As it happened: A GC showdown atop Alto da Foia on stage 2 at Volta ao Algarve

Welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of stage 2 at the Volta ao Algarve

We’re about twenty minutes away from the start of stage two, set to be the first GC day of the Volta ao Algarve with a tough, mountain top finish.

But first things first, let’s deal with the fall-out from yesterday’s farcical finish. After most of the peloton was sent down the wrong road at the end of stage one, Filippo Ganna thought he had won as the first over the actual finish line - only for the results to be annulled.

There’s a great deal of dissatisfaction in the peloton. Wout van Aert and Marco Haller are among those to criticise the organisers.

All in all it was a very embarrassing day for the organisers of the race, who have taken full responsibility for what happened.

So, on to today. The riders have just set off from the unofficial start, and will roll through a 7km neutralised zone before racing commences.

No rider is wearing the leader’s jersey after yesterday’s annulment. It’s as if the race is starting from scratch today.

Jonas Vingegaard is the favourite to take victory on what will be his first summit finish of the season, just as he did in both the last two years. Here he is before the start of the stage, looking as calm as ever. 

178KM REMAINING

And we're off!

Attackers are flying out of the peloton, but nobody has managed to make anything stick yet. 

170KM REMAINING

Four riders have now succeeded in going clear: Bren Van Moer (Lotto), Iúri Leitão (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA), Leangel Rubén Linarez (Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua) and German Nicolás Tivani (Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé).

Make that nine riders - another five have bridged up to them.

Those five riders are:

Tobias Bayer (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Hugo Nunes (Credibom / LA Alumínios / Marcos Car), Fábio Costa (Anicolor / Tien 21), André Carvalho (Efapel Cycling) and Guilherme Lino (Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua).

160KM REMAINING

Those nine riders have a gap of over one minute. It seems the day's break has been formed.

The peloton has sat up, allowing the gap to grow all the way to over two and a half minutes. That's the last they'll see of those nine riders for a while.

They might yet see Leitão earlier than expected - the Portuguese rider has dropped out of the breakaway group.

150KM REMAINING

3-45 is the lead now for the eight at the front.  Leitão is stuck in no-man's land between them, over one minute adrift. 

There’s still a lot of racing to be done here, but over in the middle-east the latest stage of the UAE Tour has recently come to a close. Find out what happened here.

Here's a look at the day's break.

 Leitão's time in limbo is over, as he's swallowed back up by the peloton.

Back at the front of the race, the breakaway riders are taking on the first of the day’s five climbs. Like the first three, it’s only rated category three, and the tough climbing is instead reserved for the end of the stage. But there are still KOM points on offer for them to race for. 

At the top of the climb, Tivani was first over the line, ahead of Van Moer and Bayer.

130KM REMAINING

As the riders are about to change direction westwards for the final three quarters of the stage, the break has a healthy lead of four minutes. 

There’s a while until the riders take on the next climb, the category three Alferece, in about 50 kilometres’ time. There are some uncategorised lumps for them to get over beforehand. 

The action is likely to intensify from about 40km to the finish, from which the climbs come thick and fast. There are three to get over in this final 40km, including the final, category one effort to the finish atop Alto da Foia.

120KM REMAINING

The gap between the leaders and the peloton had come down a little, but has crept back up to four minutes in the last few kilometres. 

Visma-Lease a Bike and Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe are pulling at the front of the peloton for their respective leaders Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič. The finale of the stage is anticipated to be a showdown between these two stars of the sport.

There is of course a lot of history between these two riders. They were teammates at Visma-Lease a Bike for many years, before splitting after Roglič left the team in the wake of a tense Vuelta a España in 2023, when internal rivalry threatened to derail their race. Despite this, there doesn’t appear to be any bad blood between them.

Race meetings between the two since then have been brief. They competed against each other at Itzulia Basque Country and the Tour de France last year, but on both occasions crashes (to both at the former, and to Roglič in the latter) prematurely ended their contest.

110KM REMAINING

The break's lead is now up to 4-25, the highest it's been all day.

A reminder of the eight riders in the break:

Brent Van Moer (Lotto)

Leangel Rubén Linarez (Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua)

German Nicolás Tivani (Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé)

Tobias Bayer (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

Hugo Nunes (Credibom / LA Alumínios / Marcos Car)

Fábio Costa (Anicolor / Tien 21)

André Carvalho (Efapel Cycling)

Guilherme Lino (Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua)

Some Visma-Lease a Bike riders taking swigs from their bidons. It's a warm day today, about 22 degrees. Most of the rest of Europe will surely be envious.

100KM REMAINING

The gap's still stable at around 4-15, as we near the halfway point of the stage.

It’s been a quiet phase of the race, but things get a bit tougher now as the riders approach some rolling roads.

These rolling roads have already done for Leangel Rubén Linarez, who has been dropped from the break.

These rolling roads have claimed another casualty in the break, as Fábio Costa is the latest to be dropped.

And now Guilherme Lino is dropped. There are only five riders left in the lead group now.

The leaders are now descending the uncategorised hill they just crested, and will soon be at the foot of the net categorised climb of the day, Alferce (4.3km at 5.2%).

The five leaders are on the climb now.

Those five remaining riders are Van Moer, Bayer, Carvalho, Nunes and Tivani. Behind, Costa and Lino are already 1-30 adrift, and Linarez is back in the peloton.

80KM REMAINING

As the leaders take on the climb, they're lead is up to 4-40. They'll be out front to contest the KOM points at the top of this one, and should at this rate still be away to do so at the upcoming climb too.

Tivani reaches the summit first, to once again claim the maximum KOM haul. Van Moer was second, and Bayer third.

That was the same order as the last climb, therefore the virtual KOM standings are:

1 Tivani (8 points)

2 Van Moer (6 points)

3 Bayer (4 points)

The points earned yesterday were annulled, but Tivani (who would have worn the jersey today had the result stood) is making up for that disappointment.

Over in Spain, the second stage of the Vuelta a Andalucia has recently finished, and it was an action-packed one. Read all about it here.

70KM REMAINING

The leaders' advantage has grown significantly, up to 5-20 on the peloton. As for those dropped from it, Lino is now back in the peloton, while Costa remains in no-man’s land.

Costa has now been caught by the peloton, meaning the race situation is 5 leaders, the peloton 5-10 behind, and nobody in between.

60KM REMAINING

On a flatter section of the race, momentum has swung towards the peloton, where the pace is up. They've reduced the gap back down to 4 minutes. 

Visma-Lease a Bike and Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe are still the teams pace-setting. They've got the peloton all strung out in a long line.

The gap really is tumbling - it’s down to 3-30 already. 

The one man in the break who will be desperate for them to stay out longer is Tivani. The Argentine must have been bitterly disappointed not to have worn the KOM jersey today, after believing he had it sewn up yesterday. For him to have a chance of wearing it he’ll likely need to gain at least another couple of points on the next climb, which is coming up in about 20km.

More encouragingly for Tivani and the rest of the break, their lead has stabilised the last few kilometres at about 3-30.

Looking ahead to the stage finale, one rider who could challenge Vingegaard and Roglič is Geraint Thomas. This is the first race of what will be the final season of his decorated career, following the announcement of his retirement a few days ago. He’s stated that he hopes to make the most of his final races, and will try and enjoy himself today.

50KM REMAINING

It's coming down again now, though. With 50km, the gap between the peloton and the leaders is 3-10.

It’s the pace set by Visma and Red Bull that’s bringing this gap back. It really is hard to see past their leaders Vingegaard and Roglič for the win today - although riders’ form can be a little unpredictable this early into the season.

40KM REMAINING

The leaders are nearing the foot of the next climb, the 2.3km Marmelete. It’s a steep one, averaging 7.6%, but their lead of 3 minutes should be more than enough to ensure they survive to compete for the points.

There’s a change at the front of the peloton, where Visma-Lease a Bike have dropped back, and the likes of EF Education-EasyPost and Soudal-QuickStep are competing with Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe for the front position.

Now Visma are back on the front, as the road titls uphill on the approach to the climb's official start. 

Visma's pace is causing a few riders to be dumped out the back of the peloton.

Tiesj Benoot is the Visma rider setting the pace. The peloton is all strung out, and small gaps are appearing further down. 

At the front of the race, the climb has seen Carvalho dropped. Tivani is still there though, and is looking to hang on to claim those all-important KOM points.

They've reached the top, and Tivani moves ahead to take the points uncontested. That's another four added to his tally, meaning he now has 12. With 10 on offer for the winner of the stage atop the summit finish, he should have enough of a buffer now to take the jersey.

The peloton has also gone over the top, about 1-15 later. 

Carvalho is back in the peloton, having been dropped by the breakaway on the climb.

Here's Tiesj Benoot on the climb earlier, putting the hurt on.

30KM REMAINING

Less than a minute now between the leaders and the peloton, where the fight for position is on.

As the break's inevitable capture nears, who else should we be looking out for to compete with Vingegaard and Roglič for the stage win? As a home rider, and the leader of the world's best team UAE Team Emirates, João Almeida appears to be the main threat. He looked good at Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, where he finished second overall, and will have the motivation to go for the victory on home roads.

As for the rest, we'll keep an eye on Tao Geoghegan Hart, Thymen Arensman, Romain Bardet and Ion Izagirre, all of whom will hope to be up there. 

Tivani has dropped out of the lead group and has sat up, waiting to be caught by the peloton. The 12 points he picked up in the KOM classification should be enough to see him on the podium later.

The leading trio have just passed through the day’s intermediate sprint with the bunch now just 10 seconds behind. They haven’t quite made the catch in time to bring the bonus seconds on offer into play.

The catch is made! With 21km to go, the peloton is now the front of the race. 

20KM REMAINING

The pace remains very high in the peloton. It will soon get even faster when they descend a brief downhill, towards the foot of the penultimate climb, the category two Pomba.

After cresting the Pomba, the riders will almost immediately start climbing the final challenge of the day, Alto de Foia. So the peloton is approaching the foot of the Pomba as if it were the final climb of the day, and the pace is intense.

Wout van Aert is among the cars out the back of the peloton. It's unclear whether he's been dropped, or has an issue.

The riders have started climbing the Pomba.

We have our first attack: from Picnic PostNL's Romain Bardet.

Bardet is not committed to the attack, and has allowed himself to be brought back. Perhaps he hoped for some company. 

Red Bull-Bora Hangrohe have taken over at the front, with new signing Tratnik setting the pace. 

On Tratnik's wheel is Roglič, and on his wheel is Vingegaard. Things are heating up already...

The peloton is being thinned out, with only about 30 riders left.

Tratnik has finished his turn, and now the peloton has bunched together.

Julian Alaphilippe tried to make the most of the slow-down by attacking ,but only lasted a few seconds out the front.

10KM REMAINING

They're over the top of the climb, with still about 30 riders in the peloton.

An attack from De Plus.

Rémy Rochas has gone with him.

They've started the final climb! It seems all of the pre-race GC favourites remain present in the reduced peloton.

Powless and a Visma rider have joined De Plus and Rochas at the front.

The Visma rider in Tulett.

UAE's Jan Christen has joined the leading four, who are hovering a few seconds ahead of the bunch.

Kelderman has been dropped, leaving Vingegaard isolated.

Christen attacks

He's followed by Luca Vergallito, who was the latest to bridge up from the peloton to the lead group.

They've been brought back by the other four, and now De Plus tries an attack

Christen, Vergallito and Powless have followed De Plus, but Tulett and Rochas are distanced.

5KM REMAINING

That quartet has a gap ahead of the group of favourites, currently beind led by Lidl-Trek.

Vingegaard briefly had company when Tulett dropped back from the lead group, but he's now been dropped out of the group of favourites, leaving the Dane isolated again. 

Some respite as the riders enjoy a brief downhill. The gradient is about to kick up though - we await an attack from either Vingegaard or Roglič.

The road tilts up again, and Christen attacks.

De Plus follows, but not the other two.

Now Powless and Vergallito rejoin.

Arensman is being dropped out the peloton.

This is looking better and better for the leading four. Their lead is approaching 30 seconds, with only 2.5km left to ride. 

Christen attacks again.

Vingegaard attacks!

The Dane makes his move under the 2km to go banner.

Roglič and a few others are following him.

They're still over 30 seconds behind the leaders, despite that acceleration.

Almeida and Hart are also with Roglič and Vingegaard

At the front, the other three have rejoined Christen again, who can't shake them despite his multiple attacks.

Vingegaard accelerates again, but can't drop them.

Bardet is the 5th man in the Vingegaard group.

1KM TO GO

Christen attacks again

He's gotr a bigger gap this time, but De Plus is after him.

This is looking good for Christen.

De Plus can see him, but can't close the gap on the steep final metres.

Almeida has attacked the group behind.

Almeida bridges up to his teammate Christen.

Christen takes the win!

Almeida caught Christen on the finishing straight, but allowed his teammate to take victory. A one-two for UAE Team Emirates.

Vingegaard and Roglič were short of what was expected of them. It wasn't just Almeida who dropped them in the final kilometres, but a few other riders too.

De Plus held on to finish third, seven seconds behind the UAE duo.

Romain Bardet finished fourth, followed by another UAE rider, Antonio Morgado. Vingegaard arrived with him, 10 seconds behind Christen.

Roglič finished down in ninth, along with Tao Geoghegan Hart.

Almeida came storming through the final kilometre, flying past De Plus as he sprinted for second-place. He was happy to let his young teammate take the win though, despite the bonus seconds on offer. 

That's a huge win for Jan Christen, who is still just 20-years-old. It was a tactical finale, and he benefited from the top favourites looking at each other for much of the final climb, but still showed serious climbing legs to take the win. He has enormous potential.

Here's the top ten in full:

1 Jan Christen

2 João Almeida at st

3 Lauurens De Plus at 7secs

4 Romain Bardet at 8secs

5 António Morgado at 10secs

6 Jonas Vingegaard at st

7 Luca Vergallito at 11secs

8 Tao Geoghegan Hart at 13secs

9 Primož Roglič at st

10 Neilson Powless at 16secs

Here is Christen earlier on the climb, making one of his multiple attacks.

In the final metres approaching the finish line, Christen turned around to see his teammate Almieda just behind him. Alemida then extended an arm, in a gesture to give him the go ahead to take the vicrory himself. 

It was very harmonious for UAE Team Emirates at the finish - but will it stay that way? Christen and Alemdia are now first and second on GC, with just 4 seconds separating them. And there’s a third potential spanner in the works in the form of Morgado, who is fifth at 20 seconds.

Incidentally, Christen has also picked up enough KOM points to take the lead in that classification, ahead of Tivani. But with Christen also leading the overall classification, Tivani will still get to wear the climber’s jersey tomorrow.

Thanks for joining us today, and be sure to return tomorrow when we'll be taking you through stage three.