Once again, the UCI World Tour circuit returns to Spain, and as always, it does so with the oldest of our country's tours: the Volta a Catalunya.

The tours of the Valencian Community, Andalusia, and Murcia, as well as the Mallorcan races and the Almería Classic, are now behind us. And we still have UCI World Tour races ahead of us, such as the Itzulia (very soon), the San Sebastián Classic, and of course the Vuelta a España.

But today we will talk about the oldest of all.

The Volta is not only important for its age. It's a truly privileged race due to its position on the calendar. Its location, in March, allows racegoers to come here without running the risk of getting out of shape , or, conversely, falling short. It's close enough and far enough away from the major events. Some will come with the spring classics in mind, while others will skip those classics to avoid over-fitting for the Giro. The fact is that the Catalan race manages to attract top figures year after year, both nationally and internationally.

Last year , without going any further, we saw the unofficial emergence of the figure of Egan Bernal (very fashionable now after winning Paris-Nice), who was the second strongest man in the race, until a fall on the final circuit of Montjuic forced him to retire.

Stake

This year won't bring together the usual constellation of stars, but there will undoubtedly be some big names.

The duel of the year, predictably, will once again be the one from last year: Egan Bernal versus Alejandro Valverde . Sky versus Movistar, just like in the recently concluded Paris-Nice. In this case, and despite Valverde being the defending champion, my favorite is Egan Bernal. I'm still impressed by his performance in the French race last week.

But they're not the only favorites. We have big names who could easily take the top spot on the podium. Frenchmen Bardet and Pinot, after a mediocre performance in Nice and Tirreno. We'll also have the Astana show, represented by Miguel Ángel López and Pello Bilbao. Enric Mas will also be a star.

At the time of publication, the following riders are unconfirmed, but they are registered: Richie Porte, a one-time La Volta winner, Chris Froome, Fabio Aru, Steven Kruijswijk, Wilco Kelderman, and Ilnur Zakarin. It's almost nothing.

This year we have a special incentive: Remco Evenepoel .

The young Belgian is already a figure in cycling. He impressed us at the Tour de San Juan, confirmed he's a capable rider for World Tour pace at the UAE Tour, and now he's coming to Europe to make his debut at the Volta a Catalunya. I'm really looking forward to seeing him in the hilltop finishes, where there aren't any steep climbs and where I think he'll perform very well. We won't see his credentials in the time trial, his greatest strength right now.

Route

If there's one thing I think the Volta lacks, it's its repetitive route. I don't want to say it's bad, but when you see the route, you get the feeling of watching the same old race every year, and it takes away some of the hype surrounding it. As I say, it doesn't have to be a negative thing, as there are years when the race is good and years when it's not so good, but I think it should look for something more varied to avoid falling into the same old repetition. This is something that also happened to the Itzulia, and it has managed to solve it in the last two years.

The route doesn't feature an individual time trial (the biggest downfall of cycling this decade), with Valter 2000 and Molina as key finishes, repeating the trend of easy mountain finishes. The remaining stages are medium-mountain but predictably end in a sprint, which attracts some sprinters who weren't used to coming here (the change from San Remo to Saturday means many more can attend). As always, it will conclude with the classic Barcelona stage with the circuit around Montjuïc (expected to be the most entertaining stage of the race).

However, I understand the organization. It's a route that manages to attract big names year after year, even those who rarely or never race in the spring (Chris Froome). That means sponsors, visibility. Also, I imagine they have contracts with the different finishes.

Oh, by the way, we'll pray that the Valter 2000 stage doesn't have to be cancelled.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1600"] Photo: Kramon[/caption]

Milan-San Remo

Also taking place this weekend is 'la Primavera,' or 'la Classicisima. ' Sprint or solo finish? A small group finish, perhaps? Will Sagan break away from the race or wait for the sprint? All eyes are on him, and he knows he has the perfect conditions to win.

Among the sprinters, the well-known ones. No one will be missing (well, Kittel, yes, but unfortunately, few people remember him these days). The favorites are Ewan, Viviani, Groenewegen, and Gaviria, mainly. Also worth mentioning is the winner of this race, Arnaud Demare.

On the outlaw side we have Alaphilippe, Michal Kwiatkowski and Alejandro Valverde, mainly.

My favorite? I'm clear. Julian Alaphilippe, the heir apparent. His Tirreno-Adriatico performance was frightening. It looks like we'll see a season similar to Gilbert's 2011. He won't even leave a single crumb.