The Volta a Catalunya is a popular road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is a part of the UCI World Tour programme, ranking only second behind the Vuelta a España in popularity for Spain. Due to its place in the riding calendar (after the Giro d'Italia), it was long viewed as an important Tour de France preparation race for cyclists. After the inauguration of the ProTour, the race moved to May, making it an alternative for the Giro. This didn't prove to be a successful change, and for the 2010 season, the race organisation announced a move to late March, the date formerly held by another Catalan stage race, the Setmana Catalana. The first edition was held in January and lasted for three days.
The overall winner receives a white and green striped jersey. It is one of 28 races that make up the UCI World Ranking calendar. There are also three other classifications. The winner of the points classification (sprints) wears a white jersey, a red jersey the winner of the mountain classification and the jersey of the Catalonia national cycling team is for the best classificated Catalan. There is also a team classification.
The Volta a Catalunya is the fourth oldest cycling stage race in the world (first time in 1911), only behind the Tour de France (1903), Tour of Belgium (1908) and the Giro d'Italia (1909). Only the amateur and sub-23 Volta a Tarragona (1908) is older than the Volta a Catalunya in Catalonia and the Iberian Peninsula.
Read more about Volta A Catalunya: Past Winners