The Tour of the Algarve was branded as “ridiculous” and a “joke” overnight when a pack of riders took the wrong road and completely missed the finish line.
With around 800m left on the opening stage, most of the peloton took a right-hand exit, reserved for officials and team cars,at a roundabout instead of the left which headed to the finish.
Only around 30 riders chose the correct route including Filippo Ganna, who came home ahead of Frenchman Romain Gregoire and Jan Christen of Switzerland.
However, their joy was short-lived as the stage was swiftly cancelled, meaning Ganna’s career wins total remains at 33.
“It’s a joke! It’s completely ridiculous!” said Austrian rider Marco Haller who blamed the chaos on the lack of clear signage at the entry to the right-hand lane.
“The diversion was not blocked off. As a result, the riders followed the motorcycle [of the organisation]. There could have been consequences ... Fortunately, that was not the case.”
Belgium’s Jordi Meeus, for whom Haller “had ridden for 190 kilometres”, railed at having been deprived of a stage win.
“I only realised 200 metres from the line that there was a problem when we passed police motorcycles. It’s a shame this missed opportunity. The main thing is that no spectator was injured,” he told Flemish website Sporza.
