The opening day of racing at the Volta ao Algarve saw a nervous affair with strong winds threatening the peloton throughout the day. It was a calm affair to start off with and a breakaway went clear with all Team dsm-firmenich PostNL riders in the bunch, aiming to protect sprint finisher Casper van Uden ahead of the finale. Coming into the final 50 kilometres the wind strength increased but despite a few attempts to split things, both the wind direction and covered route meant things stayed together. However, there were unfortunately a few crashes due to the nerves but the team managed to come through unscathed. Working well as a group the team moved up in the finale but the hectic nature of the finish due to a couple of crashes saw the guys lose each other and Van Uden unable to sprint for a top result; ultimately crossing the line in tenth place on the stage.
Speaking after the sprint Van Uden said: “We rode a good race today and completed most of our goals but unfortunately we messed up a little in the last few kilometres. The boys were really strong though so we are going to analyse what happened and come back stronger on the next sprint day.”