<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n Today\u2019s stage finish is on the Montju\u00efc hill in Barcelona. Like yesterday\u2019s stage, like the Volta a Catalunya\u2019s final day and like plenty more. If you wanted to find the one location that has hosted the greatest variety of top level pro races it has to be here.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s stage start in Tarragona deserves a mention. It is a beach resort but has plenty of charm with a history that dates back thousands of years. The giant Roman amphitheatre is part of this. It also has a port that ships many SEAT cars assembled on the edge of Barcelona. So far, so trivial but it\u2019s also been the host of the Volta a Tarragona, a stage race that dates back to 1908, older than the Volta a Catalunya which began in 1911 making it the fourth oldest surviving stage race after the Tour, Giro and Tour of Belgium.<\/p>\n The Volta a Tarragona became the junior event to the Volta a Catalunya as it was later reserved for amateurs. Past winners include Jose Manuel Fuente, Pedro Delgado\u2026 and Denis Menchov<\/a>. But for a long time the amateur version of the Volta a Catalunya was also the Volta a Lleida, a different race but held on the same roads and among some shared characteristics also won by Menchov once.<\/p>\n Montjuic is a hill in Barcelona with parks, museums and also several Olympic facilities from the 1992 Olympic games. It was here that the road race finished in 1992, the last games when the road races were reserved for amateurs.<\/p>\n Montjuic is the used for the final stage of the Volta a Catalunya. This World Tour race gets to finish in the regional capital and uses a finishing circuit that often supplies good racing and can see the overall classification overturned thanks to the hilly course.<\/p>\n The Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a has visited too, the last time was 2023 on the second stage which was won by Andreas Kron in particular circumstances, the wet conditions saw the race neutralised for GC with 9km to go as the circuit is tricky with bends that can be awkward given the speeds involved coming off the hill. So not everyone raced the stage to the end.<\/p>\n