Volta ao Algarve confusion could have been a lot worse believes Jordi Meeus: "Fortunately no fan was hurt"

The opening stage of the 2025 Volta ao Algarve is one that will be remembered and talked about for a long while to come. Sadly for race organisers, not necessarily in a good way, after the farcically chaotic scenes in the finish town of Lagos.

Due to some confusion, more than half the peloton went the wrong way on a roundabout, leaving them helplessly on the wrong side of the barriers as INEOS Grenadiers' Filippo Ganna crossed the line solo on the right side on the road. Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe's Jordi Meeus was among the group to get lost, much to his own frustration. "I think they sent us to the extraction of the cars," he pondered in post-stage quotes collected by Sporza. "The last 600 meters we were no longer on the course. I didn't realize it right away."

In part because of the confusion and the lack of immediate realisation from the riders, Meeus believes it's actually quite lucky things weren't much worse as the peloton rode down the un-cordoned off section of road. "200 meters from the finish I suddenly saw people signalling 'take it easy' and I saw some police motorcycles. Then I realised that something was wrong," he concludes. "I was definitely in it to win and I still felt good. It must have been unsafe, but fortunately, no fan was hurt. Too bad about the missed opportunity."