The day was decided in a frenetic last lap on the Monjuïc circuit, in which the Slovenian beat the French over the finish line Dorian Gordon and Guillaume Martín.
Alava completed the overall podium Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step), at 3:41, and the Colombian Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), a 5:03. Mallorcan Enric Mas (Movistar) was fifth and his teammate Nairo Quintana abandoned the race in the last stage due to a fall.
The way Egan Bernal 🇨🇴🚴♂️ followed Pogacar’s attack. The Colombian is in the cycling elite again, after having been on the brink of death. #VoltaCatalunya103 pic.twitter.com/jnSd3d3nQY
— Alfonso Hernández (@AlfonsoH) March 24, 2024
Pogacar thus closed a competition that it dominated with an iron fist. The Slovenian missed the first stage, surprised by the Australian’s sprint Nicholas Schultz (Israel – Premier Tech) in the last kilometer, but imposed its superiority in the mountains, with three docks that translated into three victories.
The leader of the UAE put the general classification back on track in the second stage, after opening a gap of 1:35 on the heights of Vallter, which he extended to 2:27 with a new exhibition crowned in Port Ainé.
Read also: Egan Bernal finished second in the sixth stage of the Tour of Catalonia
After taking a break in the two transition stages resolved to the sprint, with victories for the Dutchman Marijn Van den Berg (EF Education First – Easypoint) and Frenchman Axel Laurence (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Pogacar shone in the unprecedented queen stage on Saturdayarriving at Queralt at a high altitude, where he completed his triplet in the mountains, but he was still hungry to add a fourth stage victory this Sunday to the sprint.
Even with Saturday’s hangover in tow, Sunday dawned with an early escape that involved the German Georg Steinhauser (EF Education – Easypost), in Belgian Jimmy Janssens (Alpecin-Deceuninck), to the British Harrison Wood (Cofidis), into Norwegian Idar Andersen (Uno-X Mobility) and the Biscayan Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH).
The escape crowned the Coll de la Creu d’Ordal (3rd category), with a lead of 1:52 over the peloton, which did not allow the gap to exceed two minutes, with UAE Team Emirates and Israel Premier Tech riding in head.
Read also: Colombia with its sights set on Romania
Hostilities precipitated in the first of the six climbs to the Alt del Castell de Montjuïc (2nd category): Andersen and Steinhauser broke the escape with a change of pace, while from behind the Catalan Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) and the French Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathlon Ag2r La Modiale).
The chasing trio passed Janssens, Wood and Okamika, and imposed a frenetic pace that also caught Andersen, but all of them were swallowed up by the peloton on the fourth climb to Montjuïc, as was Steinhauser on the fifth climb.
The last lap was a frenetic exchange of attacks in which, after the fruitless attempts of De Gendt and Williams, Almeida stood out in the final descent, but lacked strength and, in a finish with around twenty cyclists, Pogacar showed that, in addition Of the strongest, he can also be the most explosive, thus putting the icing on the cake of a historic display in the Volta with his fourth stage victory.
2024-03-24 21:24:10
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