Alexander Kristoff is the first leader of the Algarve Tour. Switching to the Norwegian Uno-X this year, the 35-year-old Norwegian was clearly the strongest in the opening stage collective sprint from Portimão to Lagos.
Dutch Fabio Jakobsen, who had previously been undefeated three times (2019, 2020 and 2022) at the long and wide finish line at Lagos, now has to settle for fourth place.
There were some tough climbs on the 200km opening stage, but no one doubted that the victory would be among the sprinters.
If Jakobsen could face the likes of Kristoff, Jordi Meeus (Bora-hansgrohe) and sprint talent Casper van Uden (DSM), he was immediately voted the top favourite.
tense final stage
This scenario also happened because with about ten kilometers to the end Danish champion Alexander Kamp and Russian Aleksandr Grigorev were caught as final escapees.
A few minutes later, Grigorev was on the ground when the narrowing of the road caused a major accident. Swiss Joel Suter even fell off a wall, whereupon a Portuguese woman in an apron took care of him.
The bullet train Rémi Cavagna then ramped up speed for Soudal-QuickStep, allowing Jakobsen to start a front run led by Michael Mørkøv.
But so was Kristoff, who recognized his luxury servant in his compatriot Søren Wærenskjold, who gave Uno-X their first win of the season in Saudi Arabia.
Kristoff sprinted to unbeatable victory ahead of Belgians Meeus and Wærenskjold, who even finished with a broken saddle.
Tom Pidcock also ran in the first road race after the cyclocross season and even finished fifth. Van Uden fell in the sprint but was able to keep going.
Mollema and Arensmann
The first mountain stage of the five-day Tour of the Algarve is on Friday, when Bauke Mollema and Thymen Arensman can show off what they’re capable of. The Algarve Tour concludes on Sunday with a time trial of approximately 25 kilometers.
Gijs Leemreize, one of the uphill expeditions in the Giro last year, had to delay the start of the season a bit. Achterhoeker, 23, of Jumbo-Visma, retired just before the start of the stage as a precaution.
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
