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49th Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta (2.Pro) // February 15th - 19th 2023

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Logic-is-your-friend

Logic-is-your-friend

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1st Volta João Algarve
Ooh I heard it through the sour grapes, Vine!

​

Date: 2023-02-15 - 2023-02-19
Race class: 2.Pro
Race category: Men Elite
UCI-Tour: UCI ProSeries		www.voltaaoalgarve.com/en/
www.facebook.com/VoltaAlgarveOfficial
www.twitter.com/VoltAlgarve
www.instagram.com/voltalgarve/		Startlist PCS
Stages PCS
Top competitors PCS
Top GC riders PCS

A classic Algarve week. Uphill finishes on Alto do Malhão and Alto da Fóia, and a 25k TT.

It will be an interesting edition for sure. There is no clear favourite unlike last year. There are still some heavyweight and worldclass TT'ers in Algarve, but they are not the lightweight climbers. However, both Küng and Ganna have shown that they can get over some medium mountains, and with a 25k TT, it will be interesting to see if they can take enough of an advantage over their lighter competitors to make up for lost time uphill. If Ganna climbs like in San Juan, if Küng can improve ever so slightly on last year's performance, they could be seen as two major GC competitors. But will they ride for GC? Ineos is bringing a powerful team, also including Thomas, Pidcock, Arensman and Dani Martinez. Is Thomas here to get in shape or will he try his luck? Pidcock wanted to show his form and be competitive in Algarve. Is he aiming for a stagewin or for GC? He hasn't bothered with GC's since turning pro, will this be the first time? Or is Dani Martinez the dedicated leader, and likely best allrounder on this terrain, a possible winner on both uphill finishes and likely top 5 competitor in the TT. Then there is also Arensman, who -when in form- could finish top 5 in the TT as well as the uphill finishes. But he seemed a bit undercooked only a week ago, so not an obvious favourite in his current form.

But what about Foss, Almeida, Vine? All three have a great TT on a good day, and should be regarded as climbers who will finish close enough on both uphill finished to reduce any time gaps to mere seconds. But the latter two now ride for the same team, will one ride for the other, or will UAE keep throwing everything at the wall and see what sticks? So how good are they currently? Both Almeida and Foss will have expected more out of 2022. Can they bounce back? Almeida was decent in Mallorca, but not superb. Vine was flying recently and has shown some top level climbing performances last year. Will his TT hold up against worldclass TT'ers, or was his NC title a result of lame opposition?

Soudal Quickstep brings Van Wilder as their GC guy. Lest people forget, this guy, still only 22, already showed the world he could TT two years ago, with a 5th place in the Dauphiné TT and a 4th place in the Romandie TT, ahead of worldclass TT'ers. Lots of potential, but we're still waiting for that breakthrough win. What can an excellent allrounder like Madouas do on these profiles? Johannessen appears to be struggling with physical problems, Hindley will not like the 25k TT. Higuita can pump out a decent TT and is one of guys to look out for on the climbs, but there are no boniseconds, so can he fight off the better TT'ers? Mollema has been added to the roster. If he can find his magical TT legs of late, beating Dumoulin in the NC TT 2022, he is also a rider that can finish on the podium.

Without a super favourite like Evenepoel or Pogacar, this edition seems to be wide open, and a wide range of riders and rider types could take the win. An allrounder, a super TT'er, or a climber/puncher?

For stage wins there are the obvious sprinters such as Démare, Kristoff, Jakobsen, Meeus, but also the aforementioned TT'ers still have to deal with Cavagna, Asgreen, Bissegger... so even in that department nothing is set in stone. Other interesting names include Hermans, Costa, Cort, Trentin, Goossens, Leemreize, Padun, Wærenskjold, Tesfatsion...

Looks like the race will be on Eurosport.

stage 1

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logo-2023.png
stage 2

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stage 3

volta-ao-algarve-2023-stage-3-profile-25cf44159b.jpg
stage 4

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stage 5

volta-ao-algarve-2023-stage-5-profile-2bec5adb50.jpg
 
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Panda Claws

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I think that Kung and Ganna may surprise us since there is a TT on the course and they have shown to be able to at least power through some mountains. Aside from them I could see Sky pose a three-pronged threat (Pidcock, Martinez and Thomas) but none of them are clear favorites.
Foss and Almeida should also be considered as they are no strangers to riding a good TT. Neither is Ilan Van Wilder but he is still young. The same goes for Arensman but he did not look to hot earlier this season.

For outsiders we can look at Madouas, Johannessen and Hindley.
 
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Logic-is-your-friend

Logic-is-your-friend

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Panda Claws said:
I think that Kung and Ganna may surprise us since there is a TT on the course and they have shown to be able to at least power through some mountains. Aside from them I could see Sky pose a three-pronged threat (Pidcock, Martinez and Thomas) but none of them are clear favorites.
Foss and Almeida should also be considered as they are no strangers to riding a good TT. Neither is Ilan Van Wilder but he is still young. The same goes for Arensman but he did not look to hot earlier this season.

For outsiders we can look at Madouas, Johannessen and Hindley.
Click to expand...
Thanks for recapping the intro :p

For me the most likely winner is Dani Martinez. he will not lose any time on either of the uphill finishes, and of all the guys that will finish roughly alongside him, there is no other who can TT as well as him. Only a tour de force of Küng or Ganna could push him off top spot imho. But if neither Ganna nor Küng can limit their loses on Malhão specifically, they won't take enough time in the TT. On the other hand, both the TT freaks could also not have their best day and finish outside the top 10, but imho they are the closest potential competitors for Dani Martinez. I could see guys like Foss, Van Wilder, Almeida, Arensman and to a lesser extent Higuita, come close, but not close enough. I could totally see the top 10 within a minute of each other.
 
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RedheadDane

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Logic-is-your-friend

Logic-is-your-friend

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RedheadDane said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1625118170192158721

And people say I'm bad with numbers.

I think these guys might win the prize for weirdest team presentation style for the year. I mean, for teams that use the same style for each race. Who knows whatever weirdness Trek might come up with for some races?
Click to expand...
I can count just fine. It was PCS that had only 6 riders. Now they have 7 but two are still with bib #0.
 
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GenericBoonenFan

GenericBoonenFan

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RedheadDane said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1625118170192158721

And people say I'm bad with numbers.

I think these guys might win the prize for weirdest team presentation style for the year. I mean, for teams that use the same style for each race. Who knows whatever weirdness Trek might come up with for some races?
Click to expand...
Stewart looks like he made that helmet himself and is proudly showing it off to his parents.
 
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