Volta a Portugal 2024 | Aviludo Louletano dominates the sprint finish in Lisbon with German Tivani winning stage 2 and Tomas Contte taking 2nd

The second stage of the Volta a Portugal was designed by the organization to commemorate the 50th anniversary of April 25, Freedom Day, by taking the peloton along the same route that the Men of April took in 1974, between Santarém and Lisbon.

It was under intense heat and a strong northerly wind that the peloton hit the road for the day's 164 kms. In the first few kilometres of the race, there was an attack, with the American from the Project Echelon Racing team, Zach Greg, setting off on a solo adventure. A few kilometres later, he was joined by César Fonte from Rádio Poupular- Paredes - Boavista, and the duo approached the first finish line of the day in Cartaxo, with Zack Greg in first place, César Fonte in second and Luís Fernandes from Credibom- La Alumínios - Marcos Car in the peloton taking the last point in the race.

The peloton was compact and the front duo now had a 2:30m lead and it was César Fonte who was the first man to pass the 4th category mountain prize in Santarém, followed by Zack Greg and the last points in contention went to LA Aluminios youngster João Medeiros. After the mountain prize, César Fonte disconnected from the break and dropped back to the peloton, leaving the American to his fate.

The wind continued to hit the riders hard and there were fears of cuts, and the intensity and tension in the peloton was very present. The American continued on his way and passed the Almeirim finish line in isolation, followed by António Carvalho from ABTF Betão- Feirense and Luis Fernandes from La Aluminios;

At 69 kilometers from the finish line, Zack Greg had the biggest lead over the peloton, 4:30m, but things were still tense at the back due to the intense wind. However, the young American's adventure ended 49 kilometers from the finish line. The peloton was now rolling compactly towards Vila Franca de Xira, where the last finish line of the day was located. In the sprint to the finish line, there was a close fight for the points and the bonus seconds, and we could see the first and second-placed riders in the overall fight. Among them is Luis Mendonça from Sabgal - Anicolor, who gets in the way and has an unorthodox sprint, deviating a little and opening his arms. However, although Mendonça seemed to have affected António Carvalho's sprint, yellow jersey Colin Stussi was the first to pass, followed by Mendonça and Carvalho.

After the last MV of the day, the peloton headed for the finish line in Lisbon, in the parish of Marvila, with a lively and intense pace, with the teams of the main contenders for the stage win passing at the front of the race. The peloton rolled in apparent calm until they reached the entrance to the city of Lisbon and with around 5 kms to go, the peace ended and the war for positions began, and the pace increased dramatically. In the last kilometer, the American team led the peloton, but in the last few hundred meters it was the Aviludo-Louletano men who attacked in a surprising way and it was Argentinian German Tivani who won the stage, with his teammate Tomas Contte taking second and Scott McGill rounding off the podium.