Riley Pickrell had to call it a day earlier than he thought at the Volta a Catalunya, but he should be back in action soon. The Victoria rider was struggling in the first few stages due to illness. He’s been having a great start to the season on his new team, Modern Adventure Cycling.
“It’s disappointing to leave the race early, of course. Catalunya is a pretty big race and also a home race for me, living in Girona and moving to Andorra a couple of years ago. I felt rough yesterday, then felt alright to start today, but it wasn’t to be,” he said. “Illness is illness—when you get sick, you get sick, and there’s not too much you can do about it. But the boys are looking good and I’ll be cheering on from home the rest of the week.”
Stage 2 of Volta a Catalunya
Tuesday’s second stage of the Volta a Catalunya played out much like the opener, ending in a reduced sprint after a lumpy 167 km run to Banyoles. An early break featuring Baptiste Veistroffer animated the day, with the Frenchman adding to his KOM tally over Alt del Purgatori. The gap held late, but the peloton reeled in the final survivor inside the closing kilometres. In the sprint, Magnus Cort surged past Ivo Oliveira to take the win, while Noa Isidore followed. Dorian Godon, fourth, retained the overall lead, with Derek Gee-West, Michael Leonard and Pier André Côté finishing further back.
Pickrell left the team formerly known as Israel Premier Tech to move to a brand-new ProTeam run by former Tour de France stage winner George Hincapie, with another former Tour star, Bobby Julich, serving as performance director. “It feels like a team run by former riders, and they understand what it’s like to be a pro,” Pickrell said. “The management understands we’re not just names on a spreadsheet. Our requests are heard, and even when the answer is no, they’re understood. That’s more than you get on a lot of teams.”
Good start to 2026 for Pickrell
He’s had a few solid results so far too. The sprinter was in the mix three times at the UAE Tour, finishing top-10 in the bunch sprints. He also snagged a 9th at the AlUla Tour, his first outing with the squad. He said the lads on his team are working on the leadout train, and with each race it’s coming along. “I’m extremely happy with how the team’s operating so far, and the trajectory we are on,” he said.
Stage 3 of the Volta a Catalunya is from Mont-roig del Camp to Vila-seca for a total of 159.4 km. It’s…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…