Evenepoel, Thomas and Roglic practice Giro d'Italia lines at Volta a Catalunya

Riders pass through a typical Volta a Catalunya town
Riders pass through a typical Volta a Catalunya town (Image credit: Gonzalo Arroyo MorenoGetty Images)

This week’s Volta a Catalunya marks the start of the definitive countdown to the Giro d’Italia as Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) begin their final build-up for the first Grand Tour of the 2023 season.

Evenepoel and Roglic are the two stand-out favourites for May, and as the Volta a Catalunya will be their only opportunity for a direct face-off before heading to Italy, the week-long race will be taken as the key reference point to their bigger duel in a little over five weeks.

Alasdair Fotheringham

Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The IndependentThe GuardianProCycling, The Express and Reuters.

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