As usual, the closing stage of the Volta a Catalunya took place this Sunday in Barcelona and on the Montjuic hill. The favorites left no room to anyone because of a close battle for the general classification, which crowned Primoz Roglic. After showing strong resilience during the various laps, Rudy Molard (9th), Clément Braz Afonso (12th), and Brieuc Rolland (15th) finished within a small chasing peloton. A great way to conclude the Catalan stay.
The day after an express stage, an equally dynamic day was on the horizon this Sunday on the Volta a Catalunya. Barely 88 kilometers featured on the day’s itinerary to Barcelona and its traditional Montjuic circuit, to be completed six times. The day also proved to be a fast one, as the peloton prevented any breakaways from establishing in order to contest the bonus sprints located after eleven and forty-one kilometers. The pack therefore came all together on the Montjuic circuit shortly before the halfway point. “The race was completely blocked,” commented Stéphane. “There wasn’t much to do or hope for given the gap between the top two riders overall, but that’s what high level cycling is. We knew that Roglic wasn’t going to settle for second place. As for us, we kept going with the same momentum. We wanted to be there after the bonus sprints in case a breakaway managed to form. That’s what we did first with Rémy and then with Tom.”
“It was important to finish the week that way,” Stéphane Goubert
While the peloton was still in control during the first few laps, Tom Donnenwirth launched a nice attack after the third time on Montjuic. The French rider found himself alone with three laps to go, with the peloton just a few seconds behind. “It was important for Tom to be active in the race,” added Stéphane. “We had spotted a point where the guys could anticipate, and that’s what he did. He was at the front of this Volta a Catalunya. We wanted to be on the move, not just suffer.” The Frenchman kept the front position for a few kilometers, but on the fourth ascent of Montjuic, the proper battle between the leaders began, and Primoz Roglic went alone at the front. From then on, a race of attrition began for the other riders. The Slovenian managed to finish it off, while the pack thinned out as the laps went by. After the final passage over Montjuic Hill, around thirty riders were still in the chase, including Rudy Molard, Clément Braz Afonso, and Brieuc Rolland.A few kilometers later, the three men were then able to contest a sprint for the top places. “The goal was for everyone to do his own sprint so that we could get at least one rider into the top 10. The goal wasn’t to lead someone out because it’s very difficult on this type of finish,” said Stéphane. “Rudy snatched the top 10, and it was important to finish the week that way.” The experienced French rider took ninth place, just ahead of his teammates Clément Braz Afonso (12th) and Brieuc Rolland (15th) to complete this week in Catalonia. “It’s difficult to have a focus in the WorldTour when you don’t have a leader for the overall or a sprinter,” concluded Stéphane. “Yet, the boys have always been active, the mindset has always been the right one, and the youngsters also had the opportunity to understand what they still need to achieve to play a big role in the WorldTour. I saw some promising things, and we know what we still have to do”.
