For the fourth consecutive day at the Volta a Catalunya, Rudy Molard slipped into the top 20. On Thursday, the experienced French rider even secured twelfth place on a shortened fourth stage, which ultimately favoured the sprinters. Thanks to his consistency since Monday, the Groupama-FDJ United rider is now seventh in the overall standings, as the real battle for the general classification is expected to kick off on Friday.
Originally, the 2026 Volta a Catalunya was set to enter a new phase on Thursday, with high-mountain terrain and the traditional climb to Vallter 2000. Due to weather conditions—specifically strong gusts at the summit—the organizers were forced to move the finish line to the foot of the climb in Camprodón. This left only 151 kilometers for the fourth act, turning a stage initially designed for climbers into a new opportunity for sprinters. With 2,800 metres of elevation gain on the menu, other scenarios were still possible, which is why Maxime Decomble tried his luck from the start in a five-man breakaway. “There hasn’t been much fighting for the break in the past few days,” explained Stéphane Goubert. “Today, the first intermediate sprint came relatively early, so there might have been more movement. We tried; Maxime went in a move at the start, but the peloton controlled it to chase the bonus seconds, and they were caught. Then, a group of four got away, but it wasn’t interesting at all, especially since Veistroffer was going to drop back after the King of the Mountains points.”
“We’re going to be active” – Stéphane Goubert
After around forty kilometres, only two riders remained up front, and the peloton had no trouble controlling them for the rest of the day. In the final hour, they waited until 18 kilometres from the finish to fully neutralize the breakaway. The first heat came during the last intermediate sprint, after which Groupama-FDJ United moved forward in the very slightly uphill final. “We wanted to play our card with Rudy because of that 200–300 metre climb in the last kilometre,” Stéphane said. “He came up well and was in the top five at the summit. The wind was initially supposed to come from behind, which would have favoured attacks, but it ended up being head-on, which slowed things down. Unfortunately, there was then a descent followed by 400 metres of flat, which didn’t play in our favor and pushed Rudy out of the top 10. Still, the intent was good.” At the finish line, Rudy Molard still posted his best result of the week, twelfth, after a series of top-20 finishes (15, 19, 19, respectively) since Monday.
Thanks to his consistency, the 36-year-old Frenchman sits seventh overall on Thursday evening, while Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet is thirteenth. “It was a slightly long day because there wasn’t much racing, but two high-mountain stages are coming, and we’re going to be active,” Stéphane concluded. “Tomorrow, the sequence of climbs should suit Guillaume. There’s strong competition, but we’ll focus on doing things right, and on this type of course, the result will almost take care of itself.”
