2018 Volta a Portugal

2018 Volta a Portugal

Race details
Dates	August 1–12, 2018 (2018-08-01 – 2018-08-12)
Stages	11
Distance	1,589.1 km (987.4 mi)
Winning time	41h 15' 32"
Results
Winner Raúl Alarcón (ESP) (W52 / FC Porto)   Second Joni Brandão (POR) (Sporting / Tavira)   Third Vicente García de Mateos (ESP) (Aviludo–Louletano) Points Vicente García de Mateos (ESP) (Aviludo–Louletano) Mountains Raúl Alarcón (ESP) (W52 / FC Porto) Youth Xuban Errazkin (ESP) (Vito–Feirense–BlackJack)   Combination Raúl Alarcón (ESP) (W52 / FC Porto)   Team Sporting / Tavira

The 2018 Volta a Portugal was the 80th edition of the Volta a Portugal cycle race and was held on 1 August to 12 August 2018. The race started in Setúbal and finished in Fafe. Raúl Alarcón end the race in first place. However, in March 2021, due to doping all his results obtained between 28 July 2015 and 21 October 2019 were cancelled, including 2018 Volta a Portugal.

Teams

Main article: List of teams and cyclists in the 2018 Volta a Portugal

The 18 teams participating in the race are:

UCI Professional Continental teams

• WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
• Israel Cycling Academy
• Euskadi–Murias
• Caja Rural–Seguros RGA

UCI Continental teams

• Team Ecuador
• W52 / FC Porto
• Team Coop
• Sporting / Tavira
• Differdange–Losch
• Amore & Vita–Prodir
• Aviludo–Louletano
• Vito–Feirense–BlackJack
• Efapel
• Rádio Popular–Boavista
• MsTina–Focus
• Miranda–Mortágua
• Liberty Seguros–Carglass
• LA Alumínios

Stages

Stage 4 and queen stage, originally 171,4 km, was shortened 27 km due to extreme weather conditions. The passage through Torre was replaced by Penhas Douradas climb, also the Seia intermediate sprint was eliminated.

Stage characteristics and winners

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type		Winner
P	1 August	Setúbal	1.8 km (1 mi)		Individual time trial	Rafael Reis (POR)
1	2 August	Alcácer do Sal to Albufeira	191.8 km (119 mi)		Flat stage	Riccardo Stacchiotti (ITA)
2	3 August	Beja to Portalegre	203.6 km (127 mi)		Hilly stage	Vicente García de Mateos (ESP)
3	4 August	Sertã to Oliveira do Hospital	177.8 km (110 mi)		Medium mountain stage	Raúl Alarcón (ESP)
4	5 August	Guarda to Covilhã	144 km (89 mi)		Mountain stage	Raúl Alarcón (ESP)
5	6 August	Sabugal to Viseu	191.7 km (119 mi)		Medium mountain stage	Riccardo Stacchiotti (ITA)
	7 August	Municipality of Viseu			Rest day
6	8 August	Sernancelhe to Boticas	165.4 km (103 mi)		Medium mountain stage	Domingos Gonçalves (POR)
7	9 August	Montalegre to Viana do Castelo (Santa Luzia)	165.5 km (103 mi)		Hilly stage	Enrique Sanz (ESP)
8	10 August	Barcelos to Braga	147.6 km (92 mi)		Medium mountain stage	Vicente García de Mateos (ESP)
9	11 August	Felgueiras to Alto da Senhora da Graça	155.2 km (96 mi)		Mountain stage	Raúl Alarcón (ESP)
10	12 August	Fafe	17.3 km (11 mi)		Individual time trial	Vicente García de Mateos (ESP)
	Total		1,561.7 km (970 mi)

Classification leadership

There were four main individual classifications being contested in the 2018 Volta a Portugal, as well a team, combination and national rider competition. The most important was the general classification, which was calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage. The rider with the lowest cumulative time was the winner of the general classification and was considered to be the overall winner of the Tour. The rider leading the classification wore a yellow jersey sponsored by Santander.

Second, there is a points classification, which awards a green jersey sponsored by Rubis Gás. In the points classification, cyclists receive points for finishing inside the top 10 in a stage apart from the prologue, and unlike in the points classification in the Tour de France, the winners of all stages (with the exception of the prologue) are awarded the same number of points. For winning a stage, a rider earns 25 points, with 20 for second, 16 for third, 13 for fourth, 10 for fifth, 8 for sixth, 6 for seventh, 4 for eight, 2 for ninth and a single point for 10th place. In addition, riders receive points for finishing in the top three at intermediate sprints during each stage – awarded on a 3–2–1 scale.

Points for the mountains classification

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
Points for Category S	25	20	17	15	13	11	9	7	5	4	3	2	1
Points for 1st category	15	13	11	9	7	5	4	3	2	1	0
Points for 2nd category	10	8	6	4	2	1	0
Points for 3rd category	5	3	2	1	0
Points for 4th category	3	2	1	0

There is also a mountains classification, the leadership of which is marked by a blue jersey sponsored by Liberty Seguros. In the mountains classification, points towards the classification are won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists. Each climb is categorised as either category S, 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs.

The fourth jersey represents the young rider classification, marked by a white jersey sponsored by RTP. This is decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders born on or after 1 January 1995 are eligible to be ranked in the classification.

There were also awards for the team classification, sponsored by EDP, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage are added together; the leading team at the end of the race is the team with the lowest total time. The number of stage victories and placings per team determined the outcome of a tie. The riders in the team that led this classification were identified with yellow number bibs on the back of their jerseys.

The next individual award was the combination (Kombinado) classification. A rider's ranking in the combination classification was determined by tallying up his positions in the general, points and mountains classifications. If no rider was classified in all three classifications, riders classified in two would have been considered, and if that was tied the general classification will decide the winner. This classification was sponsored by Kia.

The seven and final award represents the classification for Portuguese riders and was sponsored by Jogos Santa Casa. This is decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders born in Portugal are eligible to be ranked in the classification. Like the combination award this is only presented on the podium and is not worn in race.

A total of €128,790 was awarded in cash prizes in the race. The overall winner of the general classification received €16,045, with the second and third placed riders getting €8,115 and €3,985 respectively. All finishers in the top 20 were awarded with money. The final winners of the points, mountains, young rider, combination and best Portuguese rider classifications were given €1,500. The team classification winners were awarded a trophy. €3,060 was given to the winners of each stage of the race, apart from the prologue where the winner was given €1,490, with smaller amounts given to places 2–20.

Classification leadership by stage

Stage	Winner	General classification	Points classification	Mountains classification	Young rider classification	Team classification	Combination classification	Portuguese rider classification
P	Rafael Reis	Rafael Reis	no award	no award	César Martingil	Sporting / Tavira	no award	Rafael Reis
1	Riccardo Stacchiotti		Riccardo Stacchiotti	Mario Vogt			Mario Vogt
2	Vicente García de Mateos		Luís Mendonça
3	Raúl Alarcón	Raúl Alarcón	Vicente García de Mateos		Óscar Rodríguez	W52 / FC Porto	Vicente García de Mateos	Joni Brandão
4	Raúl Alarcón			Raúl Alarcón	Xuban Errazkin	Sporting / Tavira	Raúl Alarcón
5	Riccardo Stacchiotti
6	Domingos Gonçalves
7	Enrique Sanz
8	Vicente García de Mateos			Joni Brandão
9	Raúl Alarcón			Raúl Alarcón
10	Vicente García de Mateos					W52 / FC Porto
Final		Raúl Alarcón	Vicente García de Mateos	Raúl Alarcón	Xuban Errazkin	W52 / FC Porto	Raúl Alarcón	Joni Brandão

External links

• Official website (in Portuguese)