BARCELONA, 6 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya will once again have a stage finish in the 102nd edition in Sabadell next March 2023, a fact that has not happened since 2001, the organizers reported this Thursday in a statement.
The last time that the Volta had a presence in Sabadell was in 2001 when the Vallesan population became the start of the 81st edition, with a team time trial in which the Spanish ONCE prevailed.
The common history between Sabadell and la Volta began in 1946, with a stage where Miquel Gual prevailed in the town. Since then, the city has been the start or finish of the stage on 10 occasions, with outstanding performances, among others, such as the triumph of Luis Ocaña in an individual time trial in 1971, when the winner of the Tour added the Volta to his record.
The Councilor for Sports of the Sabadell City Council, Laura Reyes, has pointed out that the arrival of a stage of one of the great events of the international calendar such as the Volta is received “with pride and with the desire to continue with this link in the future” .
“In fact, Sabadell’s relationship with cycling is deeply rooted, both because of the fans that it breathes and because of the entities that are dedicated to it, as well as because of the illustrious names that have made up the professional squad of this sport,” added Reyes.
The president of the Cycling Volta a Catalunya, Rubén Peris, acknowledged that it was an “anomaly” that the Volta had not had a presence in Sabadell for more than 20 years. “Coming back is a great way to bring the show to the people of Sabadell and to celebrate an event as important as the centenary of the Unió Ciclista Sabadell. I want to thank the City Council for making an arrival that will surely be spectacular and massive public,” he said.
The 102nd edition of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya will be held from March 20 to 26, 2023, and the 18 best teams in the world, UCI WorldTeams, and 7 invited teams from the UCI ProTeams category will participate. The last winner of the race was the Colombian Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe), accompanied on the podium by the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz (INEOS) and the Portuguese Joao Almeida (UAE Team).