First win of 2014 for Cavendish in Volta ao Algarve

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Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) claimed his first victory of 2014 when he out-kicked the talented French youngsters Arnaud Démare (FDJ.fr) and Bryan Coquard (Europcar) in the bunch finish in Vilamoura, while his teammate Michal Kwiatkowski sealed final overall victory.

Though opportunities for sprinters were at a premium in Portugal, Omega Pharma-QuickStep brought a powerful lead-out train to the race and they were rewarded with victory on the final stage. Cavendish had both Mark Renshaw and Alessandro Petacchi to guide him through the closing kilometres, and he paid tribute to their efforts afterwards.

“We controlled the race and everybody rode incredibly well,” Cavendish said. “Super strong lead-out, everybody did their part. Alessandro Petacchi was the last guy and he dropped me off at about 170 meters, more or less. Perfectly executed.”

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After failing to spark at the Tour de San Luis and the Dubai Tour, Cavendish’s lead-out was pitch perfect here, and the Manxman duly delivered a sprint finish to match it, fending off Démard and Coquard, as well as José Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) and the in-form Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida) in the final 100 metres.

Michal Kwiatkowski enjoyed an untroubled afternoon in the yellow jersey after he had gamely limited his losses to Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) and world champion Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) on the Alto do Malhao the previous afternoon.

Winner of stages 2 and 3, as well as a leg of the Challenge Mallorca last week, Kwiatkowski has begun his season in remarkable form. The young Pole finished the race 19 seconds clear of Contador and 32 up on Rui Costa, while the promising Alexandre Geniez (FDJ) and Wilco Kelderman (Belkin) took 4th and 5th.

“It's my first stage race victory, so I'm really happy," Kwiatkowski said. "I have been aiming for the GC in the stage races, so to start my season like this is a good sign. It's going to be a good spring coming for not just me, but the whole team. I'm really happy about it. As for today, Cav was super thankful for the lead-out, so I think he is just as happy as I am with the performance of the team.”

Kwiatkowski now turns his attention to Italy, where he will be Omega Pharma-QuickStep’s key man at Tirreno-Adriatico. “I am really motivated now and will spend the next days training in Spain in preparation for Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico,” he said. “I'm progressing very well as I move on to what's next on my race schedule."

Home favourite Rui Costa was pleased to have performed strongly over the five days but disappointed not to have landed a maiden victory in the rainbow jersey. “I would love to have given the victory to the Portuguese, but I wasn’t able to do it,” he said. “Still, I’m coming away very satisfied. I'm happy with my performance. I hope one day I can take big win in Portugal, but the Volta ao Algarve is getting harder and harder.”

The final stage was enlivened by a break featuring Garikoitz Bravo (Efapel-Glassdrive), Angel Madrazo (Caja Rural-RGA Seguros), Delio Fernández (OFM-Quinta da Lixa), Jan Barta (Netapp-Endura), Francisco Moreno (Louletano-Dunas Douradas) and Oscar Pujol (SkyDive-Dubai). The sextet escaped after 50 kilometres but were reeled in by the QuickStep-led peloton in the finale.

“I'm very happy. We came here to win the yellow jersey, and to win the stage would be a bonus,” Cavendish said. “I'm very happy that Omega Pharma - Quick-Step could come away with three stage wins. We won the GC two straight years now [Tony Martin won in 2013 - ed.] I think this is good motivation for my next races."

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