plaça Espanya in Barcelona, the final stage includes a short southerly lap in the run-up to six runs on Barcelona’s hilly Montjuïc circuit. This classic setting usually makes for a climactic conclusion that’s not to be missed.