Once again, Teide has caused difficulties for some riders due to adverse weather conditions, and this time Remco Evenepoel was seriously concerned about whether he would arrive in time for the Volta a Catalunya. The Belgian eventually managed to reach Guixols with police escort, who helped everyone who had been stranded come down from the mountain, and he is ready to race and measure himself against his rivals.

«Actually, there was a lot of panic for nothing. The measures were a bit excessive – Remco said, referring to the heavy snowfall that covered Teide in recent days - We had a really dangerous road surface only for a short stretch downhill. The rest of the descent was dry. So, more stress and problems than would have been necessary».

Evenepoel was on Teide to complete a month-long altitude training period and, despite the snowfall, managed to finish his work and feels ready to return to racing.

«Overall, we had nice weather; it was warm and pleasant. The training period was great despite the many tourists. I managed to recharge a bit after the UAE Tour. I was able to train well for a month, especially on long climbs. On Teide you can do long training stretches. At the Volta a Catalunya there will also be finishes similar to those where I trained, so this training period was definitely necessary».

So, what are Evenepoel's ambitions in Spain?

«I want to achieve the maximum. The main objective is to win a stage; we're aiming for stage victories. I also want to finish as high as possible in the general classification. I want to test myself and see if I've improved. For now, I don't yet know where my form stands».

The season for Evenepoel has started well and there are already successes. He didn't race Paris-Nice, where victory went to Jonas Vingegaard, and Catalunya will be a good opportunity for him to measure himself against the Dane.

«I really want to win these week-long stage races in my career. This race is within my reach, but I haven't managed it yet. In the past I've won the UAE Tour and the Tour of Poland, but those races aren't in the same category as this one. It would be nice to finally win a week-long race like this».

The race in Catalunya will be competitive and Jonas Vingegaard is among the protagonists at the start. «Vingegaard will participate in the Giro d'Italia, so he's gradually reaching his best form. I definitely see him in contention for the final victory. His racing style was splendid at Paris-Nice, so I hope he can repeat it this week».

There will be tactics and strategies also with an eye on the Tour de France: Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe has decided to test them this week in Spain, and for this reason, Evenepoel will race with his teammate Florian Lipowitz. The two will participate together in the Tour de France this year, where they are expected to share the leader role.

«Much of the Catalunya route suits me a bit more. Florian and I will need to discuss how we're feeling and what strategy to adopt. In any case, it's a good first test ahead of the Tour to get used to racing together».

The first stage will be in Sant Feliu de Guixols, which will be both the start and finish city. It might seem like a finish for sprinters with good climbing abilities, but if the general classification favorites are ready, gaps could form right from the start.

THE STARTERS

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe
1. EVENEPOEL Remco
2. LIPOWITZ Florian
3. HINDLEY Jai
4. TUCKWELL Luke
5. DENZ Nico
6. CATTANEO Mattia
7. WANDAHL Frederik

UAE Team Emirates - XRG
11. ALMEIDA Joao
12. VINE Jay
13. MCNULTY Brandon
14. SOLER Marc
15. OLIVEIRA Ivo
16. BARONCINI Filippo
17. PERICAS Adria

Team Visma | Lease a Bike
21. VINGEGAARD Jonas
22. KUSS Sepp
23. PIGANZOLI Davide
24. ARMIRAIL Bruno
25. NORDHAGEN Jorgen
26. LEMMEN Bart
27. HUISING Menno

Lidl - Trek
31. VERONA Carlos
32. CICCONE Giulio
33. SKJELMOSE Mattias
34. GEE-WEST Derek
35. GEOGHEGAN HART Tao
36. OOMEN Sam
37. MOSCA Jacopo

XDS Astana Team
41. FORTUNATO Lorenzo
42. LOPEZ Harold Martin
43. SILVA Guillermo Thomas
44. RODRIGUEZ Cristian
45. MULUBRHAN Henok
46. SU Haoyu
47. KUZMIN Anton

Soudal Quick-Step
51. LANDA Mikel
52. ZANA Filippo
53. LECERF Junior
54. DAINESE Alberto
55. RACCAGNI NOVIERO Andrea
56. PARET-PEINTRE Valentin
57. EENKHOORN Pascal

Decathlon CMA CGM Team
61. GALL Felix
62. RICCITELLO Matthew
63. BISIAUX Leo
64. ISIDORE Noa
65. STAUNE-MITTET Johannes
66. L'HOTE Antoine
67. SCOTSON Callum

INEOS Grenadiers
71. ONLEY Oscar
72. GODON Dorian
73. LANGELLOTTI Victor
74. RODRIGUEZ Carlos
75. SVESTAD-BARDSENG Embret
76. JUNGELS Bob
77. DE PLUS Laurens

Alpecin-Premier Tech
81. BUSATTO Francesco
82. UHLIG Henri
83. GLIVAR Gal
84. DEBRUYNE Ramses
85. REMIJN Senna
86. VERGALLITO Luca
87. PRICE-PEJTERSEN Johan

Bahrain - Victorious
91. MARTINEZ Lenny
92. BUITRAGO Santiago
93. EULALIO Afonso
94. OMRZEL Jakob
95. GOVEKAR Matevz
96. KEPPLINGER Rainer
97. ARNDT Nikias

Uno-X Mobility
101. LEKNESSUND Andreas
102. CORT Magnus
103. CHARMIG Anthon
104. SKAARSETH Anders
105. SVARRE Tobias
106. HVIDEBERG Jonas Hem
107. URIANSTAD BUGGE Martin

EF Education - EasyPost
111. CARAPAZ Richard
112. STEINHAUSER Georg
113. BELOKI Markel
114. LEONARD Michael
115. HOBBS Noah
116. CEPEDA Jefferson Alexander
117. RAFFERTY Darren

NSN Cycling Team
121. VERNON Ethan
122. GILMORE Brady
123. STEWART Jake
124. COTE Pier-Andre
125. BENNETT George
126. LUTSENKO Alexey
127. HIRT Jan

Movistar Team
131. MAS Enric
132. UIJTDEBROEKS Cian
133. RUBIO Einer
134. LOPEZ Juan Pedro
135. QUINTANA Nairo
136. NOVAK Pavel
137. HESSMANN Michel

Team Jayco AlUla
141. O'CONNOR Ben
142. DOUBLE Paul
143. ENGELHARDT Felix
144. PORTER Rudy
145. GAMPER Patrick
146. JUUL-JENSEN Christopher
147. BOUWMAN Koen

Groupama - FDJ United
151. MARTIN Guillaume
152. DECOMBLE Maxime
153. GAUDU David
154. ROLLAND Brieuc
155. MOLARD Rudy
156. GERMANI Lorenzo
157. KENCH Josh

Lotto Intermarché
161. GUALDI Simone
162. KOCKELMANN Mathieu
163. AERTS Toon
164. FOX Matthew
165. THOMPSON Reuben
166. SLOCK Liam
167. VEISTROFFER Baptiste

Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
171. PIDCOCK Thomas
172. BENNETT Sam
173. HOWSON Damien
174. GONZALEZ David
175. VANHOUCKE Harm
176. CAMPRUBI Marcel
177. DE LA CRUZ David

Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
181. BALDERSTONE Abel
182. CASTELLON Jan
183. BERWICK Sebastian
184. GUARDENO Jaume
185. PARRA Jose Felix
186. ARRIOLABENGOA Julen
187. DARDER Sergi

Equipo Kern Pharma
191. BERRADE Urko
192. SOSA Ivan Ramiro
193. GUTIERREZ Jorge
194. WENZEL Mats
195. URIARTE Diego
196. CARRASCOSA Pablo
197. AZNAR Hugo

Euskaltel - Euskadi
201. AGIRRE Jon
202. BIZKARRA Mikel
203. AGUIRRE Yago
204. MURGUIALDAY Jokin
205. FERNANDEZ Samuel
206. VAN DER TUUK Danny
207. AZNAR Unai

Burgos Burpellet BH
211. CHUMIL Sergio Geovani
212. DIAZ Jose Manuel
213. KUDUS Merhawi
214. HERRADA Jesus
215. FAURA Jose Luis
216. APARICIO Mario
217. BURNETT Josh

Modern Adventure Pro Cycling
221. DE BOD Stefan
222. MUNTON Byron
223. PICKRELL Riley
224. STEWART Mark
225. HAUG Kieran
226. STITES Tyler
227. FLOREZ Samuel