Nick Schultz (Israel-Premier Tech) scored victory on the opening stage of the Volta a Catalunya after a late attack inside the final kilometre in Sant Feliu de Guíxols.
The Australian, racing to the first WorldTour win of his career struck out with a surprise attack 500 metres from the line at the end of the 174km opener to hold off a late-charging Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) on the uphill finish.
Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) rounded out the podium ahead of Dorian Godon (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Axel Laurance (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
The late climb of the Alt de Sant Grau (8.1km at 4%) was a potential flashpoint on the stage, coming 20km before the end of the day. UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease A Bike (for leader Sepp Kuss) pushed the pace on the way up before Pogačar and teammate Marc Soler took off over the top and down the descent.
The pair, along with the rest of their UAE team, led the race downhill at a high pace, though Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal-QuickStep) sought to challenge them with a move of his own towards the end of the downhill.
He’d soon be caught by the team, though, leaving UAE to lead it towards the finish. In the end, it wasn’t to be for Pogačar, however, with Schultz striking out at just the right time to disrupt the Slovenian’s plans to grab the first leader’s jersey of the week-long race.
“I thought I was essentially keeping the pace high to provoke an attack to come earlier but then I saw 500 metres to go and had a look around. At that point the legs were screaming because it’s such a long finish there – it felt like an eternity,” Schultz said after the finish.
I had a gap and saw Pogačar coming. He was like a bullet being shot out of the peloton and I still didn’t believe it at that point. This is huge for me and huge for the team. Stevie was also third and we also have Mike [Woods] here so it’s a perfect way to start the week.
“I can’t thank the team enough. We have such an amazing atmosphere, team, staff, and riders. I love what I’m doing at this team and I think it was just lucky circumstances for me to get this victory today and I’m so grateful for that.”
Schultz now holds the race by two seconds from Pogačar, while Williams lies third at six seconds. Schultz also holds the points lead, while Kenny Elissonde (Cofidis) takes the mountain classification lead after infiltrating the break of the day.
How it Unfolded
The first breakaway move of the 2024 Volta a Catalunya got away from the peloton before the very first climb of the race, the Alt de la Ganga, which came just under 30km into the hilly first stage.
With three climbs – the third-category Ganga and two more second-category tests – in the hills around Sant Feliu de Guíxols, they would shape the battle for the mountains jersey among the break, as well as potentially deciding the final.
Kenny Elissonde (Cofidis) broke away early, and was joined by Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty), Alex Baudin (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Adne Holter (Uno-X Mobility), and Mikel Bizkarra (Euskaltel-Euskadi).
The five men out front were given three minutes’ advantage by the peloton, with UAE Team Emirates keen to keep things under control ahead of their planned late assault on the Alt de Sant Grau.
Up front, Elissonde was the man to lead the race over the Ganga and the later Alt dels Angels, securing eight points and the mountain jersey in the process even if he and his breakmates would be brought back before the final climb of the day.
Bizakarra was caught first, dropping back to the peloton before the rest of the group were caught 30km out.
From there onwards, the stage was set for the first GC battle of the race over the Sant Grau, but not before a fight over bonus seconds just before the climb. At the sprint, it was Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) who grabbed three seconds ahead of Pogačar and Laurens De Plus (Ineos Grenadiers), before UAE put their plan in motion on the final climb.
Over the top, Pogačar made his move but couldn’t get enough separation from the peloton to push on towards the finish, leaving the door open for Israel-Premier Tech and Schultz to score a somewhat unexpected victory ahead of the Slovenian in the dying metres of the stage.
Results
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