2012 Volta a Catalunya
| 2012 UCI World Tour, race 5 of 28 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The route of the 2012 Volta a Catalunya
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | 19–25 March | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 995.2 km (618.4 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 24h 15' 45" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Winner |
 Michael Albasini (Switzerland)
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(GreenEDGE) | |
| Second |
 Samuel Sánchez (Spain)
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(Euskaltel–Euskadi) | |
| Third |
 Jurgen Van den Broeck (Belgium)
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(Lotto–Belisol) | |
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Mountains |
 Chris Anker Sørensen (Denmark)
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(Team Saxo Bank) |
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Sprints |
 Tomasz Marczyński (Poland)
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(Vacansoleil–DCM) |
| Team | Garmin–Barracuda | ||
The 2012 Volta a Catalunya was the 92nd running of the Volta a Catalunya cycling stage race. It started on 19 March in Calella and ended on 25 March in Barcelona, and consisted of seven stages. It was the fifth race of the 2012 UCI World Tour season.
The race was won by Switzerland's Michael Albasini of GreenEDGE, after winning the first two stages of the race and maintained his advantage all the way to the end of the race. Albasini won the general classification by 90 seconds over runner-up Samuel Sánchez of the Euskaltel–Euskadi team. Third place was taken by Lotto–Belisol's Jurgen Van den Broeck, after thirteen riders finished the race with a deficit of 92 seconds to Albasini; Van Den Broeck recorded the lowest cumulative score for his stage positions, and as a result, was placed highest of the group of riders. In the race's other classifications, Tomasz Marczyński of Vacansoleil–DCM won the white jersey for the most points gained in intermediate sprints, while Team Saxo Bank rider Chris Anker Sørensen won the King of the Mountains classification, and Garmin–Barracuda finished at the head of the teams classification.
As the Volta a Catalunya was a UCI World Tour event, all 18 UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad. Five other squads were given wildcard places into the race, and as such, formed the event's 23-team peloton.
The 23 teams that competed in the race were:
Following an early, yet unsuccessful, attack from Cédric Pineau of FDJ–BigMat, a quintet of riders – GreenEDGE's Michael Albasini, Ag2r–La Mondiale rider Ben Gastauer, Timmy Duggan of Liquigas–Cannondale, Cofidis's Nicolas Edet and Saur–Sojasun rider Anthony Delaplace – made the primary breakaway from the field, just as they moved into the village of Arbúcies for the first intermediate sprint of the race. The five riders managed to extend their advantage over the main field to in excess of six minutes at one point during the stage, which was run in largely dry conditions apart from the second categorised climb – of three during the stage – of the first-category Coll Formic, where the riders were met by wet conditions with hail also falling. The breakaway's advantage had been cut to around three and a half minutes as the main field moved over the climb at Coll Formic, but the quintet managed to put more time into the pack, after their pace relented slightly. Their gap almost topped four minutes once again, before Astana and the Movistar Team forced the cause from the field, and again the time between the groups dwindled.
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