Bob Jungels will make his debut at the Spanish race, where he'll lead a young and motivated seven-man squad.
First held in 1911 and boasting a rich history, the Volta a Catalunya is one of the oldest stage races on the calendar, part of the World Tour since 2005 and a real heaven for the climbers. For the 98th edition, the race will once again take on a well-known path, meaning there will be no opportunities for time trialists and limited chances for sprinters, whose teams will have to work hard so they don't leave Spain empty-handed.
Two mountain top finishes – Vallter 2000 (12.7km, 7.4%) and La Molina (12.2km, 4.5%) – a fast descent to Vielha, the traditional Montjuic circuit and a total of 26 classified climbs, these will be just some of the highlights of the race that will take place between 19-25 March.
Quick-Step Floors will go at the start of the Volta a Catalunya, the season's ninth World Tour stop, with a young team comprising three neo-pros – Alvaro Hodeg, James Knox and Ecuadorian Champion Jhonatan Narvaez – Enric Mas, Michael Mørkøv, Maximilian Schachmann and Bob Jungels, who is lining out for the seven-day race after previously riding Tirreno-Adriatico, where a bout of illness impacted on his performance after what has been a promising start.
"Tirreno-Adriatico went a bit differently than I had expected. I came there in a good shape but I got sick after a few days and just didn't have the legs on the key stages, but finished off with a solid time trial, which was reassuring. Catalunya is a race I've never done before and one of the hardest on the calendar, but I'm really looking forward to it. We have a strong team and hopefully we'll come out of the race with some nice results", Bob said when asked about the expectations for next week.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele/ Getty Images
James Knox 
