Marcel Kittel wins Volta ao Algarve opener as Geraint Thomas gets title defence under way
Wednesday 17 February 2016 17:31, UK
Marcel Kittel sprinted to victory on stage one of the Volta ao Algarve as Britain’s Geraint Thomas began his title defence by finishing in the peloton.
Kittel (Etixx - Quick-Step) beat fellow German Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) into second place and Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) into third in Albufeira to claim his fourth win of the season.
The peloton followed the sprinters over the line in small groups after two late crashes caused splits, but riders held up or involved in the falls were all given the same time as Kittel.
Thomas (Team Sky) and Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) finished 27th and 29th respectively on the day and Fabio Aru (Astana) was 99th, but Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) crossed the line 169th and lost 1min 25sec.
Ten, six and four bonus seconds were awarded to the first three finishers, meaning Kittel is now top of the general classification, four seconds ahead of Greipel and six seconds in front of Stuyven.
Thomas is riding with only six team-mates instead of seven, after Michal Kwiatkowski was forced to withdraw from the race due to illness.
The five-day tour continues in Thursday with a 198.6km second stage ending with a summit finish on Alto da Foia.
Meanwhile, Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) took the overall lead of the Tour of Oman by winning an uphill sprint on stage two.
The Norwegian beat Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) into second place and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) into third in Quriyat. Thanks to bonus seconds, he now leads the same two riders by four and six seconds respectively in the overall standings.
In the third race of the day, Daniele Bennati (Tinkoff) took an early lead of the Ruta del Sol in Spain by sprinting to victory on stage one ahead of runner-up Bert Van Lerberghe (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) and third-placed Juan Jose Lobato (Movistar).
Volta ao Algarve stage one result
1 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step, 3:52:35
2 Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal, same time
3 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo, st
4 Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale, st
5 Victor Campanaerts (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo, st
6 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky, st
7 Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha, st
8 Alex Dowsett (GB) Movistar, st
9 Roman Maikin (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo, st
10 Pawel Ciesik (Pol) VERVA-ActiveJet, st
Selected others
27 Geraint Thomas (GB) Team Sky, st
29 Alberto Contador (Esp) Tinkoff, st
Volta ao Algarve general classification
1 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step, 3:52:25
2 Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal, +4secs
3 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo, +6
4 Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale, +10
5 Victor Campanaerts (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo, st
6 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky, st
7 Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha, st
8 Alex Dowsett (GB) Movistar, st
9 Roman Maikin (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo, st
10 Pawel Ciesik (Pol) VERVA-ActiveJet, st
Selected others
27 Geraint Thomas (GB) Team Sky, st
29 Alberto Contador (Esp) Tinkoff, st
Who will win the Volta ao Algarve? Let us know your thoughts by posting a comment below or by tweeting @SkyCycling.
