Preview Tour of Catalonia 2025 | One of the toughest stage races with Ayuso, Roglic, and Yates

They just keep coming, those WorldTour races that are the icing on the cake. Barely recovered from Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico, cycling fans will need to be ready again just two days after Milan-San Remo—this time for the Tour of Catalonia. Don’t be fooled: this race is widely considered one of the toughest on the calendar. IDLProCycling.com tells you everything you need to know.

With Pogacar out, doors open for plenty of other riders. Primoz Roglic, for instance—the 2023 winner—is back, this time representing Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. The former Jumbo-Visma rider will face off against several key Giro d’Italia rivals: Juan Ayuso, Simon Yates, and Richard Carapaz are all listed among the participants.

Most recent winners Tour of Catalonia 2025

2024 Tadej Pogacar
2023 Primoz Roglic
2022 Sergio Higuita
2021 Adam Yates
2020 Not ridden
2019 Miguel Angel Lopez
2018 Alejandro Valverde
2017 Alejandro Valverde
2016 Nairo Quintana
2015 Richie Porte

Course, favorites stage wins and times Tour of Catalonia 2025

Stage 1, Monday, March 24: Sant Feliu de Guíxols - Sant Feliu de Guíxols (178.6 km)

For the fourth year in a row, the Tour of Catalonia will kick off in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, which also hosts the first stage finish. This opening stage features 2,765 meters of elevation gain and a slightly uphill finish, making it a day tailor-made for punchers, strong-climbing sprinters, and fast-finishing GC riders.

Favorites
Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost)
Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike)

Times
Start: 12:45 PM (local time) - 7:45 AM (EST)
Finish: 4:58 PM (local time) - 11.58 AM (EST)

Stage 2, Tuesday, March 25: Banyoles - Figueres (177.3 km)

Stage two is, by Tour of Catalonia standards, a relatively easy day. Along the way, riders will tackle the Coll Puig del Peni and the Coll de Sant Pere de Rodes, but the rest of the route is mostly flat. That said, the final kilometer again has a slight uphill gradient.

Favorites
Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL)
Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike)  

Times
Start: 12:55 PM (local time) - 7:55 AM (EST)
Finish: 5:01 PM (local time) - 12:01 PM (EST)

Stage 3, Wednesday, March 26: Viladecans - La Molina (218.6 km)

218.6 (!) kilometers, 5,093 (!) meters of climbing. The Tour of Catalonia organizers certainly aren’t holding back. The first 180 kilometers of this stage are mostly uphill, capped off by the Coll de la Creueta (20.3 km at 5.1%). After descending toward Alp, the riders still have to climb to La Molina—8.3 kilometers uphill at an average of 6.5%.

Favorites
Juan Ayuso (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step)
Enric Mas (Movistar)

Times
Start: 11:20 AM (local time) - 6:20 AM (EST)
Finish: 4:57 PM (local time) - 11:57 AM (EST)

Stage 4, Thursday, March 27: Sant Vicenç de Castellet - Montserrat Mil-lenari (188.7 km)

Stage four of the Spanish stage race is another tough one. This time, it includes plenty of punishing elevation gain, ultimately finishing in Montserrat. The final 8.8 kilometers to the finish climb at an average of 6.6%. Not as brutal as stage three, but with that effort still in the riders’ legs, we can expect time gaps here as well.

Favorites
Juan Ayuso (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Simon Yates (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla)

Times
Start: 12:10 PM (local time) - 7:10 AM (EST)
Finish: 4:58 PM (local time) - 11:58 AM (EST)

Stage 5, Friday, March 28: Paüls - Amposta (172.0 km)

Stage five of the Tour of Catalonia is the easiest of the week. For the sprinters who’ve survived the earlier tough stages, this will be a welcome opportunity to go for the stage win once again.

Favorites
Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Axel Laurance (INEOS Grenadiers)
Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL)

Times
Start: 12:10 PM (local time) - 7:10 AM (EST)
Finish: 3:59 PM (local time) - 10:59 AM (EST)

Stage 6, Saturday, March 29: Berga - Queralt (159.0 km)

On the penultimate day, the race starts in Berga—a symbolic name given what’s on the menu. Four climbs in total, with the finish atop the last of them: Queralt, which features 5.9 kilometers of climbing at 7.5%.

Favorites
Juan Ayuso (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Adam Yates (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R)

Times
Start: 12:35 PM (local time) - 7:35 AM (EST)
Finish: 4:57 PM (local time) - 11:57 AM (EST)

Stage 7, Sunday, March 30: Barcelona - Barcelona (88.2 km)

The final stage of the Tour of Catalonia traditionally takes place in Barcelona, the iconic city in Spain’s autonomous region. After forty flat kilometers, the riders reach the Montjuic circuit, near the Olympic Stadium. There, they’ll complete six laps, bringing the total stage distance to just 88 kilometers.

Favorites
Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL)
Marc Soler (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R)

Times
Start: 10:55 AM (local time) - 5:55AM (EST)
Finish: 12:55 PM (local time) - 7:55 AM (EST)

Favorites final classification Tour of Catalonia 2025 

Based on his performance at Tirreno-Adriatico, all eyes will be on a strong Juan Ayuso. The Spaniard from UAE Emirates-XRG dominated the Italian spring race in impressive fashion and is looking to make another statement in Catalonia—especially to many of his Giro d’Italia rivals. As a decoy, the team from the Emirates also brings Adam Yates, although his recent performances haven’t been particularly convincing.

For Primoz Roglic, this will be his first serious test of the year. The Slovenian from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe showed up at the Volta ao Algarve without even shaving his legs, but after his first altitude training camp, he sees Catalonia as his initial benchmark. Simon Yates (Visma | Lease a Bike) has also been to altitude, but that didn’t pay off at Tirreno-Adriatico. In the absence of Jonas Vingegaard, he’ll be sharing general classification duties with Wilco Kelderman.

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Part of last year’s top ten is also back. Runner-up Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) is present, and Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers), who finished third, returns now after recovering from a collarbone fracture. In addition, fifth-place finisher Enric Mas (Movistar), seventh-place Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), and tenth-place Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS-Astana) may also be competing for the prizes again.

Elsewhere, keep an eye on riders like Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), and Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla), who have yet to find top form this season. Lidl-Trek will rely on Tao Geoghegan Hart and the returning Lennard Kämna. Belgians Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto) and Laurens De Plus (INEOS) already have results under their belts this year, which is always a good sign.

Who are the favorites for the general classification of the Tour of Catalonia 2025, according to IDLProCycling.com?

Top favorites:Juan Ayuso (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Outsiders:Adam Yates (UAE Emirates-XRG), Simon Yates (Visma | Lease a Bike), Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) and Enric Mas (Movistar)
Long shots: Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Lennert Van Eetvelt (Loto), Egan Bernal, Laurens De Plus (INEOS Grenadiers) and Wilco Kelderman (Visma | Lease a Bike)

TV coverage Tour of Catalonia 2025

The Tour of Catalonia will be broadcast on Eurosport 1 and HBO Max, with daily coverage of the final race hours. For more information, check out our TV guide Cycling on TV.

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