Favorites stage 1 Tour of the Algarve 2024 | Van Aert and Visma's train face some grueling competition

The first stage starts in Portimao and will finish 200.8 kilometers later in Lagos, although these places are only 30 kilometers apart. Along the way, there are two categorized climbs, Aldeia dos Matos (1.9 kilometers at 5.2 percent) and Nave (5.9 kilometers at 4.2 percent), but these are not immediately expected to have a significant impact on the race.

The Portimao-Lagos stage is the opening ride in the Tour of the Algarve for the fifth time, with Fabio Jakobsen (2019, 2020 and 2022) winning three times. Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X) managed to win last year thanks to good timing, which is crucial for this finish. Between three and two kilometers from the finish, the course goes uphill slightly, before descending lightly until the finish.

The final thousand meters are flat again, but start with a roundabout. Then, a few hundred meters later, there is another roundabout, by which point the peloton will already be stretched out in a line. Therefore, positioning is key, as has been evident in the past years.

Climbs
37.6 km: Aldeia dos Matos (1.9 km at 5.2%)
96.5 km: Nave (5.9 km at 4.2%)

Times
Start: 11:45 AM (12:45 PM Dutch time)
Finish: 4:45 PM (5:45 PM Dutch time)

The weather conditions in southern Portugal are great this week. On Wednesday, temperatures will increase towards 20 degrees Celsius, with a reasonable wind coming from the southeast and zero chance of precipitation. Nice!

A large part of the favorites for this race are from Belgium and the Netherlands, with Visma | Lease a Bike's Wout Van Aert being the most prominent name. The Belgian encountered bad luck on Monday in the Clasica Jaén, but with his fast legs and strong positioners in Jan Tratnik, Tiesj Benoot and Per Strand Hagenes, he has another chance in the opening stage of the Algarve.

Gerben Thijssen is the main man for Intermarché-Wanty, which is bringing an incredibly strong sprint train. Mike Teunissen, Hugo Page, Laurenz Rex, Adrien Petit and Vito Braet are all part of this, making it truly an A-team. This Tour of the Algarve is therefore an important benchmark for the Belgian team.

Jordi Meeus (BORA-hansgrohe) finished second in Lagos last year and will also be eyeing the win this year, while Edward Theuns and Jasper Stuyven take on the honors on behalf of Lidl-Trek. At DSM-Firmenich PostNL, they are setting up the train for Casper van Uden, who was also successful in the opening stage of the AlUla Tour. Other Dutch sprinters, although they probably prefer the course a bit tougher, are Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) and Lars Boven (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

At Arkéa - B&B Hotels, Arnaud Démare will be receiving support from, among others, Dan McLay and Florian Sénéchal, so we will definitely be keeping an eye on him as well. Furthermore, let us not forget the duos Marius Mayrhofer/Matteo Trentin (Tudor), Marc Sarreau/Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ) and Magnus Cort/Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X). And, last but not least, what about Filippo Ganna of INEOS Grenadiers? If he gets going towards those roundabouts...

Top favorites: Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché-Wanty) and Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Outsiders: Casper van Uden (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Jordi Meeus (BORA-hansgrohe), Arnaud Démare (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) and Edward Theuns (Lidl-Trek)
Long shots: Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers), Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Marius Mayrhofer, Matteo Trentin (Tudor), Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), Lars Boven (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Marc Sarreau (Groupama-FDJ), Iuri Leitao (Caja Rural) and Magnus Cort (Uno-X)