Gerben Thijssen is the first leader of the 2024 Volta ao Algarve. After a relatively flat stage of more than 200 kilometers to Lagos, in which the wind played a significant role, the Intermarché-Wanty leader was the fastest in the sprint group.
Thijssen won comfortably and sent Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) and Jordi Meeus (BORA-hansgrohe) into second and third place.
Escape of the day
Seven were in the breakaway for the day, with Tobias Bayer (Alpecin-Deceuninck) being the only one from the WorldTour. He left with five Portuguese and one Argentine: Fábio Costa (ABTF Betão-Feirense), Diogo Narciso (Credibom-LA Alumínios), Noah Campos (Kelly-Simoldes-UDO), César Fonte (Rádio Popular-Boavista), Gonçalo Amado (Tavfer- Ovos Matinados-Mortágua) and Tomas Contte (Aviludo-Louletano).
Tobias Bayer takes advantage of the wind
In the peloton, Arkéa-B&B Hotels and Intermarché-Wanty took the lead, with a difference of no more than four minutes. On the second climb of the day he was too fast for the fugitive Campos, leaving six in the lead. Bayer clearly proved to be the strongest there, because in a section where the wind was blowing strong, the Austrian left all his fellow escapees behind.
Arrival in sprint
Bayer’s adventure also came to an end, making the stage turn into the planned group sprint.
It was a technical final, with even a break in the last km and the sprint was reduced to around 40 cyclists. Thijssen took the lead, but the cyclist himself was trapped. Even so, he managed to find a gap in the last 200 meters, to win in a great show of strength. Marijn van den Berg finished second, ahead of Jordi Meeus.
Thanks to his stage victory, Thijssen is also the first leader in this Portuguese stage of the UCI ProSeries.
Watch the arrival
Check out the results of the 1st stage of the Volta ao Algarve
The General Classification coming soon, with the inclusion of time bonuses