Nairo Quintana and Warren Barguil will compete in the Volta a Catalunya in March after Arkea Samsic received an invitation to the 100th edition.

The duo will start the 2020 season together at the Tour de la Provence and will compete together in numerous races throughout the season. In the spring program, they will compete in Paris-Nice, the Ardennes Classics, and the Tour de France, and the Criterium du Dauphiné will also be on their calendar.

"The Volta a Catalunya, which celebrates its centenary this year, is an interesting stage for climbers, with finishes in Valtell 2000 and Porto Aine.

"We thank the organizers for trusting the Alcare Samsic team and inviting them to the start of the competition.

Quintana has competed in the Volta a Catalunya seven times since his first appearance in 2011, beating Alberto Contador and Dan Martín to win in 2016 and taking his second WorldTour win in 2013 on stage 3 of Valtell 2000. Barguil's best result in five appearances was ninth overall in 2014.

Arkea Samsic is one of five professional teams invited to compete in the 2020 Games. Alpecin Phoenix, Burgos-BH, Caja Rural-Segros RGA, Circus-Wanti Gobert, and Fundacion Euskadi will also compete.

2019 champion Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) will defend his title. Egan Bernal (Team Ineos), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), and Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) are also big names likely to start on the 23rd.