Tiago Machado did his first stage race as a leader of Team NetApp-Endura in last week's Volta Algarve and after a slow start, he impressed with a strong 5th in Saturday's queen stage. The team is convinced that their Portuguese signing will have taken confidence from the level of team support he received.

 

The fifth stage of the 40th Tour of Algarve took the riders over 156 kilometers, from Tavira to Vilamoura. Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma – Quick Step) prevailed over the two Frenchmen Arnaud Démare (FDJ) and Bryan Coquard (Europcar) in a mass sprint. Daniel Schorn, who suffered a fall as early as the 15th kilometer of the race, nevertheless sprinted into 14th place.   Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma – Quick Step) won out in the general classification while Tiago Machado ended his home tour in 18th place.

 

Today’s final stage was marked by many attacks. A first group was already caught up with after 35 kilometers, so that a second group of six riders was able to form up shortly afterwards. NetApp – Endura’s Jan Barta was among them. The field always kept the group under control and never allowed its lead to exceed two minutes. All of the breakaway riders were caught up with 15 kilometers before the finish line, setting up a mass sprint.

 

“It’s too bad that Daniel had his fall so early in the race. Even though there was no serious injury, it definitely had an effect on the final sprint, since this eroded a little of the confidence needed to be able to stay right at the front. Jan was able to make up some of the kilometers while in the group. Our assumption was that the group would not succeed – but this was good preparation for classics to come,” was the view of sports director Alex Sans Vega after the race. 

 

“The first race with new riders is never simple. Tiago could see that the team was giving him 100% support and was riding for him. This will become routine and gives us confidence for the next races. The guys have the right form. Overall, I’m quite satisfied with the team’s performance here,” summarized Sans Vega.