PREVIEW | Volta ao Algarve 2023 - Ganna, Küng, Jakobsen and Pidcock headline incredible startlist looking to prime form ahead of spring

The 2023 Volta ao Algarve will take place from the 15th to 19th of February in the Algarve region, southern Portugal, where every year many of the world's best sprinters, time-trialists, classics riders and stage racer come together for a week of exciting racing.

Stage 1 from Portimão to Lagos goes through some of the main cities in the region and sees over 200 kilometers in the menu. It will be a long day on the bike and one that should end in a sprint with the first yellow jersey to emerge from a fast finish. The second day of racing will start in Sagres and will be the main day for the climbers to test their legs. The finale features several sharp hilltops before the summit finish into Alto da Fóia, which features 7.5 kilometers at 5.8% and usually makes the split between those fighting for the GC and those who can't.

The third day of racing will be another mostly flat day and one suited to the fast men. With a finale in Tavira, it is once again a stage that has over 200 kilometers to race, and the sprinters will get another opportunity to shine.

On the fourth day of racing the peloton will encounter more familiar roads as the race goes up it's most iconic climb. It is a day for the GC riders and possibly a breakaway, as the riders tackle the hills, and ride the Alto do Malhão twice, the last time coinciding with the finish line. The climb is 2.6 kilometers long at 9.2% and is usually hard enough to create meaningful gaps.

The overall classification of the Volta ao Algarve however should be decided in the final time-trial. A loop around the city of Lagoa, it features a whole 24.4 kilometers which in modern cycling is a very decently sized distance against the clock, where big differences are likely to be made to close the race.

*** Thymen Arensman, Stefan Küng
** Tobias Foss, João Almeida, Filippo Ganna
* Tobias Johannessen, Thibault Guernalec, Sergio Higuita, Daniel Martínez, Rui Costa, Tom Pidcock, Ilan van Wilder

Pick: Stefan Küng