The Volta a Catalunya organisers have cooked up a brutal course for 2026, with three mountain top finishes to rest top climbers like Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, João Almeida and Enric Mas with over 20,000 metres of climbing during the week-long race.
The course follows some familiar roads, starting with circuits around Sant Feliu de Guíxols for the sixth year in a row, and concluding with Barcelona circuits and its repeated ascents of the Alt de Montjuïc that has been a fixture of the race for more than a decade.
|
Start |
Sant Feliu de Guíxols |
March 23, 2026 |
|
Finish |
Barcelona |
March 29, 2026 |
|
Distance |
1,081.1km |
Row 2 – Cell 2 |
Stage 1: Sant Feliu de Guíxols-Sant Feliu de Guíxols, 172.7 km
On Monday, March 23, the Volta a Catalunya starts at the Guíxols Arena with 172.7-kilometres before the finish Sant Feliu de Guíxols.
The stage includes the category 3 Alt de Romanyà just after the start and first category Alt de Sant Hilari mid-race for a total of 2,129 metres of climbing, but with a mostly flat final half of the stage, it will be a day for the sprinters.
- Alt de Romanyà (cat. 3) km. 8
- Intermediate sprint, Salt, km. 36
- Alt de Sant Hilari (cat. 1), km. 74.9
- Intermediate sprint, Arbucies, km. 86.3
- Intermediate sprint, Hostalric, km. 102.7
Stage 2: Figueres-Banyoles, 167.4 km
Stage 2 takes the peloton 167.4 kilometres from Figueres to Banyoles, the reverse of last year’s stage. The only climb of the day, the category 3 Alt del Purgatori comes 18 kilometres into the stage. Despite there being over 2,000 metres of climbing, it’s considered a flat stage with a sprint finish in store on the Passeig de Mossèn Constans in Banyoles.
- Alt del Purgatori, km. 18.3
- Intermediate sprint, Perelada, km. 60.9
- Intermediate sprint, Besalú, km. 110.5
- Intermediate sprint, Olot, km. 133.9
Stage 3: Costa Daurada (Mont-roig del Camp) – Costa Daurada (Vila-seca), 159.4km
The Costa Daurada returns to the Volta for the first time since 2022 when Richard Carapaz escaped to win the stage ahead of eventual overall winner Sergio Higuita.
Starting from the Josep Florencio Municipal Velodrome in Mont-roig del Camp, the stage runs for 159.5 kilometres to Vila-seca with 2,252 metres of climbing.
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