Volta a Catalunya stage 7: Tadej Pogačar sweeps fourth stage win and overall title

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) capped off a brilliant week of dominance at the Volta a Catalunya, winning a frenzied bunch sprint in Barcelona after a hectic final few laps of the city centre on stage 7.

Dorian Godon (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and French favourite Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) crossed the line second and third but there was no denying the race leader, who won yesterday’s Queen stage in Queralt alongside two hilly stages earlier in the week to demonstrate his brilliance on all terrain.

The Slovenian’s teammates Marc Soler and João Almeida had each gone for individual glory earlier but couldn’t make their attacks stick, so it was ultimately down to the race leader to bring it home for the team.

In doing so he added to his already extensive lead in the general classification, finishing the race 3:41 faster than second-placed Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) and 5:03 over third-placed Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers).

"I am so happy to take the win, it was not the original plan. Today we tried to go with Marc Soler, he decided himself to go [on] the first lap on the climb and he did actually a super good job. I was just trying to follow the wheels and trying to stay in the front all of the time," Pogačar told media after the finish.

"Then in the end, João set a really good pace on the climb and we were a small group on the front. João made a good attack in the last small climb and he almost come to the finish. I wish that he would arrive but I am happy that I could take the win instead."

Five-time Volta a Catalunya stage winner Thomas de Gendt had his achievements at the race recognised with a position at the front on the start line, and delighted the scores of roadside fans by making a dash for a sixth stage win in the final few kilometres. He was caught soon after but it was another flash of brilliance from the veteran Belgian in his final season before retirement.

Read more: Words of Wisdom: Peloton's veterans share their advice with the next generation

How it unfolded

Starting on the flat in Barcelona before tackling the category 3 Coll de la Creu de l’Ordal and another couple of small peaks before the halfway mark, the stage was always going to be ripped apart on the six laps of the city in the closing 47km. At 145km this was the shortest stage, but by no means a processional end to a tough, hilly edition of the race.

A five-man breakaway quickly went up the road, with Jimmy Janssens (Alpecin-Deceuninck) taking the two close-together intermediate sprints on the flat after the 5.7km Coll. He was accompanied by Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-Easypost), Harrison Ward (Cofidis), Idar Andersen (Uno-X Mobility), and Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH).

The breakaway’s advantage hovered around a steady 1 minute 50 seconds for much of the day, but it was always unlikely to seal the win with some punchy climbing to come and a rampaging Pogačar in the bunch.

Onto the deciding circuit

Heavy rain was initially forecast for the end of the stage, but with the skies remaining clear the organisers opted not to truncate the action on the city circuit.

That circuit began with an immediate right-hand turn before tackling the Alt del Castell de Montjuic, a 2.5km climb at 4.8%, with the last 800m averaging 10.8% and even reaching a spiteful 19%. The descent from the Castell – the fort overlooking the city – then swung back at high speed down and round to the start of the circuit.

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Georg Steinhauser was one of the day's most combative riders

Nairo Quintana (Movistar) went down after a touch of wheels with Frank van de Broek (dsm-firmenich PostNL) as the bunch jostled for position entering the circuit for the first time. The Spaniard was quickly up on his feet, but it was an indication of how hair-raising things could get later down the line.

The first move came shortly after, as Catalonian Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), clearly given the go-ahead by Pogačar to join the move, shot off the front alongside Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Louis Barré (Arkea-B&B Hotels).

At the front of the race Steinhauser and Andersen got a gap on the rest of the breakaway thanks to the extremely fast descent off the first climb, with their advantage over the chasing group hovering around 40 seconds for several kilometres.

Soler and his chasing group collected the breakaway stragglers and made ground on the two leaders before their group split too on the up-and-down parcours.

Steinhauser dropped Andersen with 28km to go, with Soler and Paret-Paintre fast approaching and the bunch around 40 seconds back and steadily ratcheting up the speed.

Rain started to fall inside the final 30km – with three laps to go for Steinhauser – but the organisers chose not to neutralise the racing, with the roads likely to stay dry enough for it to remain safe.

Soler and co were reabsorbed shortly before the 20km to go mark, with Israel-Premier Tech piling on the pressure for Stephen Williams and plenty of fresh legs still present in the peloton for a tilt at the stage win.

As the final bell approached Steinhauser’s fragile lead was down to nine seconds and despite a sterling effort, he was caught. Pablo Castrillo (Equipo Kern Pharma) was the next to shoot off the front and try his hand.

The final lap

As the incline tipped up towards the Castell one final time the white and green jersey of Pogačar made his inevitable move. He was quickly followed by Williams and some of the day’s other favourites.

Williams counterattacked over the top but with the group splintering on the high-speed descent the majority of the peloton re-attached themselves, and with 10km to go it was still all to play for. On the quickly-changing terrain, it was difficult for any one attack to stick.

The final bell rang at 7.8km to go and it was the signal for the De Gendt swansong, swinging off the front in one last bid for glory at a hugely successful race for him. He attacked at the foot of the climb but was caught by the top, with Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) leading the charge.

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The final podium of the 2024 Volta a Catalunya: Mikel Landa (left), Tadej Pogačar (centre) and Egan Bernal (right)

On the climb’s steepest section, Williams again dug deep to get a gap on the peloton, with even Pogačar unable to bridge across immediately, before the group regathered. Almeida was the next to make his move at 2.3km to go, but didn’t quite have the legs and at the flamme rouge, it was clear this was going to be decided by a bunch sprint.

Williams looked strong throughout but could only claim fourth on the line as Pogačar was not to be denied, earning his fourth win of the week and providing the icing on the cake of an all-conquering performance at the Volta.

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