The opening stage of the Volta ao Algarve descended into farce after the majority of the peloton missed the turn to the finish, mistakenly following race motorbikes down the deviation lane. The confusion led to the stage being annulled, leaving riders furious at both the race organisation and those at the front who failed to anticipate the deviation.
While the race organisers took full responsibility for the lack of clear signage at the final roundabout, Lotto Dstny’s Arnaud De Lie blamed the front riders for blindly following motorbikes they should have known would leave the course. Jordi Meeus, among those sprinting at full speed despite being on the wrong course, was also criticised as riders found themselves racing in areas with spectators walking around.
‘Everyone knows the motorbike doesn’t cross the finish’ – De Lie slams front riders for mistake
For Arnaud De Lie, there was no excuse for what happened. The Belgian was adamant that the front riders should have anticipated the deviation rather than relying on the motorbikes to guide them.
“Everyone knows it’s to the left. We did a recon yesterday. But the first rider just follows the [motor] bike.”
“At the risk of saying what I think, the situation unfolded because of the first rider who followed the motorbike, where the deviation was situated. Everybody knows that that bike never crosses the finish line and it has to leave the route at a given moment.”
De Lie insisted that he knew immediately that the peloton had gone the wrong way and chose to stop sprinting.
“When I saw we were on the wrong side of the road, I didn’t sprint, then when I saw others still pursuing their effort, I said to myself, ‘Oh, they still think they’re on the route’.”
‘This simply cannot happen’ – Riders demand action after dangerous sprint
The chaotic scenes were exacerbated by the lack of immediate direction from race officials. With the peloton split, some continued to race while others sat up, leading to a confusing and dangerous finale. Filippo Ganna, who initially thought he had won, was among those left frustrated.
“If a rider takes the wrong way, it’s not our problem,” Ganna initially said at the finish. “You do what you do, I won and that’s it.” However, once it became clear that it was no longer possible for him to be declared the winner, he refused to talk to reporters.
Wout van Aert was among those demanding better organisation. “This was undoubtedly a human mistake,” he said. “The final roundabout was not closed off, creating a ridiculous situation. When I saw the barriers on the other side, I realised something was wrong. Some people even signalled that we should be careful. Situations like this simply cannot happen.”
Visma-Lease a Bike’s Arthur van Dongen went further, saying the incident had damaged cycling’s credibility. “It is embarrassing that this can happen. Professional cycling has once again lost credibility. The riders’ safety must be the top priority, but the organisers fell short in that regard. Fortunately, there were no serious accidents, because this could have ended very badly. Safety in cycling remains a major issue. I hope the UCI wakes up soon.”
Michael Valgren was left confused by the lack of clear signage. “We were all going in the wrong direction, I don’t have a clue what happened, I just saw people waving their arms. I didn’t know why, I saw the guys on the other side of the road.”
Marco Haller was even more direct in his anger, calling the situation “a joke”.
“You could see that on the last kilometre, the deviation wasn’t blocked by the officials, and obviously when the riders are coming, they follow the motorbikes, like they always do.”
“For me, it’s pretty ridiculous because we suffered 190km to put ourselves in the perfect position and then it is basically everything for nothing. It is a joke. Something where there need to be consequences for the officials and the organisers because it cannot always be the riders who are to blame. We are in the heat of the moment, it is a race situation, and it is frustrating.”
Organisers accept blame for ‘shameful mistake’
Volta ao Algarve organisers were quick to acknowledge their responsibility for the incident, with Portuguese Cycling Federation president Candido Barbosa issuing a public apology.
“The organisation made a mistake, the images are there. We have a yellow flag there that didn’t act in time. The cyclists are coming at high speed, maybe there should have been two.”
“We started off badly. This failure ruined everything. I have no words for more.”
The race’s reputation took a major hit, especially given that it had been voted the best ProSeries event of 2024. The stage annulment was described as a “shameful failure” by several team directors, with calls for stricter UCI oversight on race safety.
With no winner declared for the stage, riders will start stage 2 as if the opening day never happened. But the fallout from this chaotic finish is unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon.
Main photo credit: IMAGO
