There is no time to catch your breath because after the Sanremo we start again immediately with the Volta a Catalunya , a stage race starting on Monday 24 March and which will end next Sunday, as always on the Montjuïc circuit in Barcelona.

The race is ideal terrain for climbers with three uphill finishes: in La Molina, on the third stage, after a 12.2 km climb with gentle gradients of around 4.4%, in Montserrat Mil lenari after 8.8 km with a 6.6% gradient, and in Queralt on the penultimate stage. In this case the climb is 5.9 km long and the gradient is around 7.5 percent, but not before climbing two more mountains. The first stage is also difficult, with a considerable difference in altitude and a finish suitable for finishers in Saint Feliu de Guixols. Only two finishes are dedicated to sprinters.

It will be an opportunity to see Primoz Roglic at work, who has only raced the Volta Algarve so far without shining. The Red Bull Bora hansgrohe captain is preparing for the Giro d'Italia and his condition is yet to be verified: alongside him there will be two Italians, Giulio Pellizzari and Giovanni Aleotti.

There is no shortage of interesting names to complete your Fantacycling lineup: among the climbers are Enric Mas of Movistar, Mikel Landa of Soudal Quick Step, Egan Bernal of Ineos Grenadiers, Lenny Martinez of Bahrain Victorious, Felix Gall of Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale, Ben O'Connor of Jayco AlUla and Lennert Van Eetvelt of Lotto.

The team to beat, once again, will be UAE Emirates, which will feature Juan Ayuso, recent winner of the Tirreno-Adriatico, Adam Yates and Marc Soler, who has often done well on home roads.

Among the sprinters, watch out for Kaden Groves of Alpecin, fifth on Saturday at the Sanremo, and Pavel Bittner of Team Picnic.

It will be important not to overdo the exchanges because there are three World Tour races in Belgium during the week. So be careful about including men at Catalunya who perhaps don't race. Swapping them during the race is not possible.

The scheduled stages:

Stage 1: Sant Feliu de Guíxols – Sant Feliu de Guíxols (178.3 km)

Stage 2: Banyoles – Figueres (177.3 km)

Stage 3: Viladecans The Style Outlets – La Molina (218.6 km)

Stage 4: Sant Vicenç de Castellet – Montserrat Mil·lenari (188.7 km)

Stage 5: Paüls – Amposta (Terres de l'Ebre) (172 km)

Stage 6: Berga – Queralt (159 km)

Stage 7: Barcelona – Barcelona (88.2 km)

Sprint Cycling Photo