This is as crazy as it gets: Tour of Portugal neutralized by massive wildfire

The fourth stage of the Tour of Portugal was one of the toughest of this edition. With 3,600 meters of climbing and a difficult uphill finish, it was a beautiful ride and a chance to attack leader Pau Martí (Israel Premier Tech Academy). But once underway, the riders were brought to a halt. A massive wildfire made it impossible to continue on the original route.

The flanks of the Serra do Alvão, the penultimate climb of the day, were engulfed in flames. Plumes of smoke rose high into the sky: it looked like a volcano had erupted. What to do? The race organizers consulted and finally decided to take a detour. The Serra do Alvão could no longer be climbed, so quite a few meters of elevation were removed from the route. However, the final climb to Senhora do Graca was still completed.

The organizers' decision was not appreciated by everyone. Portuguese cycling fans expressed their dissatisfaction with how things went, not because the climb was not done, but because the organizers waited until the last minute to intervene. “It's been going on for days,” said one fan on X. “Everyone knew about it, and they only decided to neutralize the race 10 kilometers before the climb. This could have been decided yesterday, but it's typical of the terrible Portuguese organization.” The Tour of Portugal consists of 10 stages and ends with a time trial in Lisbon.