Betting Preview for the 2022 Volta a Catalunya

This month, the 101st edition of the Volta a Catalunya cycling race is on the program. The event begins Monday, March 21, and ends six days later.

With the route going over the Pyrenees mountains, the race usually favors elite climbers such as Adam Yates, the rider who won the previous event. Are we going to see him defend his title? The answer is no – the defending champ isn’t taking part in the 2022 race.

However, his twin brother is! As per 2022 Volta a Catalunya odds, we could see Simon Yates finish the race before everyone else.

If you’d like to see what I think, all you got to do is read my and 2022 Volta a Catalunya betting guide.

Although it’s not the most popular sport on the planet, cycling is covered by several online sportsbooks. If you’d like to do some cycling betting this March, you have dozens if not hundreds of betting sites to choose from.

Sure, there are many sportsbooks where you can bet on Volta a Catalunya 2022; not all offer equally attractive odds. This is why my recommendation is to stick with the ones from the list above.

Apart from giving lucrative 2022 Volta a Catalunya betting odds, these sites are great for various other reasons – amazing bonuses, fast payouts, 24/7 support, and so on.

Last year, it was all about Ineos Grenadiers at Tour de Catalunya. Only the riders from this team ended up on the podium. Adam Yates won the race, with his teammates – Richie Porte and Geraint Thomas – finishing just behind.

Adam Yates: 'No one expected us to be 1-2-3 on the podium' at Volta a Catalunya https://t.co/f6qoOLYfSy pic.twitter.com/wuBu9BjgdU

— Cycling Weekly (@cyclingweekly) March 28, 2021

It was the first time a rider from Ineos Grenadiers won this race. As per 2022 Volta a Catalunya betting odds, the chances are the history will repeat itself. Some of Ineos Grenadiers’ riders are seen as the top Volta Catalunya contenders. One of those is Ecuadorian Olympian Richard Carapaz.

He could win, but oddsmakers are still giving the advantage to Simon Yates, the twin brother of the last year’s Volta Catalunya champion.

The 2022 Volta a Catalunya odds suggest the title will stay in the family. The twin brother of the last year’s Vuelta Catalunya champion is the #1 favorite to win this year’s race.

The man in question is Simon Yates, a prolific climber who’s already won this event once. It happened four years ago in 2018, Vuelta a Catalunya.

Online sportsbooks did an excellent job last year with their Volta a Catalunya betting odds. Oddsmakers from Bovada, for example, we’re right to label Adam Yates as the main favorite, pricing him at +250 on the day of the race.

The favorite rider did win last year, but this doesn’t mean this race is easily predictable. On the contrary, the history of Volta a Catalunya teaches us that surprises do happen.

If a surprise is going to happen this year, which rider will be the one to cause it? Right now, I have three Volta a Catalunya sleepers on my mind – Richard Carapaz, Alejandro Valverde, and Esteban Chaves.

In 2021, Richard Carapaz became the first man in history to hold an Olympic gold and have a podium in all three Grand Tours. The 5’7 Ecuadorian cyclist is coming off a vintage season, which saw him win Tour De Suisse and finish third in Tour de France and win the gold medal in Tokyo.

Next came the Tour de la Provence, which he was forced to skip after testing positive for COVID-19. His luck changed in late March when he won the time trial at the National Road Championships in his native Ecuador.

Alejandro Valverde is the only active cyclist who’s won the Volta a Catalunya more than once. The legendary Spanish all-rounder did it three times in his two-decades-long pro career.

The only problem is that his age isn’t doing him any favor. Now a 41-year-old, Valverde hasn’t won anything major in nearly four years.

Chaves was the rider to receive a white-and-red striped jersey at last year’s race for winning the mountain classification. He collected 50 points, which is ten more than second-placed Adam Yates.

He also won the points classification in that race, while in the general category, Chaves finished sixth. We could see him do even better this year with a more elaborate tactic.

As I’ve already mentioned in my Volta a Catalunya betting guide, this is a hilly race, with several stages in the Pyrenees. Knowing this, it’s not surprising that most previous race winners are climbers, punchers, or all-rounders.

The 2020 race was canceled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Another thing to keep in mind when betting on the Volta a Catalunya is that this is one of the most prestigious races in the cycling universe. Originally named Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, this is Spain’s oldest still-existing cycling race. Such, the race has a special place in the heart of Spanish riders.

This explains why cyclists from Spain won 60 of the past 100 Volta a Catalunya races. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if another Spaniard won the 2022 race.

Simon Yates – this is my answer to who will win the Volta a Catalunya in 2022. The British rider is one of the best climbers in the world today and someone who seems to love cycling in Spain.

I got something else for you if you liked my Volta a Catalunya betting preview – my prediction for the 2022 Milan-San Remo monument race on Saturday, March 19 below.