The 2026 Volta a Catalunya begins Monday and runs through a week of sharp climbs, rolling terrain, and three decisive summit finishes. Good news for Canadian fans, as Ogoode, Ont.\u2019s Derek Gee-West will be lining up.<\/p>\n
The national road champ will be there, racing against some of the sport\u2019s biggest names in one of the season\u2019s first major stage-race battles. So far we\u2019ve had Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice and seen some great stuff.<\/p>\n
Lots of climbing<\/p>\n
The national champ will likely hinge on the high mountains, where his steady pacing and growing Grand Tour experience can be put to the test.<\/p>\n
Stages featuring Vallter 2000, Coll de Pal, and the rugged final weekend in the Montju\u00efc circuit are expected to shape the GC.<\/p>\n
After first race for new team Michael Leonard heads a WorldTour classification<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n The race also features some big names, including Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel.<\/p>\n Evenepoel almost didn\u2019t make it to Spain\u2013the dude was stuck training on the Canary Islands and a massive snowstorm threatened his chances of making a flight out. There were rumours that Red Bull may send a chopper to get him to Barcelona.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re stuck up on Teide for the 2nd day because of the snow. No one can go up or down,\u201d his wife Oumi posted on Instagram. \u201cWe\u2019re supposed to fly to Barcelona tomorrow. But not sure we\u2019ll make it. Does anyone know how we can get to the airport.\u201d<\/p>\n \u200bGee-West and the Volta a Catalunya<\/p>\n As for Gee-West, the Lidl-Trek rider has a few races under his belt, after a bit of a break, due to the whole Israel-Premier Tech thing in 2025. But for a guy without that many race miles, looks like he\u2019s got some legs.<\/p>\n At his debut ride at the UAE Tour, he rode consistently, finishing 7th overall and some decent form on the climbs. The Spanish stage race is another key race for him as he ramps up for one of his big goals of the year, the Giro d\u2019Italia.<\/p>\n Leonard and Pickrell, too<\/p>\n Two other Canadians will be racing in Spain: the first being EF Education \u2013 EasyPost\u2019s Michael Leonard. The Oakville, Ont. rider is having a fine start to 2026<\/a>. There\u2019s also Victoria\u2019s Riley Pickrell, on his new American team, Modern Adventure Pro Cycling.<\/p>\n