Hans Becking and Marta Cano win the VolCAT by SCOTT 2026 in a spectacular final stage

Dutch rider Hans Becking and Spanish rider Marta Cano have won the VolCAT by SCOTT. The final stage was characterised by a closely contested men’s race, which came down to a photo-finish sprint won by Corran Carrick-Anderson ahead of Becking and Francesc Barber. In the women’s category, Cano led for most of the stage, but Bakker overtook her in the final stretch and managed to hold on to the lead until the finish line.

Hans Becking wins the VolCAT for the fifth time

The second day of the VolCAT Festival began under glorious sunshine, and the participants in the VolCAT by SCOTT – part of the SCOTT Marathon BTT XCM (long distance) – arrived punctually at the starting line. Ahead lay the race’s queen stage: 67 kilometres and 1,490 metres of elevation gain.

The start went off without a hitch and the peloton left the Parc Central in Igualada, the nerve centre of the event, behind them. The main favourites soon broke away from the rest of the field. From then on, no one was able to break the race open; it was time to conserve strength and save energy.

Xavier Pijuan, Carrick-Anderson, Becking, Ariza, Barber and Gutiérrez took turns in the lead. The race unfolded along trails, technical climbs and descents, and springtime landscapes.

The leading group gradually lost riders as the kilometres passed. Becking, Barber and Carrick-Anderson emerged as the sole survivors; a three-way battle that lasted until the final metres. Barber faded, whilst Becking and Carrick-Anderson battled it out right to the finish line. The Scot claimed the stage victory and Becking secured another win in the general classification.

Bakker springs a surprise to win the stage; Cano takes the overall title

In the women’s race, Lola Bakker won the stage after picking up the pace in the second half of the race. This change of tactics allowed her to leave Cano behind, who had been the standout rider up to that point. The Spaniard pushed hard in the final stretch, but it wasn’t enough to beat Bakker.

The overall classification went to Marta Cano.