Volta ao Algarve 2024

Updated: 20 February, 2024

Volta ao Algarve stage 5: Evenepoel wins third Algarve GC while Martínez wins again

Dani Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe) sprinted to victory for the second time this week, beating Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) on the Alto do Malhão. Nevertheless, the Belgian was close enough to secure the overall victory in Portugal.

While the finished result was fairly unsurprising, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) did their best to shake up the race with both riders attacking from afar while into the stage in the top ten on the GC. The move pushed the Soudal Quick-Step team as they had to ride hard at the front of the race to pull the breakaway back which they only managed to do with 2km left to race, setting up the last battle for the stage win amongst the favourites.

While Evenepoel was strong on the climb, Martínez matched the Belgian all the way up the climb and once again powered away with a rapid sprint to win the final stage ahead of the Evenepoel who wrapped up the overall classification.

Read more: Volta ao Algarve stage 5 report

Volta ao Algarve stage 4: Remco Evenepoel storms to time trial victory

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) took control of the race with a storming victory in the stage 4 time trial. Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) rode impressively and placed second on the stage at 16 seconds down, with Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) rounding out the podium at 29 seconds.

The time trial world champion delivered on his favourite status with a commanding performance that blew the yellow leader's jersey off the shoulders of Dani Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe) and into his own hands. While there were strong performances from the likes of Sheffield, Kūng and Isaac del Toro, Evenepoel showed once again his prowess as one of the best time trialists in the world.

Read more: Volta ao Algarve stage 4 report

Volta ao Algarve stage 3: Wout van Aert takes first win of the year

Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) won stage 3 on a slightly uphill drag to the finish line in Tavira after surfing the wheels in a hectic finale. Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates) took second just millimetres ahead of Marius Mayrhofer (Tudor Pro Cycling) in third, whilst stage 1 winner Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché-Wanty) settled for fourth.

The largely uneventful, 192km stage saw a seven-man breakaway of all Continental team riders up the road for most of the day, with Carlos Salgueiro (APHotels & Resorts/Tavira/SC Farens) the last to be caught, 14km before the finish.

While the action may have been missing for the first 178km, the final produced exciting racing as the sprinters jockeyed for position in the twisting final. In the end, one rider crashed on the exit of a roundabout in the last kilometre. The crash caused a small split, eliminating some of the sprinters from the contest. However, Van Aert managed to stay in front of the fray before timing his sprint to perfection on the uphill drag to the finish.

Read more: Volta ao Algarve stage 3 report

Volta ao Algarve stage 2: Dani Martínez beats Remco Evenepoel on Alto da Fóia

Dani Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe) won a thrilling mountaintop sprint ahead of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) in the dense fog on top of Alto da Fóia. Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) was the best of the rest in third, six seconds back.

The day was energized by a team attack from Uno-X Mobility for their leader Andreas Leknessund. The Scandinavian team placed three riders in the breakaway and pushed the gap out to over three minutes. Nevertheless, Soudal Quick-Step was up for the chase and upped the pace in the final third of the stage to bring back the break and make the race hard for the peloton ahead of the relatively shallow summit finish.

The peloton reeled in Leknessund, the last survivor of the breakaway, before the start of the final climb as James Knox poured on the power for his leader Evenepoel, whittling the group down to the select few. In the end, Evenepoel was queued up for the sprint by Mikel Landa and distanced everyone but Martínez in the last 200 metres. Martínez was up to the task, however, and accelerated around the Belgian to take the stage win and the overall lead.

Read more:

• Volta ao Algarve stage 2: Dani Martínez beats Remco Evenepoel on Alto da Fóia
• Volta ao Algarve: Tao Geoghegan Hart matches favourites on first climbing test since comeback

Volta ao Algarve stage 1: Gerben Thijssen wins in bunch sprint

Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché-Wanty) collected his second victory of the season, taking out the opening stage of the Volta ao Algarve in a bunch sprint ahead of Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) and Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe)

At the finish, there was some confusion about the line itself as Thijssen stopped pedalling on a white road marking 10 metres shy of the actual finish line. Nevertheless, his burst of finishing speed had allowed him enough of an advantage to hold on for victory as he cruised home ahead of the advancing Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost).

The final was also marred by several crashes in the closing kilometres, however, the main contenders for overall victory escaped without falling and all were awarded the same finishing time.

Read more:

• Volta ao Algarve: Gerben Thijssen wins stage 1 in bunch sprint
• Tom Pidcock dodges crashes on Volta ao Algarve opener with TT aims on the horizon

Volta ao Algarve 2024 overview

As winter slowly turns to spring in the Northern Hemisphere, the big stars of cycling start to stretch their legs at a collection of European stage races in the warmer part of the continent. The Volta ao Algarve is arguably the biggest of these early tests, with a strong peloton heading to the start in the southern end of Portugal.

From February 14 to 18, the likes of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) will all be lining up for their first stage race of the year.

With a dynamic mix of stages on offer, the race regularly draws some of the world’s best stage racers to its start line. In the last six years alone, Evenepoel, Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič - three of the biggest names in men’s cycling - have all taken an overall title. The list of high-profile former winners doesn’t end there either: Geraint Thomas, Tony Martin, Alberto Contador and Richie Porte have all etched their names onto the Volta ao Algarve’s honours list.

The five-day stage race, which tours Portugal’s southern Algarve region, typically takes place in mid-February. The timing prompts many one-day specialists to use it as a racing tune-up ahead of the Spring Classics, which kick off at Omloop Nieuwsblad a week later. Grand Tour riders also use it as an opportunity to dust off the winter cobwebs. Plus, with a tried and true format of punchy finishes instead of out-and-out climbing days to go with a short time trial, the race has a little bit of everything for the mixed bag of stars in the line-up.

Volta ao Algarve 2024 key information

When is the Volta ao Algarve 2024? The 2024 Volta ao Algarve will start on Wednesday, 14 February and will conclude on Sunday, 18 February.

Where does the Volta ao Algarve 2024 take place? As the name suggests, the Volta ao Algarve will take place in the Algarve region of Portugal in the far southern end of the country.

Who won the Volta ao Algarve in 2023? Dani Martínez won the 2023 edition of the Volta ao Algarve ahead of Filippo Ganna and Ilan Van Wilder.

When did the Volta ao Algarve start? The Volta ao Algarve began in 1960.

Who won the first Volta ao Algarve? The first edition was won by the Portuguese rider José Manuel Marques. Portuguese riders won the first nineteen editions of the Volta ao Algarve.

Who has the most wins at the Volta ao Algarve? Belmiro Silva has the most wins at the Volta ao Algarve with three overall victories.

Volta ao Algarve 2024 route

© Volta ao Algarve

The five stages of the 2024 Volta ao Algarve

The 2024 Volta ao Algarve will follow a classic mould with a couple of small changes. The two main summit finishes of the Alto da Fóia and the Alto do Malhāo return for stages 2 and 5 respectively. Usually, the Alto do Malhāo stage is the more selective of the two.

There are two likely sprint days, on stage 1 and stage 3. Altogether, with short climbs and the longest day weighing in at only 200km, the race is the perfect chance for the favourites to test their form without putting too much fatigue into the legs before their bigger objectives.

Which teams are racing the Volta ao Algarve 2024?

The Volta ao Algarve is a 2.Pro-level race and will have a mix of WorldTour, ProTour and Continental teams on the startline. Since the Volta ao Algarve is the highest-level stage race in Portugal, the Portuguese Continental contingent comes out in full force. In total, there will be 13 WorldTour teams, three ProTour teams and nine Continental teams.

WorldTour:

• Alpecin-Deceuninck
• Arkéa-B&B Hotels
• Astana Qazaqstan
• Bora-Hansgrohe
• EF Education-EasyPost
• Groupama-FDJ
• Ineos Grenadiers
• Intermarché-Wanty
• Lidl-Trek
• Soudal Quick-Step
• dsm-firmenich PostNL
• Visma-Lease a Bike
• UAE Team Emirates

ProTeam:

• Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
• Tudor Pro Cycling
• Uno-X Mobility

Continental:

• ABTF Betão-Feirense
• APHotels & Resorts/Tavira/SC Farense
• Aviludo-Louletano-Loulé Concelho
• Credibom/LA Alumínios/Marcos Car
• Efapel Cycling
• Kelly/Simoldes/UDO
• Rádio Popular-Paredes-Boavista
• Sabgal/Anicolor
• Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua

What happened at the Volta ao Algarve 2023?

The 2023 Volta ao Algarve was an all-Ineos Grenadiers affair with the team taking the first two positions on the general classification for Dani Martínez and Filippo Ganna, and a stage win with Tom Pidcock. Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) was the big winner outside of the GC with two stage wins on stages 2 and 3, while Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X) won the opening day sprint and Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) won the time trial on the final stage.

Volta ao Algarve history

Just a year after its debut edition in 1960, the Volta ao Algarve experienced a 16-year hiatus and was struck off the professional cycling calendar. It made a grand return in 1977, however, and has taken place every year since. In recent times the race has followed a tried and tested formula, with four road stages across the hilly Algarve and one individual time trial.

Algarve has also been a race that has seen two big breakthrough performances for key young cyclists. Both Tadej Pogačar in 2019 and Remco Evenepoel in 2020 claimed their first big European stage race victories at this race. While Pogačar had won the Tour de l'Avenir in 2018 and Remco had won the Tour of Belgium in 2019, their wins at Algarve showed their abilities at very early ages before going on to their sparkling careers.

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28 Apr - 5 May	Vuelta España Femenina	2.WWT

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