Another Tour alternative:
The GP Torres Vedras-Trofeu Joaquim Agostinho started today. This is the main warm-up race for the Volta a Portugal, and is a bumpy but not mountainous race around Torres Vedras and the surrounding area, usually finishing with a flat circuit race in the city.
The region is hardly what you'd call mountainous, but the race is still difficult, owing to large numbers of short, sharp climbs; the parcours is similar to races like Coppi e Bartali, Ardennes stage races or the Tour de Brétagne. However, this race has the opportunity to use the 9,2km @ 6,2% Alto de Montejunto.
This year, they're using it twice, from both sides, but neither time as a stage finish, in the first two stages.
The first stage, today, featured Montejunto early on, then 5 climbs in the last 60km, finishing on a short, sharp uphill into Sobral de Monte Agraço. Tomorrow's 2nd stage features a mostly flat first half before climbing Montejunto and a 2nd category climb to finish. The third stage features no memorable climbs but is up and down all day, while the final stage is a full on flat circuit race.
In today's stage there was some interesting squabbling with multiple attacks going away and being brought back; the one that stuck was led by David Belda of Burgos 2016, who took Tavira's climber Ricardo Mestre (the KOM winner in the Volta ao Algarve if any of you remember that far back) with him. Délio Fernández (Onda) and teammate Alejandro Marque got into that group as well, but Mestre hit for home setting a pace the non-climbers couldn't match on the first climb of Monte Agraço, eventually soloing in over a minute ahead of the bunch.
Results:
1. Ricardo Mestre (Tavira-Prio) POR 4'07'28"
2. Alejandro Marque Porto (Onda-Boavista) ESP +1'16"
3. Ian Bibby (Motorpoint) GBR +1'18"
4. David Belda García (Burgos 2016) ESP +1'21"
5. Sérgio Ribeiro (Barbot-Efapel) POR +1'21"
6. André Cardoso (Tavira-Prio) POR +1'21"
7. Edgar Pinto (LA-Antarte-Rota dos Móveis) POR +1'21"
8. Sergey Chernetskiy (Lokomotiv) RUS +1'21"
9. Ricardo García Ambroa (Orbea Continental) ESP +1'21"
10. Hernâni Broco (LA-Antarte-Rota dos Móveis) POR +1'21"