News

The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, which will be held between 23 and 29 March 2026, unveils the high-altitude finals, the house brand, of the next edition of the race. Vallter and La Molina/Coll de Pal will be two of the stage finals that, together with the already announced Queralt, maintain the UCI World Tour race as one of the most prestigious on the international calendar, due to the hardness of the high mountains and the high-altitude finishes.

The Volta a Catalunya 2026 is shedding light on some details of what the next edition of the Catalan race will be. A 105th edition that is expected to be one of the toughest in its history with three high-altitude finals, a hallmark of the Catalan tour in recent years. The two finals in mountain stations of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) ensure that the Volta, in addition to a very attractive setting, is a great spectacle where the best climbers in the world will have to measure their strength.

Vallter has already seen Volta finishes in recent years since it was first held in 1986. A debut that was won by cyclist Juan Fernández and that has subsequently seen up to 7 more winners, some as relevant as Nairo Quintana (2013), Tejay Van Garderen (2014), Adam Yates (2019 and 2021), Giulio Ciccone (2023) or the world champion, Tadej Pogacar (in his last visit in 2024).

Next March Vallter will host a stage finish for the ninth time. The special category pass that reaches 2,135 meters, and its more than 11 kilometers of ascent from Setcases, with an average gradient of 7.6%, have vertical signage throughout the entire climb, guaranteeing excitement and spectacle for the stage with a high finish.

As for Coll de Pal, one of the most demanding passes in Catalan geography, it is included in the Catalan World Tour route for the third time in its history. The Berguedà pass will be one of the great novelties of the next edition, since the men's Volta race has not visited it for more than 45 years. It was in two consecutive years, in 1978 and 1979, that the race was part of the route, with victory by the Basque runner Francisco Galdós, one of the great runners of the seventies with two podiums in the Giro d'Italia and one in the Vuelta España, who took the stage of the Volta between Ribes de Freser and Coll de Pal, in 1978. A year later, the victory would go to the runner from Sabadell, Ricardo Zuñiga, who scored the stage starting from La Pobla de Segur.

Just a few months ago, Coll de Pal was the protagonist of the women's race of the Volta, in a stage starting from Bagà and finishing in La Molina/Coll de Pal that was scored by the European champion Demi Vollering, in a tough climb that gave us a great show.

Belonging to the municipality of Bagà, the Berguedà pass is located on the border between the Berguedà and Cerdanya regions. We are talking about a special category (HC) mountain pass that has a distance of 20 kilometers, 1284 meters of positive elevation gain and an average slope of 6.6%. In addition, it is located at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters and slopes of up to 12% - 13%. Characteristics that will test the best cyclists in the world and where perseverance will be decisive in shaping the final outcome of the stage, since from kilometer 3 there will be no kilometer with slopes lower than 5%.

Thanks to its location, which offers us several different parts, from an opaque and wooded slope to open parts exposed to the air that will leave us splendid prints of the area, a unique stage is planned. The hardness of the port will certainly be a key element for the cyclists facing the general classification of the race.

La Molina, high finish of the women's race

If the 2nd edition of the women's race of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya took us to the Coll de Pal in the mountain stage, next June the La Molina ski resort will be the main protagonist. Between June 19 and 21, the best cyclists in the world will meet in our territory to face 3 stages, one of them with a high finish, which today was confirmed to be in La Molina.

A finish that is already known for the women's Volta, since it was in the 1st edition of the race that the cyclists faced a second stage with a departure from La Seu d'Urgell and arrival at the FGC ski resort. An unforgettable stage that made the difference in the general classification and that the Dutch rider Marianne Vos scored, in a tough climb that was decisive to crown herself as the first winner of the Volta stage race.

On this occasion, we already know what the final high will be next June in the 3rd edition of the race, which must confirm which will be the starting points of the 3 stages of the race.

Carles Ruiz, president of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, has expressed "the commitment that FGC makes every year with the Volta, offering mountain resorts, with privileged landscapes and environments, for the finals of the most exciting covers”. “From Ferrocarrils we support competitive sports, both in summer and winter, with the aim of deseasonalizing activities in mountain resorts, highlighting our ability to organize major sporting events and the capacity of the territory to host them”.

Rubèn Peris, president of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, expressed his satisfaction with the trust placed in the centenary race by FGC; “The collaboration with FGC represents a commitment that guarantees spectators great cycling days. The confirmation of two stages finished at altitude in the entity’s ports such as Vallter and La Molina/Coll de Pal are a guarantee of a spectacle for the Volta a Catalunya 2026. Without a doubt, these high-altitude finishes make a difference and consolidate the race as a benchmark race in international cycling, in addition to offering us exceptional views of the territory. We also appreciate FGC's commitment to the women's Volta race, which will be held for the third consecutive year, with a mountain finish at an FGC ski resort, in this case La Molina".

The 105th edition of the Volta will once again be one of the great mountain challenges on the 2026 UCI World Tour calendar. With the confirmation of the presence of the two Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya mountain resorts on the route, the riders will have to overcome up to three mountain finishes, in a 7-stage race that has earned international prestige on its own merits.