La Molina, third high altitude finish of the Volta 2025
November 11 th 2024 - 11:00 [GMT + 1]
The Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat station joins the already unveiled high altitude finishes of Queralt and Montserrat.
The 104th Volta a Catalunya is preparing for a high-altitude edition in 2025 where the mountains will have a very prominent presence. The resort of La Molina, present in the Volta since 2014, will host a stage finish of the Catalan WorldTour race, which will take place between 24 and 30 March 2025. The stage is supported by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya.
The resort of La Molina, located in the municipality of Alp, in the Cerdanya region, has been part of the Volta route since 2014, when for the first time it hosted a stage finish that was won by the Catalan Joaquim Rodríguez. Since then, there have been a total of 8 finishes of the Volta, the last of them in 2023 with the victory of the double Olympic medalist and world champion, Remco Evenepoel.
A Volta 2023 that will be remembered for the duel between the Belgian cyclist and the Slovenian Primoz Roglic, who ended up taking the victory of the 102nd edition of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, but could not win the stage of La Molina, as it remained in the hands of Evenepoel after a majestic sprint against his rival. Previously, La Molina had hosted 7 stages finishing up to that point.
To the already mentioned 2014 with the victory of the Catalan Joaquim Rodríguez, we can add those of the Australian Ben O'Connor (2022), the Colombian Miguel Ángel López (2019), the Murcian Alejandro Valverde (2018 and 2017), the Irishman Dan Martin (2016), and the American Tejay Van Garderen (2015).
With a distance of 12.1km, an average gradient of 4.4% and maximum gradients of 15%, we are talking about a fast pass with the most difficult part at the beginning and where the show is guaranteed. A tough pass starting from the town of Alp, where the cyclists will have to face the first complicated ramps in this initial part. The list of former winners shows that this could be a very decisive stage for the final general classification.
The president of FGC, Carles Ruiz Novella, explains that for Ferrocarrils “it is an honor to host one of the most decisive races of the Volta in La Molina for yet another year. La Molina is a reference cycling destination, both in summer and winter, and this stage will culminate in our mountain resort in a stunning natural setting.” He also states: “This stage is not only a sporting challenge, but a tribute to the beauty and demand of high mountain cycling. We are confident that all lovers of this sport will enjoy a unique and memorable experience and that the arrival at La Molina will once again become a spectacle of sport and nature that will leave a mark in the history of the Volta Catalunya”.
For his part, Rubén Peris, general director of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya celebrated the return of La Molina after a year's absence; ‘We are very happy that La Molina will host a stage finish next March. It is a mountain pass that we particularly like because it has always offered us a great spectacle, with world-renowned winners. We still remember Remco Evenepoel's sprint in 2023 against Roglic, which thrilled us and kept the leadership of the Volta exciting until the last stage. We would also like to express our satisfaction at continuing to count on the support of the FGC mountain resorts’.
The route for the next edition of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya is being finalized with just over four months to go. Four months that will serve to confirm the sections that will link the different start and finish venues, and for the UCI World Tour teams to decide which riders will represent their teams in the 104th edition of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. In recent years, the best riders in the world, such as Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic and Egan Bernal, have chosen the Catalan race as part of their calendar.
