Stage 1 of the 2025 Volta ao Algarve was won by Filippo Ganna, sort of. The Italian took advantage of a late split in the peloton, while most of the sprinters went the wrong way in a chaotic finale. Ganna was one of the few riders who followed the correct route and ended up taking the “victory.” However, after all the confusion, race organizers decided not to record an official result.
The Volta ao Algarve in Portugal kicked off Wednesday with a stage designed for the sprinters. The 190-km route from Portimão to Lagos featured just one significant climb, the Portela de Nave (2.2 km at 5.9 per cent), but with its summit nearly 100 km from the finish, it was never going to trouble the sprinters.
Eight riders tried to shake things up with an early breakaway. The move was dominated by Portuguese riders.
Early break does what early breaks do
The break was never seen as a real threat, and the gap quickly stretched to five minutes before the sprint teams began to reel them in. By the time they reached the base of the Portela de Nave, the advantage was down to about four minutes—everything was under control.
Sprint finish goes off the rails
After the climb, Salgueiro and Morais tried to keep the break alive, but Salgueiro soon dropped his companion and continued solo. With 23 km to go, the peloton swallowed them up, setting the stage for the sprint.
And here comes the sprint…oh
In the final five kilometres, the pace ramped up, with Lotto-Dstny working for Arnaud De Lie, Tudor for Alberto Dainese, and EF Education-EasyPost for Madis Mihkels. Everything pointed to a textbook bunch sprint—until chaos unfolded in the final kilometre.
In an astonishing turn of events, a large portion of the peloton went off course after the flamme rouge.
Filippo Ganna wins the SLIGHTLY BIZARRE first stage of Volta ao Algarve 🤯 #VoltaAoAlgarve pic.twitter.com/v0Zckq96ep
— Eemeli (@LosBrolin) February 19, 2025
At a key roundabout, riders were supposed to turn left to enter the finishing straight. But the route for team cars and race vehicles went to the right—and marshals failed to block it off. As a result, most of the peloton mistakenly followed the cars onto a parallel road, missing the finish entirely.
Filippo Ganna, however, was alert and took the correct turn. Race officials attempted—unsuccessfully—to redirect the others, but Ganna was already pulling clear. He held off a small group and crossed the line solo.
Confusion and anger from the…
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