Volta ao Algarve first stage result cancelled after 'farcical' finish as peloton head wrong way and miss finish line
Updated 19/02/2025 at 19:38 GMT
There was pure chaos during the first stage of the Volta ao Algarve on Wednesday. Ineos Grenadiers rider Filippo Ganna won the opening stage but only after most of the peloton took a wrong turn and completely missed the finish line. A number of riders expressed their frustrations after the chaotic finish and race organisers later confirmed that the result had been cancelled.
‘Riders have gone the wrong side’ – Watch the CHAOTIC finish to Stage 1 of Volta ao Algarve
Video credit: TNT Sports
There was chaos at the end of the opening stage of the Volta ao Algarve on Wednesday, which led to the result being cancelled by race organisers.
Ineos Grenadiers rider Filippo Ganna won the race, but only after most of the peloton went the wrong way and completely missed the finish line.
Coming off a roundabout into the final straight, the majority of the peloton ducked along the right-hand side road and powered onto what they expected to be the finish line.
It was a bizarre and strange ending to the first stage of the tour, with Eurosport commentator Rob Hatch shocked by what had just unfolded.
"Riders have gone to the wrong side!" he said. "What on Earth has happened here? Riders are all over the place here. This is a farcical finish to the stage!
"It’s almost like they're in a parallel universe, but Ganna has won in one of the most bizarre finishes we have seen in a long time!"
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Explained: The ‘comical’ finish that led to cancellation of Stage 1 in Algarve
Video credit: TNT Sports
Following the race, organisers announced on social media that the result had been annulled and more information was on the way.
Later in the evening, the organisers confirmed on the Volta's official website that the stage would be cancelled as "sporting truth did not prevail."
The statement read: "The College of Commissaires of the 51st Volta ao Algarve has taken the decision to cancel the first stage of the race. On the approach to the finish line in Lagos, the peloton became divided and a large number of the riders took the wrong route, followed the detour of the support cars and missed the finish line.
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"'The College of Commissaires interpreted the regulations and, given what happened, decided to cancel the stage because they considered that sporting truth did not prevail in the end.
"All the technical information was clear that the runners should go left at the last roundabout. The fact is that some of them took the right, in a lane parallel to the finish line.
"It was a wrong decision by the peloton but it’s clear that we didn’t do enough to avoid this outcome, which we very much regret,' explained Sérgio Sousa, director of the Volta ao Algarve.
"In view of the stage’s neutralisation, the peloton will set off this Thursday for the 2nd stage of the Volta ao Algarve with the clock reset to zero. The stage links Lagoa to Alto da Fóia (Monchique), covering 177.6 kilometres."
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