Volta ao Algarve stage 1 - Live coverage

Hello and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 1 of the Volta ao Algarve. 

As the Cyclingnews blimp takes height over the Algarve, the stage is nearing the mid-way hills. 

The stage goes from Portimão to Lagos for a total of 199.1km of racing.

This is the map of this year's race.

110km remain. There is an early break of four riders but the sprinters' teams are keeping them under control.

The Belgian tractor Tim Declercq (QuickStep AlphaVinyl) is on the front, with compatriot Aimé De Gendt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) also helping with the chase.

The 4 lead by 1:40. They are being kept under control, to ensure the stage finishes in a sprint. 

The riders are starting the climbs, the Nave climb is the only categorised climb of the stage but there is a hilly 30km section.  

Barry Ryan is in the Algarve for Cyclingnews and set this shot of the start. 

The weather looks incredible.  

The break has extended their lead to 2:25 on the climb. 

Hugo Nunes of Rádio Popular-Paredes-Boavista has attacked from the break, no doubt to go for the mountain points and jersey. 

He's 3km from the summit.

Alpecin-Fenix are also helping Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux in the chase of the break.

This is the early attack.

Despite Nunes' attack, it is João Matias (Tavfer-Mortágua-Ovos Matinados) who is first to the Naves climb. 

He takes the mountain points and so the KOM jersey at the end of the stage.

These are the four riders in the break: 

Hugo Nunes (Rádio Popular-Paredes-Boavista) 

João Matias (Tavfer-Mortágua-Ovos Matinados)

Asier Etxeberria (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 

Fábio Marcelo Pinto Oliveira (ABTF-Feirense)

As the attackers fight for the KOM points, the peloton has let the gap grow to 3:30. 

The explanation for that is because the sprinters' team have to ensure their sprinter stays in the peloton and does not go too deep. 

They will pick up the pace and the speed on the flat roads to the finish. 

It's good to see Kasper Asgreen back racing after being out of action with COVID-19. 

90km to go

The race is over the peak of the climbs mid-race. They face a short and steep descent  to the coast and intermediate sprint in Aljezur.

Our photographers are in Algarve and have sent over some of their early shots. 

Here is Remco Evenepoel. He is the big favourite for overall victory. 

Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel have both left calling cards atop the Alto da Fóia on recent editions of the Volta ao Algarve, but only Remco Evenepoel had his victory immortalised in stone. 

In September of last year, the local government erected a statue on the mountaintop to highlight the region’s status as a cyclo-tourism hub, and the chosen sculptor was commissioned to replicate Evenpoel’s one-armed victory salute from his triumph there in February 2020.

“We went to climb to train and we went to the top,” Evenepoel said in a video released by his QuickStep-AlpaVinyl team on the eve of the Volta ao Algarve. 

“I wanted to see the statue. It’s the same movement I did from my bike, so it’s really cool to have such a nice statue in an area where I have only been once. I think it’s one of the most famous climbs here.”

To read Barry Ryan's full story on Remco Evenepoel, click below. 

Evenepoel returns to scene of Volta ao Algarve triumph that was immortalised in stone

The peloton is lead by the sprinter's team on the descent to the coast.  

The peloton is closing the gap. It's down to 1:50 now.

The final 70km will be a pursuit match, with the tension rising as the kilometres count down. 

There are some big-name riders in this year's race, including Tobias Foss of Jumbo-Visma. 

70km to go

At the intermediate sprint the gap is down to 1:15.  

Hugo Nunes (Rádio Popular-Paredes-Boavista) wins the intermediate sprint, as the riders in the break fight for the different jerseys that are up for grabs.

It's a real game of cat and mouse out on the roads of Algarve. 

After 137km, the gap is up to 1:45. In the final 40km, the break may try to ease up, to force the peloton to ease, then surge again, in the hope of catching the peloton by surprise.

These are the last winner in Lagos

As Barry Ryan pointed out in his full race preview, the Volta ao Algarve offers something for everything, and there are two clear opportunities for the sprinters. 

Fabio Jakobsen (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) looked imperious in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and he has already won twice on the Volta ao Algarve’s stage 1 finish on the Avenida dos Descobrimentos in Lagos.

Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) have also both started 2022 with two wins and a sparkling run of form, and they will inevitably be in the mix this week. 

Alexander Kristoff opened his account for Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert with a win in Almeria, while Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix), Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) and Jake Stewart (Grouapama-FDJ) will all be keen to get off the mark here.

The breakaways are taking on a last bidon and last tactical advice. 

Behind the sprinters' team are still working hard, with Alpecin-Fenix also up front. They're riding for Tim Merlier. 

Here's Geraint Thomas on his season debut in Algarve.

Can he win early on his 2022 season? 

This is the view of the peloton.

To read Barry Ryan's full Volta ao Algarve preview, click below. 

Volta ao Algarve - Preview

As the gap to the peloton falls below a minute, the QuickStep team are massing on the front. 

However Kristoff clearly fancies his chances.

50km to go

The peloton is keeping the break at 1:00. 

The riders are near Vila do Bispo, at the southern point of Portugal. 

They will soon turn left and blast to the finish in Lagos. 

In other news, Egan Bernal has spin his legs for the first time since his terrible accident. Click below for our full story. 

Bernal rides a bike for first time since life-threatening collision - Video

Crash! 

A touch of wheels in the peloton has sparked a big crash. 

Several riders went over the guardrail. 

The tension is high now as the winds blow from the right and teams form for the fast finish.

The acceleration in the peloton means the break is about to be caught.

Wow. Alpecin is driving the peloton, have they sensed there's a cross wind? There is some wind and the peloton has split after the crash but it's race on!  

35km to go

The break is about to be caught. 

The big teams are trying to protect their leaders. 

Evenepoel is there and safe. Tobias Foss is there for Jumbo-Visma.

Where are Ineos? Pidcock, Thomas and the others. 

Final de fuga. Pelotão compato! As they say in Portugal. 

QuickStep are up front to protect Jakobsen and Evenepoel. 

Groupama have Kung to help Gaudu. 

There are only 60 or so riders in the front group after the crash and split. 

30km to go

Dani Martinez is there for Ineos but could be alone in the front group. 

From the CN blimp we can see 3 Ineos riders.

A huge roundabout split the group and then puts them back together. 

The USA's Brandon McNulty is up there for UAE. 

Geraint Thomas is there for Ineos.

In a second crash, Ben Tulett of Ineos goes down. 

The riders are on a rolling main road at the moment, sparking some surges and less control. 

25km to go

Nobody is taking charge of the peloton.

Nils Politt is trying to spark a split in the group but the other teams are just sitting on his wheel. 

The sprint teams are waiting for the final kilometres before showing their hand and taking control. 

We can see Tom Pidcock of Ineos in the front group. 

He's avoided the crash and split.

QuickStep have numerous riders up front, Bora and Trek too. 

We can expect them to take control in the final 10km. 

The riders take a full turn, avoiding a parked car on the exit of the curve. 

They have also faced small bollards in the middle of the road.

Here's Tom Pidcock on his 2022 road race debut.   

The riders face a headwind as they climb through some vineyards.

There is also a gradual gradient. 

As the climb eases, the Wanty and Alpecin teams move up.  

The rolling roads have allowed some riders to get back to the front group. 

There's a final late climb with 2km to go. Will it be enough to some of the sprinters? 

One sprinter to watch could be Bryan Coquard of Cofidis. He has already won two hard sprint finishes. 

Barry Ryan spoke to Tom Pidcock before the stage to understand his early goals. 

Click below for the full story.  

Strade Bianche the first goal of Tom Pidcock's all-action Spring

Another big crash! 

Several riders went down and need mechanical help. 

A narrow bridge seemed to spark the crash.

10km to 

The crash has caused another split. There are only 30 or so riders up front. 

QuickStep seem to be up front in numbers. 

Indeed, QuickStep have taken over on the front. 

Evenepoel, Thomas and Pidcock are there. 

So are Gaudu, Intermarche for Kristoff and Alpecin for Merlier.

5km to go

The other teams seem happy to let QuickStep keep control of the lead out. 

Van Baarle and Martinez are there for Ineos.

QuickStep ease off the pace a little, knowing there is still 4km to go. 

QuickStep also have Lampaert, Evenepoel and Van Lerberghe to lead out Jakobsen. 

But here come the other teams, so Evenepoel takes over with 2.5km to go. 

Remco lines them out and makes everyone hurt. 

There are even gaps in the line.

The speed must be up to 70km/h. Ouch. 

Trek's Baroncini tries a late attack!

Last Km!

The group is split. 

Lampaert splits it even more. 

Sprint time!

Jakobsen wins it!

He got a superb lead out from QuickStep and then he held off the other sprinters.

Kristoff got up there but then got squeezed along the barriers. 

While Kristoff clashed with Jordi Meeus of Bora but it cost both of them.
 

This is the stage result

Jakobsen has won 3 of the 6 races he has ridden in 2022. That's a great strike rate even for a world class sprinter.  

Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) took second, with Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) pipping Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché-Wanty Gobert) for third place.

This is the view from one of the late climbs. 

The crashes meant only 30 riders finished in the front group. 

This is the first shot of Fabio Jakobsen's win in the Algarve.

"It's perfect. I think we controlled the race all day and I have to thank my teammates," Jakobsen said after his win. 

"I cannot win the sprint without them. This is their victory, and I'm just happy that I again got the victory in Lagos.

"I know this finish quite well, we did a training camp here and I won here twice before. 

"The last climb before entering Lagos, we had a good position, and also a big thanks to Remco, he's here for the GC but he does his job perfect in the lead-out. It was an amazing day.

"The legs are there, we saw that two weeks ago in Valencia."

The UCI are clamping down on bad behaviour in the sprint. They have quickly relegated  Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) from second place to  last in his group after he shoulder charged Kristoff in the final 100 metres.

The Norwegian touched the barriers and the spectators and was not happy, waving at Meeus. 

 Meeus' relegation means Coquard is second on the stage, with Kristoff moving up to third. 

Alexander Kristoff spoke to Cyclingnews about how Meeus blocked his sprint. He wasn't happy. 

"I felt good and I felt that maybe I could have been close but I had to stop pedalling," he said. 

"For me he changed the line. I was coming on the left side and I had a clear line. But then he moved me into the barrier and I hit a lot of spectators with my shoulder, so I’m not very happy about it." 

This shot captures Kristoff's anger at Meeus. 

Unfortunately the USA Joe Dombrowski crashed during the stage. He made it to the finish but climbed into an ambulance. 

Fabio Jakobsen was a lot happier. 

He ended the day with the race leader's yellow jersey. 

Thanks for joining our live coverage from the Volta ao Algarve. 

We'll be back on Thursday with more live coverage of the 182km stage from Albufeira to Fóia. It could be the day Remco Evenepoel lights up the race yet again.