The Volta a Portugal (English: Tour of Portugal), also known as Volta a Portugal em Bicicleta (English: Tour of Portugal on Bicycle), is an annual multi-stage road bicycle racing competition held in Portugal. The competition takes place during a two-week span.
 2024 Volta a Portugal | |
 | |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | August |
| Region | Portugal |
| English name | Tour of Portugal |
| Local name(s) | Volta a Portugal em Bicicleta |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI Europe Tour |
| Type | Stage race |
| Race director | Joaquim Gomes |
| Web site | www |
| History | |
| First edition | 1927 |
| Editions | 85 (as of 2024) |
| First winner |  Augusto de Carvalho (PRT) |
| Most wins |  David Blanco (ESP)(5 wins) |
| Most recent |  Artem Nych |
History
editThe competition started in 1927, although its second edition only occurred in 1931. In 1936 and 1937 the tour did not take place. During World War II the race was cancelled between 1942 and 1945. In 1975 the competition was skipped due to the Carnation Revolution.
In the period 1940–1980 the competition was staged over three weeks. Since the 1980s it was reduced to the period of two weeks. As of 2005 the race consisted only of ten stages. In the last years the race consisted of ten stages and a prologue (a short time trial that starts the race). It is still the longest competition in cycling after the three grand Tours. It is one of the oldest stage races in the world. Although not as important as the three Grand Tours, it has long been a significant competition. In the last few years, however, it has declined in importance, especially because it now takes place immediately after the Tour de France, and before the Vuelta a España, a schedule that precludes the participation of major teams and cyclists.[1]
List of winners
edit
Wins by cyclist
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Wins by team
edit| Team | Individual titles | General classification | Team titles | Team classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Porto
|
12 | 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1979, 1981, 1982 | 12 | 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1964, 1969, 1979, 1980, 1981 |
| Sporting CP
|
9 | 1933, 1940, 1941, 1963, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1985, 1986 | 13 | 1933, 1940, 1941, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1984, 1985 |
| Benfica
|
9 | 1931, 1934, 1947, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1974, 1976, 1999 | 9 | 1931, 1932, 1934, 1939, 1947, 1963, 1966, 1974, 1999 |
| União Ciclista de Sobrado
|
7 | 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 | 7 | 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
| Clube de Ciclismo de Tavira
|
5 | 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018 | 2 | 2009, 2011 |
| União Ciclista da Maia
|
4 | 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007 | 5 | 1996, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007 |
| Sangalhos
|
4 | 1951, 1956, 1958, 1969 | 2 | 1951, 1976 |
| Sicasal
|
3 | 1987, 1989, 1991 | 5 | 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995 |
| Clube Desportivo Fullracing (Barbot–Siper/Efapel–Glassdrive/Glassdrive-Q8–Anicolor)
|
2 | 2012, 2022 | 6 | 2010, 2012, 2013, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Académico do Porto
|
2 | 1955, 1957 | 2 | 1956, 1957 |
| Lousa
|
2 | 1977, 1980 | 2 | 1978, 1986 |
| Artiach
|
2 | 1994, 1995 | 2 | 1993, 1994 |
| Recer–Boavista
|
2 | 1992, 1993 | 2 | 1989, 1997 |
| Águias/LA–Pecol/LA–Liberty/Liberty Seguros
|
1 | 2003 | 5 | 1977, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2008 |
| Carcavelos
|
1 | 1927 | 1 | 1927 |
| Campo de Ourique
|
1 | 1938 | 1 | 1935 |
| CUF
|
1 | 1939 | 1 | 1938 |
| Iluminante
|
1 | 1946 | 1 | 1946 |
 Flandria
|
1 | 1967 | 1 | 1965 |
| Porta da Ravessa
|
1 | 2000 | 1 | 2001 |
| Louletano–Vale do Lobo
|
1 | 1988 | 1 | 1988 |
| Rio de Janeiro
|
1 | 1932 | 0 | — |
| Velo Clube "Os Leões"
|
1 | 1935 | 0 | — |
 Messias
|
1 | 1973 | 0 | — |
| Coimbrões
|
1 | 1978 | 0 | — |
| Mako Jeans
|
1 | 1983 | 0 | — |
| Ajacto
|
1 | 1984 | 0 | — |
| Ruquita–Feirense
|
1 | 1990 | 0 | — |
 Saeco
|
1 | 1996 | 0 | — |
| Mapei
|
1 | 1997 | 0 | — |
| Brescialat
|
1 | 1998 | 0 | — |
 Team Barloworld
|
1 | 2005 | 0 | — |
| Comunidad Valenciana
|
1 | 2006 | 0 | — |
 Team Vorarlberg
|
1 | 2023 | 0 | — |
| Licor 43
|
0 | — | 1 | 1960 |
| Bombarralense
|
0 | — | 1 | 1982 |
| Rodovil
|
0 | — | 1 | 1983 |
 Festina
|
0 | — | 1 | 1998 |
Wins by country
edit| Country | Wins |
|---|---|
| Portugal |
60 |
| Spain |
12 |
| Italy |
2 |
 Switzerland |
2 |
| Belgium |
1 |
| United Kingdom |
1 |
 Brazil |
1 |
 Poland |
1 |
 Denmark |
1 |
 Russia |
1 |
 Uruguay |
1 |
Classifications
editAs of the 2016 edition, the jerseys worn by the leaders of the individual classifications are:
Yellow Jersey – Worn by the leader of the general classification.
Green Jersey – Worn by the leader of the points classification.
Blue Jersey – Worn by the leader of the climbing classification.
White Jersey – Worn by the best rider under 23 years of age on the overall classification.
Women's race
editSince 2021, a women's edition of the race, known as the Volta a Portugal Feminina, has been held. Initially on the national calendar, it has been categorized as a 2.2 UCI event since 2024.
Winners
edit| Year | Country | Rider | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Portugal
|
Raquel Queirós | |
| 2022 |  Sweden
|
Nathalie Eklund | Massi–Tactic |
| 2023 | Russia
|
Valeria Valgonen | Massi–Tactic |
| 2024 | France
|
India Grangier | Team Coop–Repsol |
References
edit- ^ "Volta a Portugal (2.1), Portugal Winners, podium, distance, average speed". bikeraceinfo.com. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- ^ "Volta a Portugal em Bicicleta past winners". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- ^ "Official winners list". volta-portugal.com. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- ^ "Volta de Portugal winners" (PDF). www.uvp-fpc.pt/. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Raúl Alarcón perde duas Voltas a Portugal devido a suspensão por doping" [Raúl Alarcón loses two Volta a Portugal for doping suspension]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 10 March 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.