2010 Volta ao Algarve

2010 Volta ao Algarve 17–21 February 2010 5 724 km 19h 57' 48" Alberto Contador ESP AST 2010 yellow Luis León Sánchez ESP GCE 2010 Tiago Machado POR RSH 2010 Thomas De Gendt BEL TSV 2010 blue Jérôme Baugnies BEL TSV 2010 green André Greipel GER THR 2010 white RSH 2010 2009 2011 The 2010 Volta ao Algarve was the 36th edition of the Volta ao Algarve cycling stage race. It was held from 17 to 21 February 2010, and was rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It started at the Algarve Stadium in Faro and ended with an individual time trial in Portimão. This edition of the race was noted as a race which was targeted by many notable riders as their first of the season. Among these riders beginning 2010 in Portugal was reigning Tour de France champion (and defending Volta ao Algarve champion) Alberto Contador. Teams and cyclists There were 23 teams in the 2010 Volta ao Algarve. Among them were 12 UCI ProTour teams, five UCI Professional Continental teams, and six Continental teams. Each team was allowed eight riders on their squad, but GRM 2010 sent only seven, giving the event a peloton of 183 cyclists at its outset. The 23 teams in the race were: UCI ProTour Teams AST 2010 GCE 2010 EUS 2010 FOT 2010 FDJ 2010 GRM 2010 OLO 2010 QST 2010 RAB 2010 THR 2010 KAT 2010 RSH 2010 UCI Professional Continental Teams CTT 2010 COF 2010 TSV 2010 VAC 2010 XAC 2010 UCI Continental Teams An Post–Sean Kelly Barbot–Siper C C Loulé–Louletano LA–Rota dos Móveis Madeinvox–Boavista Palmeiras Resort–Tavira Many notable riders contested the event as their first or one of their first of the season. This was the first race since the 2009 Tour de France for Astana's Alberto Contador. Thor Hushovd from CTT 2010 yes intended to make his debut earlier in the season, at the Étoile de Bessèges, but illness forced him to delay his season debut. Euskaltel–Euskadi's Samuel Sánchez and the Garmin-Transitions pair of Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie also made their first appearances of 2010 in this event, while for Caisse d'Epargne's Luis León Sánchez it was his second, after the Tour Down Under. The RadioShack squad did not include Lance Armstrong, but the new American team did send Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Klöden, with both making their European debuts for 2010 in this race. Tour stages Stage 1 17 February 2010 – Algarve Stadium to Albufeira, 157.5 km 1 on The Volta kicked off with an undulating stage, including two categorized climbs between the 60 km on and 100 km on marks but mostly flat thereafter.http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-1 Stage preview and profile 2010-02-14 Cycling News 2010-02-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20100323195315/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-1 23 March 2010 live Though the stage seemed set to end with a mass sprint finish, FDJ 2010' Benoît Vaugrenard put in a winning attack 700 m on from the finish line, foiling the hopes of, among others, THR 2010 sprint ace André Greipel. Vaugrenard's attack came moments after Joan Horrach of KAT 2010 tried a similar move, but was unable to maintain first position all the way to the line as Vaugrenard was.Peter Cossins http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-1/results Vaugrenard victorious in Algarve opener 2010-02-17 Cycling News 2010-02-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20100323224410/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-1/results 23 March 2010 live Stage 1 results CyclistTeamTime 1 Benoît Vaugrenard FRA FDJ 2010 4h 10' 42" 2 Joan Horrach ESP KAT 2010 + 3" 3 André Greipel GER THR 2010 + 5" 4 Mathieu Ladagnous FRA FDJ 2010 s.t. 5 Nick Nuyens BEL RAB 2010 s.t. 6 Wouter Weylandt BEL QST 2010 s.t. 7 Rui Costa POR GCE 2010 s.t. 8 Heinrich Haussler GER CTT 2010 s.t. 9 Samuel Sánchez ESP EUS 2010 s.t. 10 Jens Keukeleire BEL COF 2010 s.t.General Classification after Stage 1 CyclistTeamTime 1 Benoît Vaugrenard FRA 20px|Yellow jersey FDJ 2010 4h 10′ 32″ 2 Joan Horrach ESP GCE 2010 + 7" 3 André Greipel GER THR 2010 + 11" 4 Jérôme Baugnies BEL TSV 2010 + 11" 5 Luís Pinheiro POR Madeinvox–Boavista + 13" 6 Mathieu Ladagnous FRA SKY 2010 + 15″ 7 Nick Nuyens BEL RAB 2010 + 15″ 8 Wouter Weylandt BEL QST 2010 + 15" 9 Rui Costa POR GCE 2010 + 15" 10 Heinrich Haussler GER CTT 2010 + 15" Stage 2 18 February 2010 – Sagres to Lagos, 207.5 km 1 on The second stage was similar in profile to the first, jagged with several short climbs. Four of the hills awarded points toward the mountains classification.http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-2 Stage preview and profile 2010-02-14 Cycling News 2010-02-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20100323173704/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-2 23 March 2010 live This stage was marked by heavy rainfall that made for tough riding for the peloton. Despite a profile that did not seem that it would break the field up so much, 78 riders finished more than ten minutes behind the stage winner, and 28 of them more than twenty minutes back. Thirteen did not finish the stage at all. With four others, FOT 2010's David Vitoria broke away 12 km on into the stage. The rain and the hilly terrain took its toll on them as it did the peloton, and by 30 km on to go only Vitoria remained out front. His advantage at that point was 3' 30", which meant there was a chance he could win the stage. In a finish reminiscent of the first stage, when Vaugrenard denied the sprinters, Vitoria stayed away into the stage's final kilometer. He was, however, caught by Greipel 200 m on from the finish line. The German from Team HTC–Columbia took the stage win and, by virtue of the time bonuses it afforded, the overall leadership.Peter Hymas http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-2/results Greipel grabs win in Lagos 2010-02-18 Cycling News 2010-02-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20100220180049/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-2/results 20 February 2010 live Stage 2 results CyclistTeamTime 1 André Greipel GER THR 2010 6h 06' 39" 2 Jürgen Roelandts BEL OLO 2010 s.t. 3 Samuel Sánchez ESP EUS 2010 + 4" 4 Jens Keukeleire BEL COF 2010 + 6" 5 Björn Leukemans BEL VAC 2010 s.t. 6 José Joaquín Rojas ESP GCE 2010 s.t. 7 Joaquim Rodríguez ESP KAT 2010 s.t. 8 Johan Coenen BEL TSV 2010 s.t. 9 Benoît Vaugrenard FRA 20px|Yellow jersey FDJ 2010 s.t. 10 Francesco Reda ITA QST 2010 s.t.General Classification after Stage 2 CyclistTeamTime 1 André Greipel GER 20px|Yellow jersey THR 2010 10h 17′ 12″ 2 Benoît Vaugrenard FRA GCE 2010 + 5" 3 Jürgen Roelandts BEL OLO 2010 + 8" 4 Joan Horrach ESP KAT 2010 + 12" 5 Samuel Sánchez ESP EUS 2010 + 14" 6 Jens Keukeleire BEL COF 2010 + 20″ 7 José Joaquín Rojas ESP GCE 2010 + 20″ 8 Mathieu Ladagnous FRA FDJ 2010 + 20" 9 Björn Leukemans BEL VAC 2010 + 20" 10 Ryder Hesjedal CAN GRM 2010 + 20" Stage 3 19 February 2010 – Castro Marim to Malhão, 173.7 km 1 on The third stage was difficult, with four categorized climbs coming in the final 40 km on, including a summit stage finish.http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-3 Stage preview and profile 2010-02-14 Cycling News 2010-02-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20100219233205/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-3 19 February 2010 live Repeated early crashes in this stage sent Gert Steegmans, Manuel Cardoso, and Sandy Casar out of the race and to hospitals, though all escaped serious injury. The AST 2010 team, in particular David de la Fuente, did strong pacemaking, trying to thin the field and set up their leader Alberto Contador for victory. XAC 2010's Nelson Oliviera was the last rider brought back in from the morning escape, just as the ascent to the stage-ending Alto do Malhão began. On this climb, Contador put in the attack that separated him from the field and gave him the stage victory, with the RSH 2010 duo of Tiago Machado and Contador's former teammate Levi Leipheimer the next two behind him on the road. Contador also became the third straight stage winner to pull on the yellow jersey as race leader.http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-3/results Contador takes control in Malhão 2010-02-19 Cycling News 2010-02-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20100219235425/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-3/results 19 February 2010 live Stage 3 results CyclistTeamTime 1 Alberto Contador ESP AST 2010 5h 02' 55" 2 Tiago Machado POR RSH 2010 + 11" 3 Levi Leipheimer USA RSH 2010 + 22" 4 Peter Velits SVK THR 2010 + 25" 5 Tejay van Garderen USA THR 2010 s.t. 6 Jean-Christophe Péraud FRA OLO 2010 + 29" 7 Samuel Sánchez ESP EUS 2010 + 31" 8 Rui Costa POR GCE 2010 + 33" 9 Luis León Sánchez ESP GCE 2010 s.t. 10 Andreas Klöden GER RSH 2010 s.t.General Classification after Stage 3 CyclistTeamTime 1 Alberto Contador ESP 20px|Yellow jersey AST 2010 15h 20′ 17″ 2 Tiago Machado POR RSH 2010 + 15" 3 Levi Leipheimer USA RSH 2010 + 28" 4 Samuel Sánchez ESP EUS 2010 + 35" 5 Tejay van Garderen USA THR 2010 + 35" 6 Rui Costa POR GCE 2010 + 43″ 7 Luis León Sánchez ESP GCE 2010 + 43″ 8 Matthew Lloyd AUS OLO 2010 + 43" 9 Andreas Klöden GER RSH 2010 + 43" 10 Joaquim Rodríguez ESP KAT 2010 + 43" Stage 4 20 February 2010 – Cacela to Tavira, 169 km on Stage 4 had a sloping profile, with a high climb coming at the 106.7 km 1 on mark. Many kilometers of descending followed to the finish line.http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-3 Stage preview and profile 2010-02-14 Cycling News 2010-02-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20100219233205/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-3 19 February 2010 live After 20 km on of racing, a six-man breakaway formed. Its complexion changed after the first climb of the day, when three riders were dropped and three bridged from the peloton up to the leading group. The best-placed man in the breakaway was GCE 2010's Imanol Erviti, who began the stage 5' 11" behind race leader Contador. The Astana team never let the break get more than five minutes' advantage, content to otherwise let the stage be decided among those riders. The six finished scattered as they crossed the finish line, with Team RadioShack's Sébastien Rosseler securing their first-ever victory, exactly three minutes ahead of the peloton, and QST 2010's Iljo Keisse in sixth just ten seconds ahead of the main field. There was no significant change to the race's general classification after the stage.http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-4/results Rosseler rolls to solo stage win 2010-02-20 Cycling News 2010-02-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20100222012431/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-4/results 22 February 2010 live Stage 4 results CyclistTeamTime 1 Sébastien Rosseler BEL RSH 2010 4h 12' 46" 2 Mickaël Delage FRA OLO 2010 + 20" 3 Imanol Erviti ESP GCE 2010 s.t. 4 Preben Van Hecke NED TSV 2010 s.t. 5 Egoi Martínez ESP EUS 2010 + 24" 6 Iljo Keisse BEL QST 2010 + 2' 50" 7 André Greipel GER THR 2010 + 3' 00" 8 Wouter Weylandt BEL OLO 2010 s.t. 9 Samuel Caldeira POR Palmeiras Resort–Prio–Tavira s.t. 10 Graeme Brown AUS RAB 2010 s.t.General Classification after Stage 4 CyclistTeamTime 1 Alberto Contador ESP 20px|Yellow jersey AST 2010 19h 36′ 03″ 2 Tiago Machado POR RSH 2010 + 15" 3 Levi Leipheimer USA RSH 2010 + 28" 4 Samuel Sánchez ESP EUS 2010 + 35" 5 Tejay van Garderen USA THR 2010 + 35" 6 Rui Costa POR GCE 2010 + 43″ 7 Luis León Sánchez ESP GCE 2010 + 43″ 8 Matthew Lloyd AUS OLO 2010 + 43" 9 Andreas Klöden GER RSH 2010 + 43" 10 Joaquim Rodríguez ESP KAT 2010 + 43" Stage 5 21 February 2010 – Laguna to Portimão, 17.2 km 1 on (individual time trial) The race's individual time trial is straightforward, with only three curves in the road and several long straightaways, along with a negligible change in elevation.http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-3 Stage preview and profile 2010-02-14 Cycling News 2010-02-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20100219233205/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-3 19 February 2010 live One wrinkle was thrown into the race, however, two days before the time trial was run. The UCI disallowed the Specialized Shiv time trial bike. This affected both the Astana and Saxo Bank teams, who both ride Specialized bikes, but most notably race leader Contador. Specialized delivered the teams a different model of team trial bike to the teams for use in the stage.James Huang http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/specialized-shiv-time-trial-design-possibly-banned-by-uci Specialized Shiv time trial design possibly banned by UCI 2010-02-19 Cycling News 2010-02-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20100222012340/http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/specialized-shiv-time-trial-design-possibly-banned-by-uci 22 February 2010 live GCE 2010 rider Luis León Sánchez won this time trial, with a time of 21'32". Contador, atop a Specialized Transitions bike instead of the Shiv he had expected to use, was second, 13 seconds slower than Sánchez. He still had more than enough time in hand to win the race overall. Caisse d'Epargne and Team RadioShack both showed well in the time trial, with three riders each in the top ten.Stephen Farrand http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-5-itt/results Contador wins the Volta ao Algarve 2010-02-21 Cycling News 2010-02-21 https://web.archive.org/web/20100222060255/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2-1/stage-5-itt/results 22 February 2010 live Stage 5 results CyclistTeamTime 1 Luis León Sánchez ESP GCE 2010 21' 32" 2 Alberto Contador ESP20px|Yellow jersey AST 2010 + 13" 3 Sébastien Rosseler BEL RSH 2010 + 16" 4 Levi Leipheimer USA RSH 2010 + 22" 5 František Raboň CZE THR 2010 + 23" 6 Tiago Machado POR RSH 2010 + 30" 7 Samuel Sánchez ESP EUS 2010 + 35" 8 Rui Costa POR GCE 2010 + 44" 9 Imanol Erviti ESP GCE 2010 + 46" 10 Maarten Tjallingii NED RAB 2010 + 48"Final General Classification CyclistTeamTime 1 Alberto Contador ESP 20px|Yellow jersey AST 2010 19h 57′ 48″ 2 Luis León Sánchez ESP GCE 2010 + 30" 3 Tiago Machado POR RSH 2010 + 32" 4 Levi Leipheimer USA RSH 2010 + 37" 5 Samuel Sánchez ESP EUS 2010 + 57" 6 Rui Costa POR GCE 2010 + 1' 11″ 7 František Raboň CZE THR 2010 + 1' 16″ 8 Andreas Klöden GER RSH 2010 + 1' 25" 9 Tejay van Garderen USA THR 2010 + 1' 33" 10 Peter Velits SVK THR 2010 + 1' 45" Classification leadership In the 2010 Volta ao Algarve, five different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers on each stage and in intermediate sprints, the leader received a yellow jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the Volta ao Algarve, and the winner is considered the winner of the Volta. Additionally, there was a sprints classification, which awarded a blue jersey. In the sprints classification, cyclists got points for finishing in the top three in an intermediate sprint. The first across the sprint points got 3 points, the second got 2, and the third got a single point. There was also a mountains classification, which awarded a green jersey. In the mountains classification, points were won by reaching the top of a mountain before other cyclists. Each climb was categorized, with the more difficult climbs awarding more points. The points classification awarded a white jersey. In the points classification, cyclists got points based on the order at the finish line of each stage. The stage win afforded 25 points, second on the stage was worth 20, third 16, fourth 13, fifth 10, sixth 8, seventh 6, eighth 4, ninth 2, and tenth was worth a single point. The points awarded in the sprints classification counted equivalently for this classification. The fifth jersey was distinct to this race – it was for the best Portuguese rider. There were eleven Portuguese riders in the race, who competed amongst themselves for a pink jersey. The race also awarded a teams classification, which was not represented by a jersey. The teams classification was calculated by adding the times of each team's best three riders per stage per day. Stage WinnerGeneral Classification25px|link=|alt=Mountains Classification25px|link=|alt=Sprints Classification25px|link=|alt=Points Classification25px|link=|alt=Portuguese Rider Classification25px|link=|alt=Teams Classification 1 Benoît Vaugrenard Benoît Vaugrenard Jérôme Baugnies Hugo Sabido Benoît Vaugrenard Rui Costa FDJ 2010 2 André Greipel André Greipel André Greipel THR 2010 3 Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Thomas De Gendt Tiago Machado RSH 2010 4 Sébastien Rosseler5 Luis León Sánchez Final Alberto Contador Jérôme Baugnies Thomas De Gendt André Greipel Tiago Machado RSH 2010 References 2010 Category:2010 in Portuguese sport Volta ao Algarce