2010 Volta a Catalunya
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The 2010 Volta a Catalunya was the 90th running of the race. It was the second race of the UCI ProTour calendar of 2010, and took place from 22nd to 28th March 2010.


Participating teams

As the Volta a Catalunya was a
UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, ...
event, all 18 ProTour teams were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad. Four Professional Continental teams rounded out the event's
peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reducti ...
. Each team was entitled to eight riders on their squad, but , , and sent only seven, and sent only six, meaning the event had 171 riders at its outset. The 22 teams in the race were: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Route


Stages


Stage 1

;22 March 2010, Lloret de Mar, (
individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' " stopwatch stage"). There are also track ...
) The course for the brief individual time trial, which opened the race was dead flat. This was the same course used in the two years previous in the time trial. Paul Voss of was the unexpected winner of the stage, beating out
Levi Leipheimer Levi Leipheimer (born October 24, 1973) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He was twice US national champion, winning the time trial title in 1999 and the road race in 2007, and is an Olympic medalist. Leipheimer was born a ...
and
Andreas Klöden Andreas Klöden (born 22 June 1975) is a German former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 1998 and 2013. His major achievements include a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games and finishing second in the gen ...
.


Stage 2

;23 March 2010,
Salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
to
Banyoles Banyoles () is a city of 20,168 inhabitants (2021) located in the province of Girona in northeastern Catalonia, Spain. The town is the capital of the Catalan ''comarca'' " Pla de l'Estany". Although an established industrial centre many of th ...
, This course included the race's first climb, the first-category Alt Els Àngels, which crested just before the mark. The after the descent to the finish line were mostly flat, leaving a sprint finish. Peter Stetina and
Jonathan Castroviejo Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolás (born 27 April 1987) is a Spanish professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Born in Getxo, Basque Country, Spain, Castroviejo spent two seasons with the feeder team of the de facto Basqu ...
formed a two-man escape after of this stage. They took a maximum advantage of eight and a half minutes, but the teams of the sprinters, namely and , had no trouble catching up to them. In their effort, they had gain the lead in the mountains and sprints competitions after this stage. The finish was contested in a bunched sprint, won by
Mark Cavendish Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . As a track cyclist he specialises in the madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he is a ...
. It was Cavendish's first win of 2010 after a difficult early season. Stage 2 Result General Classification after Stage 2


Stage 3

;24 March 2010, La Vall d'en Bas to
La Seu d'Urgell La Seu d'Urgell (; es, Seo de Urgel, formerly in ca, Urgell}) is a town located in the Catalan Pyrenees in Spain. La Seu d'Urgell is also the capital of the comarca Alt Urgell, head of the judicial district of la Seu d'Urgell and the seat of ...
, This was a difficult stage, with several categorized climbs. The outside categorization Alt del Pedraforça was the ''Cima Peris'', the race's hardest climb, and crested just before the mark, after two second-category climbs earlier on. Another category-two climb, the Alt de la Josa del Cadí, followed before a long descent to the finish line. A 21-rider break began this stage, but it was pulled back after an hour. A group of 14 was next on the attack, after had been covered. This group at one point had a three-minute advantage on the main field, but the steady tempo that and were drilling out reduced the gap. Xavier Tondó,
Joaquim Rodríguez Joaquim Rodríguez Oliver (born 12 May 1979) is a former Spanish professional road racing cyclist, who competed between 2001 and 2016 for the , , and teams. Rodríguez recorded notable results included fourteen Grand Tour stage victories, an ...
and Óscar Pereiro attacked out of the main field when the catch seemed imminent. Pereiro quickly dropped back, as they had at this point reached the hardest parts of the Alt de la Josa del Cadí climb, but Tondó and Rodríguez stayed away to the finish. Tondó won the sprint to the finish line, but Rodríguez became the new race leader, since he had had a better time in the stage 1 time trial. Tondó expressed after the stage that the win had great personal significance for him, since he is from Catalonia and grew up from where the stage ended. Stage 3 Result General Classification after Stage 3


Stage 4

;25 March 2010,
Oliana Oliana is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Urgell in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the Segre valley immediately below the Oliana reservoir. There is a factory of domestic electrical appliances in the town, and the presence of ...
to Ascó, This course started at an elevation, undulated gently for a while and then descended int preparation for two second-category climbs. The Alt de Paumeres crested at from the finish line, and the finish came on a long descent from that height. This was a very fast stage, with the first two hours of racing covering more than . During that time, an eight-rider breakaway group formed. They were later reduced to four –
Vladimir Efimkin Vladimir Alexandrovich Efimkin (russian: Владимир Александрович Ефимкин) (born December 2, 1981 in Kuybyshev) is a Russian retired professional road bicycle racer, who last rode alongside his twin brother Alexander E ...
,
Thibaut Pinot Thibaut Pinot (born 29 May 1990) is a French professional road bicycle racer, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Once considered one of the most promising talents in French cycling, he finished third overall in the 2014 Tour de France and first in t ...
, Francesco Bellotti, and Jurgen Van De Walle. During the Alt de Paumeres climb,
Jens Voigt Jens Voigt (; born 17 September 1971) is a German former professional road bicycle racer and, upon retirement, became a cycling sports broadcast commentator. During his cycling career, Voigt raced for several teams, the last one being UCI ProTe ...
, who had earlier been dropped from the peloton, made a solo bridge to the four leaders. Once with the group, he set a pace that eventually cracked all of them, sending them back to the chase groups behind. Voigt was the first over the summit, alone. Rein Taaramäe and
Roman Kreuziger Roman Kreuziger (; born 6 May 1986) is a Czech former professional road bicycle racer, who last rode for UCI ProTeam . His father, Roman Kreuziger Sr., was also a bicycle racer who won the Tour of Austria in 1991 and the Cyclocross Junior Wor ...
caught up with Voigt on the descent. After dropping Kreuziger, Taaramäe and Voigt increased their lead over the -led main field, and finished 34 seconds better than them at the finish line. Taaramäe did most of the pace making in the final flat section, since he started on the seventh day in the overall standings and stood to gain more than Voigt, from having such a big time gap as possible on the peloton. Voigt was therefore able to win the sprint easily. Stage 4 Result General Classification after Stage 4


Stage 5

;26 March 2010, Ascó to Cabacés, This was another hilly stage, marked by three categorized climbs, including one from the finish line. The finish line came on a descent. Four riders escaped just into this stage. These were
Davide Malacarne Davide Malacarne (born 11 July 1987 in Feltre, Province of Belluno) is an Italian former multi-discipline cyclist. He competed professionally in road racing between 2009 and 2016 for the , and teams, won the junior race at the 2005 UCI Cyclo ...
, Javier Ramirez,
Sergio De Lis Sergio de Lis de Andrés (born 19 May 1986 in San Sebastián, Basque Country) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer who rode for two seasons for UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Austral ...
, and
Gustavo César Gustavo César Veloso (born January 29, 1980 in Vilagarcía de Arousa) is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . Major results ;2003 : 1st Overall Prémio Grande Porto ::1st Stage 2 : 1st Kl ...
. Since Malacarne, 29 minutes behind race leader
Joaquim Rodríguez Joaquim Rodríguez Oliver (born 12 May 1979) is a former Spanish professional road racing cyclist, who competed between 2001 and 2016 for the , , and teams. Rodríguez recorded notable results included fourteen Grand Tour stage victories, an ...
, was the best-placed man in the group, the peloton was content to let them go. Their advantage quickly ballooned to ten minutes. The lead fell a little on the day's second climb, the Alt de Porrera, as and started an aggressive chase. Malacarne shod his breakaway companions from the finish line and held on for the win. It was the first win of Malacarne's pro career, and it came on a stage that he and the team had specifically identified as one where a winning breakaway would likely happen. Stage 5 Result General Classification after Stage 5


Stage 6

;27 March 2010,
El Vendrell El Vendrell () is a town located in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, in the wine-growing region of Penedès. It is wedged between the Mediterranean and the coastal range. El Vendrell is the capital of the Baix Penedès '' comarca'' an ...
to
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, There were a lot of climbing in the first half of this stage, including an uncategorized rise of . The second half is mostly flat, concluding with a three-lap circuit in Barcelona that includes a visit to a small third-category climb on each lap. Forty-six riders finished the stage in the same group for a depleted bunched sprint. '
Samuel Dumoulin Samuel Dumoulin (born 20 August 1980) is a French former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2019 for the , and teams. He now works as a directeur sportif for UCI ProTeam . Career Dumoulin rode as an ama ...
was easily the strongest sprinter in the group and won the stage, giving his team its 12th win of the season. His teammate Rein Taaramäe was second on the stage, the two of them securing their high places on a day when the financial services provider
Cofidis Cofidis is a French company, now majority owned by Crédit Mutuel, based in Villeneuve-d'Ascq. Founded in 1982 by 3 Suisses International in cooperation with Cetelem, Cofidis specialized in the consumer credit business of the 3 Suisses Group. I ...
decided to continue sponsoring the team for two more seasons. Each of the top ten riders in the overall standings finished with the leading group, so there was no significant change to those standings heading into the final day of racing. Stage 6 Result General Classification after Stage 6


Stage 7

;28 March 2010,
Sant Cugat del Vallès Sant Cugat del Vallès (; es, San Cugat del Vallés, link=no) is a town and municipality north of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Known as ''Castrum Octavianum'' in antiquity (which literally means ''the castle of Octavianus'') and as ''Pins del Val ...
to
Montmeló Montmeló () is a municipality in the comarca of Vallès Oriental, within the Barcelona metropolitan area, in Catalonia, Spain. It contains the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which is the home of the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix The Spani ...
(
Circuit de Catalunya The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya () is a motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has stan ...
), This stage was flat, concluding with eight laps on the Circuit de Catalunya in
Montmeló Montmeló () is a municipality in the comarca of Vallès Oriental, within the Barcelona metropolitan area, in Catalonia, Spain. It contains the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which is the home of the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix The Spani ...
. The field stayed together through most of this stage. All but 20 riders were together for a bunched sprint, won by Juan José Haedo. His brother Sebastian Haedo was his final lead-out man, and took fifth place in the sprint. There was again no change to the overall standings after this stage;
Joaquim Rodríguez Joaquim Rodríguez Oliver (born 12 May 1979) is a former Spanish professional road racing cyclist, who competed between 2001 and 2016 for the , , and teams. Rodríguez recorded notable results included fourteen Grand Tour stage victories, an ...
, Xavier Tondó, and Rein Taaramäe finished on the event's final podium. Stage 7 Result Final General Classification


Classification leadership

In the 2010 Volta a Catalunya, three different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding the finishing times of the stages per cyclist, the leader received a white jersey with green stripes on the sleeves. This classification is considered the most important of the Volta a Catalunya, and the winner of the general classification is considered the winner of the Volta a Catalunya. Additionally, there was also a sprint classification, indicated with a blue jersey. In the sprint classification, cyclists got points for being one of the first three in intermediate sprints, with six points awarded for first place, four for second, and two for third. There was also a mountains classification, indicated with a red jersey. In the mountains classifications, points were won by reaching the top of a mountain before other cyclists. All climbs were categorized, with most either first, second, or third-category, with more points available for the higher-categorized climbs.


References


External links


Homepage of Volta a Catalunya (spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catalunya 2010 Volta 2010 in Spanish road cycling 2010 UCI ProTour 2010 UCI World Ranking March 2010 sports events in Europe