BARCELONA, 30 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya has confirmed this Thursday that the mountain stations of La Molina and Vallter will be two summit finishes of the 102nd edition of the round, which will take place from March 20 to 26, 2023.
“This 2023, the Volta will have stage finishes in La Molina and Vallter, two mountain passes in which we feel very comfortable, since they have always offered a great show with magnificent winners,” explained the president of the Volta, Rubén Peris, in a statement.
La Molina station, located in the municipality of Alp in the Cerdanya region, has been a regular on the Volta since it was first arrived in 2014. With a distance of 12.1 kilometres, an average difference in altitude of 4.4 percent and maximum ramps of 15 percent, the mountain pass has been the scene of up to seven arrivals of the Volta, all in the last decade.
The Australian Ben O’Connor (2022), the Colombian Miguel Ángel López (2019), the Murcian Alejandro Valverde (2018 and 2017), the Irishman Dan Martin (2016), the American Tejay Van Garderen (2015) and the Catalan Joaquim Rodríguez (2014) are the cyclists who have raised their arms at the Cerdanya Pyrenean resort.
Vallter will be the other Pyrenean arrival of the Volta 2023. A special category port, which becomes the cycling ceiling of Catalonia with an arrival at 2,150 meters and 11.2 kilometers in length with an average gradient of 7.6 percent, and maximum ramps of 18 percent.
The station, which is part of the municipality of Setcases, has become a port where cyclists have cemented their victory in the general classification in recent years. The British Adam Yates was the winner on the last two occasions in which he has been promoted to Vallter (2021 and 2019).
Other successful cyclists in this renowned port were Tejay Van Garderen in 2014, the only one who has done it in both seasons; the Colombian Nairo Quintana (2013), and decades before the Swiss Tony Rominger (1992) and the Spanish Juan Fernández at the premiere of the station in the Volta in 1986.
“The Volta is an institution in itself and it is a great opportunity to place Catalonia on the international sports map. The practice of cycling in the Pyrenees contributes to seasonally adjusting the activities of the Ferrocarrils mountain stations beyond the snow season and helps to diversify the offer and the uses of our equipment”, affirmed the president of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat, Marta Subirà.
The stage start of the two Pyrenean stages, as well as the exact day of their dispute, will be determined once the 102nd edition of the Volta is defined.