Sergio Higuita wraps up Volta a Catalunya victory as Andrea Bagioli wins final stage
It is Higuita's first GC win in Europe
Sergio Higuita won the Volta a Catalunya, the biggest win of his young career, as Andrea Bagioli claimed the final stage.
Colombian Higuita moved into the race lead on Saturday after his breakaway heroics with Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers), and the Bora-Hansgrohe rider never had his GC lead troubled on the seventh and final stage in Barcelona.
A day of multiple attacks came to nothing in the end, with a small group contesting a bunch finish, won by Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl's Bagioli.
It is the 23-year-old's fourth victory of his career and his first WorldTour win. It means that the Belgian team leave the race with two stage wins, following Ethan Vernon's success on stage five.
For Higuita it caps off a terrific week of racing, the 24-year-old in contention to win the two summit finishes in the Pyrenees and then forming part of a 125km attack with Carapaz on Saturday, a move that will live long in the memory.
The 24-year-old, who joined Bora from EF Education First in the winter, won the Tour Colombia in 2020, but this is his first major general classification win in Europe.
Carapaz finished second on GC, 16 seconds in arrears, while former race leader João Almeida (UAE-Team Emirates) rounded out the podium in third place.
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How it unfolded
The final stage of what has been an engrossing race began in the centre of Barcelona before heading out to the hillier suburbs ahead of a return into the heart of the city for seven laps of an undulating finishing circuit.
A number of attacks failed to stick in the first 30km of racing, before a group of 12 snuck away. The best GC rider in the group was Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-Victorious) who was 2-05 in arrears from race leader Higuita, while Jumbo-Visma's Steven Kruijswijk and Trek-Segafredo's Giulio Ciccone were also present.
The dozen riders were permitted an advantage of around 90 seconds, that lead dropping to 45 seconds as they completed the first city centre lap.
With around 45km left to race, most of the breakaway were caught by the peloton, although Kruijswijk and Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) remained out front.
Typical of this final stage, there were subsequent multiple attacks from the peloton, a new chasing group of eight riders being formed, with UAE-Team Emirates' George Bennett among those present.
With Kruijswijk and Pacher holding a gap of around 50 seconds to the peloton 25km from the line, the chase group was reduced to four, now containing Simon Clarke of Israel - Premier Tech and Dries Devenyns of Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl.
The quartet were caught shortly afterwards, with the leading duo eventually pulled back by the peloton with one lap to race. There were frequent attacks, but none were permitted a lengthy stay, meaning that a sprint from the reduced peloton would determine the outcome.
After the final bend and into the finishing straight alongside thousands of fans, Bagioli never looked like being beaten, cruising to a comfortable sprint victory with Attila Valter of Groupama-FDJ coming home second, and Caja Rural - Seguros RGA's Fernando Barceló in third.
Volta a Catalunya 2022 stage seven: Barcelona to Barcelona (139km)
1. Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, in 3-18-09
2. Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama-FDJ
3. Fernando Barceló (Esp) Caja Rural - Seguros RSA
4. Juan Ayuso (Esp) UAE-Team Emirates
5. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain-Victorious
6. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis
7. Nairo Quintana (Col) Arkéa-Samsic
8. Carlos Verona (Esp) Movistar
9. Sergio Higuita (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe
10. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers, all at same time
Final general classification
1. Sergio Higuita (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 29-53-33
2. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers, at 16s
3. João Almeida (Por) UAE-Team Emirates, at 52s
4. Nairo Quintana (Col) Arkéa-Samsic, at 53s
5. Juan Ayuso (Esp) UAE-Team Emirates, at 1-08
6. Ben O'Connor (Aus) AG2R Citroën, at 1-10
7. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X, at 1-13
8. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis, at 1-16
9. Torstein Træen (Nor) Uno-X, at 1-27
10. Sam Oomen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma, at 1-55
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A freelance sports journalist and podcaster, you'll mostly find Chris's byline attached to news scoops, profile interviews and long reads across a variety of different publications. He has been writing regularly for Cycling Weekly since 2013. In 2024 he released a seven-part podcast documentary, Ghost in the Machine, about motor doping in cycling.
Previously a ski, hiking and cycling guide in the Canadian Rockies and Spanish Pyrenees, he almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains. He lives in Valencia, Spain.
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