The Guide RACE CALENDAR / APRIL 2020
ALASDAIR FOTHERINGHAM
CYCLING WRITER
WHY I LOVE…
VOLTA A CATALUNYA
23-29 March | Spain | 2.UWT
The Volta a Catalunya is cycling’s wacky grandma - cutting a venerable figure as it celebrates its 100th edition this year, but with an off-the-wall personality and zero respect for modern-day fads. A stupidly steep uphill finish, ma-am? None of those, thank you. A trendy ‘nailbiting finale’? Not when the race leaves the Pyrenees on stage 4, meaning the GC is decided halfway through. Changes are permitted (shock), but usually slowly, like this year’s time trial - back for the first time since 1996. Plus, the occasional Pyrenean blizzard adds that unpredictable cussedness senior citizens sometimes have. For all her quirkiness, Catalunya is well-loved and adventurous - it’s the one race where the Giro and Tour contenders cross paths. The atmosphere, sidling
