Volta kicks off as break stays away
19 March 2012

Volta a Catalunya (st. 1)

Switzerland's Michael Albasini takes first green-white jersey after a long escape controlled by Movistar Team at the bunch, Blues always at the fore to avoid risks into a difficult course

The 92nd Volta a Catalunya, World Tour race concluding on Sunday in Barcelona, started its 92nd edition today with a nervous 138k stage around Calella, with Michael Albasini (GEC) succeeding to keep alive a 100-kilometer attempt in company of Edet (COF), Delaplace (SAU), Gastauer (AG2R) and Duggan (LIQ).

A difficult finale including the ascents of Collformic (Cat. 1) 
and Collsacreu (Cat. 3) saw the Swiss rider showing his superiority to reach the finish solo with more than a minute over the bunch, where Movistar Team always kept the lead to control the break’s gap and minimise the risks into a complicated route that eventually saw no differences within the main favourites.

At the expense of the Queen stage on Wednesday, the first important test will come tomorrow on stage two in the Catalan race: 161 kilometers starting and finishing in Girona, with the climb to the Alt dels Àngels (Cat. 1) just 13k from the finishing line.