The Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat ski and mountain resorts join the already unveiled finals in Queralt and Montserrat.
The 104th Volta a Catalunya is preparing to live in 2025 a high-altitude edition where the mountain will have a very prominent presence. The ski and mountain resort of La Molina, present at the Volta since 2014, will host a final stage of the Catalan WorldTour test, which will take place between March 24 and 30, 2025. The stage has the support of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC).
The resort of La Molina located in the municipality of Alp, in the region of Cerdanya has been part of the Volta route since 2014, when for the first time it hosted a final stage that was won by the Catalan Joaquim Rodríguez .Since then there have been a total of eight Tour arrivals, the last of them in 2023 with the victory of double Olympic medalist and world champion, Remco Evenepoel.
A 2023 Tour that will be remembered for the duel between the Belgian cyclist and the Slovenian Primoz Roglic, who ended up winning the 102nd edition of the Volta Ciclista Catalunya, but was unable to score the La Molina stage , as it was in the hands of Evenepoel after making a majestic sprint in front of his rival.
Before that, however, La Molina had hosted 7 stage finals up to that point. To the already mentioned 2014 with the victory of the Catalan Joaquim Rodríguez, there are added 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 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 port with the most difficult part at the beginning and where the show is guaranteed. A tough port starting from the municipality of Alp, where cyclists will have to face the first complicated ramps in this initial part. The list of former winners shows that it can be a very decisive stage in terms of the final general classification.
The president of FGC, Carles Ruiz Novella, explains that for Ferrocarrils "it is an honor to host La Molina, one more year, one of the most decisive tests of the Tour. La Molina is a reference cycling destination, both in summer and winter and this stage will culminate in our mountain resort in an impressive natural setting”. He also affirms: "This stage is not only a sporting challenge, but a tribute to the beauty and the demands of high mountain cycling. We trust that all lovers of this sport will enjoy a unique and memorable experience and that the arrival at La Molina will become, once again, a spectacle of sport and nature that will leave a mark in the history of the Volta Catalunya" .
For his part, the General Director of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Rubèn Peris, celebrates the return of La Molina after a year of absence; "We are very happy that La Molina will host a final stage next March. It is a port that we particularly like as it has always offered us a great show, with world-renowned winners. We still remember the sprint of Remco Evenepoel in 2023 in front of Roglic, which made us vibrate and kept the leadership of the exciting Tour until the last stage. Also, we want to show our satisfaction for continuing to count on the support of the FGC mountain resorts".
The next edition of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya is taking shape with just over four months to go before its celebration. Four months that will serve to confirm the sections that will join the different departure and arrival locations, and for the UCI World Tour teams to decide which riders will represent their teams in the 104th edition of the Tour de Catalunya. A test that has seen in recent years the best cyclists in the world such as Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic or Egan Bernal have chosen the Catalan test in their calendar.