Volta a Catalunya 2014 guide

The Volta a Catalunya has attracted a high-pedigree field for this year's race

The Team Sky rider was forced to miss Tirreno-Adriatico last week due to a back problem but is now set to do battle with some of the best climbers in cycling over seven days of what promises to be exciting action.

Alberto Contador, Joaquim Rodriguez and Colombian duo Nairo Quintana and Rigoberto Uran will all be on the start line, while Dan Martin is back as the defending champion.

The race includes two summit finishes and a selection of other stages peppered with climbs, but no time trials.

Here is how the stages will pan out...

Stages

Stage 1: Monday, March 24 - Calella to Calella - 165.7km | Report | Gallery

Result

1 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Giant-Shimano, 4:09:13
2 Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge, same time
3 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, st
4 Paul Martens (Ger) Belkin, st
5 Tosh van der Sande (Bel) Lotto Belisol, st
6 Daniele Ratto (Ita) Cannondale, st
7 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC, st
8 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida, st
9 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, st
10 Kevin Reza (Fra) Europcar, st

General classification

1 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Giant-Shimano, 4:09:33
2 Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge, +4secs
3 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, +6
4 Boris Valle (Bel) Lotto Belisol, +8
5 Cedric Pineau (Fra) FDJ, +9
6 Paul Martens (Ger) Belkin, +10
7 Tosh van der Sande (Bel) Lotto Belisol, same time
8 Daniele Ratto (Ita) Cannondale, st
9 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC, st
10 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida, st

Stage 2: Tuesday, March 25 - Mataro to Girona - 171.2km | Report | Gallery

Result

1 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Giant-Shimano, 3:57:49
2 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida, same time
3 Daniele Ratto (Ita) Cannondale, st
4 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, st
5 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC, st
6 Davide Vigano (Ita) Caja Rural - Seguros RGA, st
7 Boris Vallee (Bel) Lotto Belisol, st
8 Tosh van der Sande (Bel) Lotto Belisol, st
9 Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge, st
10 Maciej Paterski (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice, st
Selected other
35 Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky, st

General classification

1 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Giant-Shimano, 8:06:42
2 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida, +14secs
3 Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge, same time
4 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, +16
5 Daniele Ratto (Ita) Cannondale, st
6 Boris Valle (Bel) Lotto Belisol, +18
7 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC, +20
8 Tosh van der Sande (Bel) Lotto Belisol, st
9 Davide Vigano (Ita) Caja Rural - Seguros RGA, st
10 Michel Koch (Ger) Cannondale, st
Selected other
34 Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky, +23

Stage 3: Wednesday, March 26 - Banyoles to La Molina - 162.9km | Report | Gallery

Result

1 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha, 4:50:55
2 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo, +5sec
3 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, +9
4 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC, +11
5 Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky, +13
6 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +14
7 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Belkin, st
8 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp, st
9 Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, st
10 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida, +20

General classification

1 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha, 12:58:00
2 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo, +5sec
3 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, +9
4 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC, +11
5 Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky, +13
6 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +14
7 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Belkin, st
8 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp, st
9 Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, st
10 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida, +20

Stage 4: Thursday, March 27 - Alp to Vallter 2000 - 166.4km | Report | Gallery

Result

1 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC, 4:49:30
2 Romain Bardet (Fra_ Ag2r-La Mondiale, same time
3 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo, +3secs
4 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha, +4
5 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, +5
6 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp, +8
7 Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky, st
8 Warren Barguil (Fra) Giant-Shimano, +15
9 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +16
10 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Trek Factory Racing, +16

General classification

1 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha, 17:47:34
2 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo, +4secs
3 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC, +7
4 Romain Bardet (Fra_ Ag2r-La Mondiale, +10
5 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, same time
6 Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky, +17
7 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp, +18
8 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +26
9 Warren Barguil (Fra) Giant-Shimano, +42
10 David Arroyo (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

Stage 5: Friday, March 28 - Llanars-Vall de Camprodon to Valls - 222.2km | Report | Gallery

Result

1 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Giant-Shimano, 5:16:00
2 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, same time
3 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, st
4 Paul Martens (Ger) Belkin, st
5 Michel Kreder (Ned) Wanty-Groupe Gobert, st
6 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo, st
7 Adam Yates (GB) Orica-GreenEdge, st
8 Kevin Reza (Fra) Europcar, st
9 Tosh van der Sande (Bel) Lotto Belisol, st
10 Davide Vigano (Ita) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, st

General classification

1 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha, 23:03:34
2 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo, +4secs
3 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC, +7
4 Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +10
5 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, same time
6 Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky, +17
7 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp, +18
8 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +26
9 Warren Barguil (Fra) Giant-Shimano, +42
10 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Trek Factory racing, +48

Stage 6: Saturday, March 29 - El Vendrell to Vilanova I la Geltru - 163.9km | Report

Result

1 Stef Clement (Ned) Belkin, 3:58:44
2 Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, +3sec
3 Pieter Serry (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, same time
4 Jens Voigt (Ger) Trek Factory Racing, st
5 Marek Rutkiewicz (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice, st
6 Antonio Piedra (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, st
7 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Europcar, st
8 Damien Howson (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge, st
9 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert, +9
10 Tosh van der Sande (Bel) Lotto Belisol, +55

General classification

1 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha, 27:03:13
2 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo, +4secs
3 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC, +7
4 Romain Bardet (Fra_ Ag2r-La Mondiale, +10
5 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, same time
6 Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky, +17
7 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp, +18
8 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +26
9 Warren Barguil (Fra) Giant-Shimano, +42
10 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Trek Factory racing, +48

Stage 7: Sunday, March 30 - Barcelona to Barcelona - 120.7km | Report

Result

1 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana, 2:36:14
2 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC, +1:22
3 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Europcar, same time
4 Maciej Paterski (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice, +1:26
5 Yoann Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, +1:36
6 Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre-Merida, +2:07
7 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo, st
8 Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, st
9 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ, st
10 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha, st
Selected other
13 Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky, st

General classification

1 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha, 29:41:34
2 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo, +4secs
3 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC, +7
4 Romain Bardet (Fra_ Ag2r-La Mondiale, +10
5 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, same time
6 Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky, +17
7 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp, +18
8 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +26
9 Warren Barguil (Fra) Giant-Shimano, +42
10 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Trek Factory racing, +48

The favourites

Chris Froome (Team Sky) will be the favourite for victory, with Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) all likely to provide stern competition. Last year's winner, Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp), was out of shape at Tirreno-Adriatico last week and consequently could struggle to challenge for a second win in a row, but Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step) and Tejay van Garderen (BMC) could make their presence felt.

Brit watch

Chris Froome (Team Sky)
Adam Yates (Orica-GreenEdge)

Key stage

Stage four. It might not be the longest of the race, and there are three more stages afterwards, but the nature of the climb to the summit finish is likely to create the most significant splits in the general classification.

Past winners

2013: Dan Martin (Ire)
2012: Michael Albasini (Swi)
2011: Michele Scarponi (Ita)
2010: Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa)
2009: Alejandro Valverde (Spa)
2008: Gustavo Veloso (Spa)
2007: Vladimir Karpets (Rus)
2006: David Canada (Spa)
2005: Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr)
2004: Miguel Perdiguero (Spa)

The jerseys

- White and green: General classification.
- White: Points classification
- Red: King of the mountains.

Time bonuses

- 10, 6 and 4 bonus seconds will be awarded to the first three finishers on each stage.
- 3, 2 and 1 second will be awarded to the first three riders over the line at intermediate sprints.

Teams and riders

WorldTour

Ag2r-La Mondiale: Romain Bardet (Fra), Carlos Betancur (Col), Mikael Cherel (Fra), Samuel Dumoulin (Fra), Ben Gastauer (Lux), Julian Kern (Ger), Sebastien Minard (Fra), Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita).

Astana: Fabio Aru (Ita), Alexandr Dyachenko (Kaz), Jakob Fuglsang (Den), Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe), Mikel Landa (Spa), Paolo Tiralongo (Ita), Lieuwe Westra (Ned), Andrey Zeits (Kaz).

Belkin: Jack Bobridge (Aus), Stef Clement (Ned), Martin Keizer (Ned), Wilco Kelderman (Ned), Steven Kruijswijk (Ned), Paul Martens (Ger), David Tanner (Aus), Laurens ten Dam (Ned).

BMC: Darwin Atapuma (Col), Marcus Burghardt (Ger), Yannick Eijssen (Bel), Martin Kohler (Swi), Samuel Sanchez (Spa), Peter Stetina (USA), Tejay van Garderen (USA), Larry Warbasse (USA).

Cannondale: Ivan Basso (Ita), George Bennett (NZ), Michel Koch (Ger), Jean-Marc Marino (Fra), Daniele Ratto (Ita), Cristiano Salerno (Ita), Jose Sarmiento (Col), Cameron Wurf (Aus).

Europcar: Natnael Berhane (Eri), Christophe Kern (Fra), Davide Malacarne (Ita), Maxime Mederel (Fra), Perrig Quemeneur (Fra), Kevin Reza (Fra), Pierre Rolland (Fra), Thomas Voeckler (Fra).

FDJ: Kenny Elissonde (Fra), Alexandre Geniez (Fra), Arnold Jeannesson (Fra), Cedric Pineau (Fra), Thibaut Pinot (Fra), Anthony Roux (Fra), Jeremy Roy (Fra), Jussi Veikkanen (Fin).

Garmin-Sharp: Janier Acevedo (Col), Nathan Brown (USA), Tom Danielson (USA), Koldo Fernandez (Spa), Phillip Gaimon (USA), Ryder Hesjedal (Can), Dan Martin (Ire), Andrew Talansky (USA).

Giant-Shimano: Warren Barguil (Fra), Thomas Damuseau (Fra), Johannes Frohlinger (Ger), Chad Haga (USA), Cheng Ji (Chi), Luka Mezgec (Slo), Tom Peterson (USA), Georg Preidler (Aut).

Katusha: Maxim Belkov (Rus), Pavel brutt (Rus), Giampaolo Caruso (Spa(), Alberto Losada (Spa), Daniel Moreno (Spa), Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa), Angel Vicioso (Spa), Eduard Vorganov (Rus).

Lampre-Merida: Winner Anacona (Col), Mattia Cattaneo (Ita), Kristijan Durasek (Cro), Roberto Ferrari (Ita), Chris Horner (USA), Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol), Jan Polanc (lo), Jose Serpa (Col).

Lotto-Belisol: Sander Armee (Bel), Stig Broeckx (Bel), Bart de Clerq (Bel), Greg Henderson (NZ), Jurgen van den Broeck (Bel), Tosh van der Sande (Bel), Dennis Vanendert (Bel), Boris Vallee (Bel).

Movistar: Igor Anton (Spa), Eros Capecchi (Spa), Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa), Jose Herrada (Spa), Pablo Lastras (Spa), Javier Moreno (Spa), Ruben Plaza (Spa), Nairo Quintana (Col).

Omega Pharma - Quick-Step: Julian Alaphilippe (Fra), Gianluca Brambilla (Ita), Thomas de Gendt (Bel), Serge Pauwels (Bel), Pieter Serry (Bel(, Rigoberto Uran (Col), Petr Vakoc (Cze), Carlos Verona (Spa).

Orica-GreenEdge: Sam Bewley (NZ), Esteban Chaves (Col), Simon Clarke (Aus), Leigh Howard (Aus), Damien Howson (Aus), Brett Lancaster (Aus), Christian Meier (Can), Adam Yates (GB).

Team Sky: Nathan Earle (Aus), Josh Edmondson (GB), Chris Froome (GB), David Lopez (Spa), Mikel Nieve (Spa), Danny Pate (USA), Richie Porte (Aus), Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr).

Tinkoff-Saxo: Alberto Contador (Spa), Jesper Hansen (Den), Jesus Hernandez (Spa), Sergio Paulinho (Por), Bruno Pires (Por), Pawel Poljanski (Pol), Chris Anker Sorensen (Den), Rory Sutherland (Aus).

Trek: Julian Arredondo (Col), Fumiyuki Beppu (Jap), Danilo Hondo (Ger), Robert Kiserlovski (Cro), Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita), Kristof Vandewalle (Bel), Jen Voigt (Ger), Riccardo Zoidl (Aut), Haimar Zubeldia (Spa).

Pro Continental

Caja Rural-Seguros RGA: David Arroyo (Spa), Marcos Garcia (Spa), Angel Madrazo (Spa), Heiner Parra (Col), Antonio Piedra (Spa), Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa), Amets Txurruka (Spa), Davide Vigano (Ita).

CCC Polsat Polkowice: Adrian Honkisz (Pol), Tomasz Marczynski (Pol), Lukasz Owsian (Pol), Maciej Paterski (Pol), Davide Rebellin (Ita), Marek Rutkiewicz (Pol), Branislau Samoilau (Blr), Mateusz Taciak (Pol).

Cofidis: Yoann Bagot (Fra), Romain Hardy (Fra), Romain Lemarchand (Fra), Christophe le Mevel (Fra), Luis Angel Mate (Spa), Mudy Molard (Fra), Daniel Navarro (Spa), Stephane Poulhies (Fra).

Wanty-Groupe Gobert: Jerome Baugnies (Bel), Thomas Degand (Bel), Francis de Greef (Bel), Gregory Habeaux (Bel), Michel Kreder (Ned), Marco Minnard (Ned), Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel), Nico Sijmens (Bel).