British cyclist Mark Cavendish is the most renowned recent addition to the list of stars that will be competing at the 40th Volta ao Algarve (Tour of the Algarve), taking place between February 19 and 23.
Cavendish currently rides for the powerful Omega Pharma-QuickStep team, which will also bring with it strong all-rounder Michal Kwiatkowski in a clear bid to secure a ‘yellow jersey’.
At the moment, 19 teams have already confirmed participation in the event, eight of which compete in the UCI World Tour, the premier annual male elite road cycling tour: Belkin, Europcar, FDJ.fr, Katusha, Lampre-Merida, Movistar, Omega Pharma-Quickstep and Tinkoff-Saxo.
Competition promises to be tough. Besides the already mentioned heavyweights, time trial world champion Tony Martin and Portuguese star Rui Costa (Tinkoff-Saxo) are also among some of the top contenders for the final prize.
The Volta ao Algarve stages are as follows:
1st stage: February 19 – Faro/Albufeira -160km
2nd stage: February 20 – Lagoa/Monchique – 196km
3rd stage: February 21 – Vila do Bispo/Sagres – 13.6km
4th stage: February 22 – Almodôvar/Alto do Malhão (Loulé) – 164.5km
5th stage: February 23 – Tavira/Vilamoura – 155.8km
