Stage 1 of the Volta ao Algarve saw the peloton tackle 183 kilometres from Vila Real de Santo António to Tavira, where a sprint was expected. A nine-rider breakaway built an advantage of around two minutes but was reeled in with 24 kilometres to go, setting up a fast finale. The team showed strong cohesion in the closing kilometres, keeping Pavel Bittner positioned towards the front leading into the bunch sprint. Coming from behind, Bittner powered to an impressive third place on the line. After a committed lead-out effort, John Degenkolb still managed to finish ninth, underlining the team’s collective effort. Paul Magnier took the stage victory.
After the finish Bittner said: “It was a really nice team effort. This was my first race of the year, and after a strong winter of preparation, I was excited to see where I stood. The day was fairly easy until the bonus sprints, and later it calmed down again with the headwind. We were well-prepared to deliver in the finale. John was there, but I lost his wheel a little bit, yet I kept fighting and was quite smooth with positioning. When I felt I had a good position for the final sprint, I went for it. I couldn’t quite move further forward to take the win, but for my first sprint and the first race of the year, it was a really good start. We’ll have a fun rest of the week here.
