# 2007 Volta a Catalunya

The 2007 Volta a Catalunya was the 87th edition of the Volta a Catalunya road cycling race, which took place from 21 May to 27 May 2007, in Catalonia. The race began in Salou with a team time trial and ended in Barcelona. The race was won by Russian Vladimir Karpets of the Caisse d'Epargne team, who won the race thanks to winning the team time trial, and second placings on the toughest mountain stage (stage 4) and the mountain time trial (stage 5). The race also saw the first UCI ProTour victories for young British sprinter Mark Cavendish of the T-Mobile Team, when he took stages 2 and 6.
Twenty-five teams took part. The five wildcards have were awarded to Karpin–Galicia, Relax–GAM, Andalucía–CajaSur, Fuerteventura–Canarias and Slipstream–Chipotle.

## Teams

Twenty-five teams of up to eight riders started the race:
* Saunier Duval–Prodir
* Caisse d'Epargne
* Astana
* Discovery Channel
* Rabobank
* Euskaltel–Euskadi
* AG2R Prévoyance
* Bouygues Télécom
* Cofidis
* Quick-Step–Innergetic
* Française des Jeux
* Lampre–Fondital
* Liquigas
* Unibet.com
* T-Mobile Team
* Team CSC
* Team Milram
* Crédit Agricole
* Predictor–Lotto
* Gerolsteiner
* Relax–GAM
* Karpin–Galicia
* Andalucía–Cajasur
* Fuerteventura–Canarias
* Slipstream–Chipotle

## Route

Stage characteristics and winners :
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner |
| 1 | 21 May | Salou to Salou | 15.7 km (9.8 mi) | Team time trial | Caisse d'Epargne |
| 2 | 22 May | Salou to Perafort | 170 km (105.6 mi) | | Mark Cavendish (GBR) |
| 3 | 23 May | Perafort to Tàrrega | 182.1 km (113.2 mi) | | Allan Davis (AUS) |
| 4 | 24 May | Tàrrega to Vallnord-Arinsal | 203.1 km (126.2 mi) | | Óscar Sevilla (ESP) |
| 5 | 25 May | Sornàs to Vallnord-Arcalís | 17.1 km (10.6 mi) | Individual time trial | Denis Menchov (RUS) |
| 6 | 26 May | Llívia to Lloret de Mar | 177.1 km (110.0 mi) | | Mark Cavendish (GBR) |
| 7 | 27 May | Lloret de Mar to Barcelona | 119.3 km (74.1 mi) | | Samuel Sánchez (ESP) |

## Stages
### Stage 1

21 May 2007: Salou to Salou, 15.7 km (9.8 mi) (TTT)
| | Team | Time |
| 1 | Caisse d'Epargne | 16' 54" |
| 2 | Team CSC | + 16" |
| 3 | Astana | + 17" |
| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Vladimir Karpets (RUS) | Caisse d'Epargne | 16' 54" |
| 2 | Óscar Pereiro (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne | s.t. |
| 3 | Iván Gutiérrez (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne | s.t. |

### Stage 2

22 May 2007: Salou to Perafort, 170 km (110 mi)
| | Cyclist | Team | Time | UCI Points |
| 1 | Mark Cavendish (GBR) | T-Mobile Team | 4h 01' 47" | 3 pts |
| 2 | Aaron Kemps (AUS) | Astana | s.t. | 2 pts |
| 3 | Leonardo Duque (COL) | Cofidis | s.t. | 1 pt |
| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Imanol Erviti (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne | 4h 18' 40" |
| 2 | Iván Gutiérrez (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne | + 1" |
| 3 | Vladimir Karpets (RUS) | Caisse d'Epargne | + 1" |

### Stage 3

23 May 2007: Perafort to Tàrrega, 182.1 km (113.2 mi)
| | Cyclist | Team | Time | UCI Points |
| 1 | Allan Davis (AUS) | Discovery Channel | 4h 29' 26" | 3 pts |
| 2 | Baden Cooke (AUS) | Unibet.com | s.t. | 2 pts |
| 3 | Daniele Bennati (ITA) | Lampre–Fondital | s.t. | 1 pt |
| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Imanol Erviti (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne | 8h 48' 06" |
| 2 | Iván Gutiérrez (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne | + 1" |
| 3 | Vladimir Karpets (RUS) | Caisse d'Epargne | + 1" |

### Stage 4

24 May 2007: Tàrrega to Vallnord-Arinsal (Andorra), 201.1 km (125.0 mi)
| | Cyclist | Team | Time | UCI Points |
| 1 | Óscar Sevilla (ESP) | Relax–GAM | 6h 06' 43" | N/A |
| 2 | Michael Rogers (AUS) | T-Mobile Team | + 33" | 2 pts |
| 3 | Christophe Moreau (FRA) | AG2R Prévoyance | + 34" | 1 pt |
| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Óscar Sevilla (ESP) | Relax–GAM | 14h 55' 22" |
| 2 | Vladimir Karpets (RUS) | Caisse d'Epargne | + 31" |
| 3 | Michael Rogers (AUS) | T-Mobile Team | + 35" |

### Stage 5

25 May 2007: Sornas to Vallnord-Arcalís (Andorra), 17.1 km (10.6 mi) (ITT)
| | Cyclist | Team | Time | UCI Points |
| 1 | Denis Menchov (RUS) | Rabobank | 38' 58" | 3 pts |
| 2 | Vladimir Karpets (RUS) | Caisse d'Epargne | + 4" | 2 pts |
| 3 | Rémy Di Gregorio (FRA) | Française des Jeux | + 24" | 1 pt |
| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Vladimir Karpets (RUS) | Caisse d'Epargne | 15h 34' 55" |
| 2 | Denis Menchov (RUS) | Rabobank | + 16" |
| 3 | Michael Rogers (AUS) | T-Mobile Team | + 40" |

### Stage 6

26 May 2007: Llívia to Lloret de Mar, 177.1 km (110.0 mi)
| | Cyclist | Team | Time | UCI Points |
| 1 | Mark Cavendish (GBR) | T-Mobile Team | 3h 59' 55" | 3 pts |
| 2 | Leonardo Duque (COL) | Cofidis | s.t. | 2 pts |
| 3 | Paolo Bossoni (ITA) | Lampre–Fondital | s.t. | 1 pt |
| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Vladimir Karpets (RUS) | Caisse d'Epargne | 19h 34' 50" |
| 2 | Michael Rogers (AUS) | T-Mobile Team | + 40" |
| 3 | Denis Menchov (RUS) | Rabobank | + 44" |

### Stage 7

27 May 2007: Lloret de Mar to Barcelona, 119.3 km (74.1 mi)
| | Cyclist | Team | Time | UCI Points |
| 1 | Samuel Sánchez (ESP) | Euskaltel–Euskadi | 2h 46' 06" | 3 pts |
| 2 | Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) | Astana | + 5" | 2 pts |
| 3 | Denis Menchov (RUS) | Rabobank | + 9" | 1 pt |
| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Vladimir Karpets (RUS) | Caisse d'Epargne | 22h 21' 05" |
| 2 | Michael Rogers (AUS) | T-Mobile Team | + 40" |
| 3 | Denis Menchov (RUS) | Rabobank | + 40" |

## Final standing
### General classification

| | Cyclist | Country | Team | Time | UCI Points |
| 1 | Vladimir Karpets | Russia | Caisse d'Epargne | 22h 21' 05" | 50 |
| 2 | Michael Rogers | Australia | T-Mobile Team | + 40" | 40 |
| 3 | Denis Menchov | Russia | Rabobank | + 40" | 35 |
| 4 | Christophe Moreau | France | AG2R Prévoyance | + 1' 34" | 30 |
| 5 | Óscar Sevilla | Spain | Relax–GAM | + 1' 34" | N/A |
| 6 | Francisco Mancebo | Spain | Relax–GAM | + 1' 59" | N/A |
| 7 | John Gadret | France | AG2R Prévoyance | + 2' 19" | 15 |
| 8 | Marcos-Antonio Serrano | Spain | Karpin–Galicia | + 2' 39" | N/A |
| 9 | Laurens ten Dam | Netherlands | Unibet.com | + 2' 44" | 5 |
| 10 | Janez Brajkovič | Slovenia | Discovery Channel | + 2' 47" | 2 |

## Jersey progress

| Stage (Winner) | General Classification | Mountains Classification | Points Classification | Sprints classification | Team Classification |
| 0Stage 1 (TTT) (Caisse d'Epargne) | Vladimir Karpets | no award | no award | no award | Caisse d'Epargne |
| 0Stage 2 (Mark Cavendish) | Imanol Erviti | Francisco José Martínez | Mark Cavendish | Víctor Hugo Peña | Caisse d'Epargne |
| 0Stage 3 (Allan Davis) | Imanol Erviti | Francisco José Martínez | Baden Cooke | Víctor Hugo Peña | Caisse d'Epargne |
| 0Stage 4 (Óscar Sevilla) | Óscar Sevilla | Luis Pasamontes | Baden Cooke | Luis Pasamontes | Relax–GAM |
| 0Stage 5 (ITT) (Denis Menchov) | Vladimir Karpets | Luis Pasamontes | Denis Menchov | Luis Pasamontes | Relax–GAM |
| 0Stage 6 (Mark Cavendish) | Vladimir Karpets | Luis Pasamontes | Mark Cavendish | Víctor Hugo Peña | Relax–GAM |
| 0Stage 7 (Samuel Sánchez) | Vladimir Karpets | Luis Pasamontes | Denis Menchov | Víctor Hugo Peña | Relax–GAM |
| 0Final | Vladimir Karpets | Luis Pasamontes | Denis Menchov | Víctor Hugo Peña | Relax–GAM |

## Individual 2007 UCI ProTour standings after race

As of 27 May 2007, after the Volta a Catalunya
While the top 10 places remain the same, race winner Vladimir Karpets moves into 13th position.
| Rank | Previous Rank | Name | Nationality | Team | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Davide Rebellin | Italy | Gerolsteiner | 157 |
| 2 | 2 | Alejandro Valverde | Spain | Caisse d'Epargne | 107 |
| 3 | 3 | Danilo Di Luca | Italy | Liquigas | 100 |
| 4 | 4 | Óscar Freire | Spain | Rabobank | 82 |
| 5 | 5 | Stuart O'Grady | Australia | Team CSC | 79 |
| 6 | 6 | Stefan Schumacher | Germany | Gerolsteiner | 75 |
| 7 | 7 | Fränk Schleck | Luxembourg | Team CSC | 63 |
| 8 | 8 | Juan José Cobo | Spain | Saunier Duval–Prodir | 62 |
| 9 | 9 | Alberto Contador | Spain | Discovery Channel | 58 |
| 10 | 10 | Tom Boonen | Belgium | Quick-Step–Innergetic | 57 |
| 11 | 11 | Thomas Dekker | Netherlands | Rabobank | 55 |
| 12 | 12 | Andreas Klöden | Germany | Astana | 53 |
| 13 | - | Vladimir Karpets | Russia | Caisse d'Epargne | 52 |
| 14 | 13 | Alessandro Ballan | Italy | Lampre–Fondital | 50 |
| 15 | 14 | Matthias Kessler | Germany | Astana | 50 |
* 103 riders (up from 93 riders) have scored at least one point on the 2007 UCI ProTour.