Volta a Catalunya is once again shaping up to become an attraction for the big stars of stage racing. With only one day in the high mountains but numerous GC contenders, stage 4 to La Molina should see sparks fly. Tinkoff-Saxo sends a team of climbers spearheaded by team captain Alberto Contador, who continues his preparation ahead of the Giro.
 
Off the back from a week of racing at Tirreno-Adriatico, Alberto Contador hopes to have a successful race backed by a strong team.
 
“I’m coming to Volta a Catalunya after a few days of rest following Tirreno. I’ve caught a little cold from the two wet stages in Italy with snow and rain, but I hope that I will able to start the race fully recovered. My ambition is to secure a good result, while continuing to build my form ahead of my first main objective, which is of course the Giro”, comments Alberto Contador, who recognizes the fact that the difficulty of the race route is not overwhelming.
 
“First off, I’m very happy with the team we have for Catalunya. But we will have to wait and see how hard and decisive the mountain stage to La Molina will be. In any case, I think that the bonus seconds will play a key role. There’s strong competition but the whole team is here to fight”.

Alberto Contador will be joined by Ivan Basso, Michael Rogers, Rafal Majka, Robert Kiserlovski, Jesús Hernandez, Michael Valgren and Sergio Paulinho.
 
According to Tinkoff-Saxo sports director Steven de Jongh, the team is fielding a strong squad with the ambition of fighting for the GC. However, with only one real mountain stage, it might prove difficult.
 
“On paper we have a very strong team, but several of our riders are not in top shape yet. Rafal Majka and Robert Kiserlovski weren’t at their best in Paris-Nice but we expect them to continue building their shape at Catalunya. Sergio Paulinho has shown good form and Alberto will of course fight for the win, but he was not super at Tirreno – however it’s not the intention that he peaks yet”, says Steven de Jongh.
 
“Alberto had time to recover but it will be hard to win overall in Catalunya due to the parcours with only one mountain finish. It could become difficult to make the decisive split but we will of course seek to create opportunities. We’ll also welcome Michael Rogers back in action, which I look forward to. He has been training well and he’s definitely heading in the right direction. However, it’s his first race since Tour Down Under, so it will be a matter of finding the race rhythm”, adds Steven de Jongh.

Monday will see the start of the 95th running of Volta a Catalunya, the second biggest stage race in Spain. With 7 days in versatile terrain there’ll be a bit for everybody except the time trial specialists. After several days in rolling terrain, an array of top contenders will fight for overall triumph on the queen stage to La Molina. Conversely, Steven de Jongh notes that Tinkoff-Saxo will not necessarily take to the front of the field like in Tirreno-Adriatico.
 
“There are other teams with higher expectations than us, so we don’t see ourselves as the team that will take control from day one. We’ll see what happens on La Molina and then evaluate the situation. But of course we look forward to getting started”, finishes Steven de Jongh.