Joaquim Rodriguez has had an unusual early-season schedule as he skipped both Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico in favour of a training camp on Mount Teide. On Monday, the Spaniard will be back in action when he leads a formidable Katusha team in the Volta a Catalunya.

With his first targets being both the Ardennes classics and the Giro d'Italia, Joaquim Rodriguez has chosen to cut back on his racing in the early season and for the first time in years, he chose to skip both Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico. After having done the Tour de San Luis, Dubai Tour, and Tour of Oman, he travelled to Tenerife for a training camp on Mount Teide but now he is ready to return to competition.

On Monday, Rodriguez will pin on a number for the first time in more than a month when he lines up as the leader of a very strong Katusha team in the Volta Catalunya. With no time trial and two mountaintop finishes, the course suits the Spaniard down to the ground and he will be eager to try to repeat his 2010 win in the event. One year ago he finished 2nd behind Daniel Martin.

Rodriguez leads a team that seems to be one of the strongest in the event. Daniel Moreno and Giampaolo Caruso both showed great condition in the Tirreno-Adriatico and he will have further support from his two loyal Spanish domestiques Angel Vicioso and Alberto Losada. The team will be completed by another strong climber, Eduard Vorganov, and Russian strongmen Maxim Belkov and Pavel Brutt.

In the Spanish race, Rodriguez faces tough competition from Chris Froome, Alberto Contador, and Nairo Quintana. The race runs until next Sunday and we will have daily live coverage of the race on CyclingQuotes.com/live