Godon nips Evenepoel in wild uphill sprint at Volta a Catalunya as Red Bull leader looks to reassert GC status against Vingegaard, Almeida, Pidcock.
Godon nips Evenepoel in Catalunya (Photo: Getty Images )
Updated March 23, 2026 11:23AM
Dorian Godon (Ineos Grenadiers) denied Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) by a matter of centimeters in a thrilling finale on stage 1 of the Volta a Catalunya on Monday.
The Frenchman won in Sant Feliu de Guíxols after Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) and then Evenepoel launched attacks in a grinding uphill sprint.
It was the second win in three race days for Godon, who is enjoying a strong debut season with Ineos Grenadiers.
Evenepoel finished second, narrowly beaten by Godon.
“The last 800 meters were uphill, and that’s something that should normally suit me. I went for it, and it just wasn’t quite for me,” Evenepoel told The Newspaper after the stage.
“That’s a shame, but it is a good start to the week,” he said.
Pidcock finished third.
Pre-race favorite Jonas Vingegaard finished safely in the pack, demonstrating authority in the final kilometers of Monday’s stage.
This assertive Vingegaard led the bunch down a twisting, high-speed descent through the final kilometers after the breakaway was caught.
The explosive finale sets the tone for an aggressive week of racing at Volta a Catalunya, with a challenging, vertically demanding course.
Back with something to prove
Evenepoel faces a key test of his Tour de France credentials at this week’s Catalan tour.
He faces a deep field of general classification (GC) contenders including Vingegaard, Pidcock, João Almeida, Oscar Onley, and Derek Gee-West.
A tough week in Spain marks Evenepoel’s first race since his classification aspirations at the UAE Tour last month were thwarted.
Two high-profile mountaintop struggles left him 2:25 behind race-winner Isaac del Toro, and searching for answers after strong performances in Mallorca.
A tenth-place finish in the UAE Tour is not the level of performance Red Bull expects from its star rider.
Evenepoel is expecting – and will be expected – to improve at Catalunya.
He completed his first altitude camp of the season this weekend.
“The UAE Tour wasn’t my best week. In Tenerife, I was able to reset a bit and operate for a good month. I was able to do everything on my schedule,” Evenepoel said Sunday. “Now we aim for to notice the benefit.”
“Given the course this week, I’ve focused mainly on longer blocks, since there are finishes involving more than half an hour of climbing.”
Evenepoel vs. Vingegaard? Remco hopes so
Evenepoel identified Vingegaard as the benchmark for this week’s race.
The Dane dominated the rain-affected Paris-Nice earlier this month, making a strong statement of intent for his Giro-Tour double.
For Vingegaard, the Volta a Catalunya is a final preparation for the Giro’s challenging stages.
For Evenepoel, it’s a chance to gauge his performance against the best – and to end a three-year drought without a WorldTour stage-race victory.
“I’ve arrive close a few times, but it hasn’t really worked out yet. The only two stage races [that worked out for me] are the UAE Tour and the Tour of Poland,” Evenepoel said, referring to his GC victories in 2023 and 2020 respectively.
“But of course those aren’t races like Paris-Nice or the Tour of Catalunya. I’m critical enough myself to realize that I need to win again.”
Three summit finishes in three days from Thursday through Saturday will reveal whether his training on Teide has translated to success on the road.