# 2014 Volta ao Algarve

The 2014 Volta ao Algarve was the 40th edition of the Volta ao Algarve cycling stage race. It was rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, and was held from 19 to 23 February 2014, in Portugal.
The race was won by Omega Pharma–Quick-Step rider Michał Kwiatkowski – taking the first stage race win of his career – after taking the race lead with a solo stage victory on the second stage; he further extended his lead in the following day's individual time trial, before holding his lead to the end of the race. Kwiatkowski's winning margin over runner-up Alberto Contador of Tinkoff–Saxo was 19 seconds, and world champion Rui Costa (Lampre–Merida) completed the podium, 13 seconds down on Contador and 32 seconds in arrears of Kwiatkowski. Contador won the queen stage of the race on the penultimate day, to the Alto do Malhão, while Costa finished second on three stages, and finished as the best-placed Portuguese rider.
Portuguese cyclists were prominent in the race's other classifications. Costa's consistent finishing allowed him to take home the green jersey as the winner of the points classification, while Banco BIC–Carmim's Valter Pereira and Rádio Popular's César Fonte held the lead from start to finish of the mountains and sprints classifications respectively. Costa's Lampre–Merida squad were the winners of the teams classification, after Chris Horner also finished inside the top ten overall and Sacha Modolo took a stage victory on the opening day.

## Race overview

| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner |
| 1 | 19 February | Faro to Albufeira | 160 km (99.4 mi) | Flat stage | Sacha Modolo (ITA) |
| 2 | 20 February | Lagoa to Monchique | 196 km (121.8 mi) | Hilly stage | Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) |
| 3 | 21 February | Vila do Bispo to Sagres | 13.6 km (8.5 mi) | Individual time trial | Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) |
| 4 | 22 February | Almodôvar to Loulé (Alto do Malhão) | 164.5 km (102.2 mi) | Mountain stage | Alberto Contador (ESP) |
| 5 | 23 February | Tavira to Vilamoura | 155.8 km (96.8 mi) | Flat stage | Mark Cavendish (GBR) |

## Stages
### Stage 1
#### 19 February 2014 — Faro to Albufeira, 160 km (99.4 mi)

| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Sacha Modolo (ITA) | Lampre–Merida | 3h 51' 46" |
| 2 | Rui Costa (POR) | Lampre–Merida | s.t. |
| 3 | Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 4 | Bryan Coquard (FRA) | Team Europcar | s.t. |
| 5 | Danilo Napolitano (ITA) | Wanty–Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 6 | Arnaud Démare (FRA) | FDJ.fr | s.t. |
| 7 | Edgar Pinto (POR) | LA Alumínios–Antarte | s.t. |
| 8 | Daniel Schorn (AUT) | NetApp–Endura | s.t. |
| 9 | Alexey Tsatevich (RUS) | Team Katusha | s.t. |
| 10 | Juan José Lobato (ESP) | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Sacha Modolo (ITA) | Lampre–Merida | 3h 51' 36" |
| 2 | César Fonte (POR) | Rádio Popular | + 1" |
| 3 | Rui Costa (POR) | Lampre–Merida | + 4" |
| 4 | Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step | + 6" |
| 5 | Luís Afonso (POR) | LA Alumínios–Antarte | + 6" |
| 6 | Bryan Coquard (FRA) | Team Europcar | + 10" |
| 7 | Danilo Napolitano (ITA) | Wanty–Groupe Gobert | + 10" |
| 8 | Arnaud Démare (FRA) | FDJ.fr | + 10" |
| 9 | Edgar Pinto (POR) | LA Alumínios–Antarte | + 10" |
| 10 | Daniel Schorn (AUT) | NetApp–Endura | + 10" |

### Stage 2
#### 20 February 2014 — Lagoa to Monchique, 196 km (121.8 mi)

| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step | 4h 57' 57" |
| 2 | Rui Costa (POR) | Lampre–Merida | + 6" |
| 3 | Alberto Contador (ESP) | Tinkoff–Saxo | + 6" |
| 4 | Eduard Prades (ESP) | OFM-Quinta da Lixa | + 6" |
| 5 | Alexandre Geniez (FRA) | FDJ.fr | + 17" |
| 6 | Sergey Chernetskiy (RUS) | Team Katusha | + 17" |
| 7 | Chris Horner (USA) | Lampre–Merida | + 17" |
| 8 | Sergey Firsanov (RUS) | RusVelo | + 17" |
| 9 | Jonathan Castroviejo (ESP) | Movistar Team | + 17" |
| 10 | Edgar Pinto (POR) | LA Alumínios–Antarte | + 17" |
| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step | 8h 49' 33" |
| 2 | Rui Costa (POR) | Lampre–Merida | + 4" |
| 3 | Alberto Contador (ESP) | Tinkoff–Saxo | + 12" |
| 4 | Eduard Prades (ESP) | OFM-Quinta da Lixa | + 16" |
| 5 | Edgar Pinto (POR) | LA Alumínios–Antarte | + 27" |
| 6 | Rubén Fernández (ESP) | Caja Rural–Seguros RGA | + 27" |
| 7 | Sergey Chernetskiy (RUS) | Team Katusha | + 27" |
| 8 | Jonathan Castroviejo (ESP) | Movistar Team | + 27" |
| 9 | Simon Špilak (SLO) | Team Katusha | + 27" |
| 10 | Chris Horner (USA) | Lampre–Merida | + 27" |

### Stage 3
#### 21 February 2014 — Vila do Bispo to Sagres, 13.6 km (8.5 mi), individual time trial (ITT)

| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step | 14' 03" |
| 2 | Adriano Malori (ITA) | Movistar Team | + 11" |
| 3 | Tony Martin (GER) | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step | + 13" |
| 4 | Alberto Contador (ESP) | Tinkoff–Saxo | + 20" |
| 5 | Alex Dowsett (GBR) | Movistar Team | + 25" |
| 6 | Jan Bárta (CZE) | NetApp–Endura | + 28" |
| 7 | Rick Flens (NED) | Belkin Pro Cycling | + 29" |
| 8 | Thomas De Gendt (BEL) | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step | + 30" |
| 9 | Wilco Kelderman (NED) | Belkin Pro Cycling | + 30" |
| 10 | Alexandre Geniez (FRA) | FDJ.fr | + 33" |
| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step | 9h 03' 36" |
| 2 | Alberto Contador (ESP) | Tinkoff–Saxo | + 32" |
| 3 | Rui Costa (POR) | Lampre–Merida | + 38" |
| 4 | Alexandre Geniez (FRA) | FDJ.fr | + 1' 00" |
| 5 | Sergey Chernetskiy (RUS) | Team Katusha | + 1' 03" |
| 6 | Wilco Kelderman (NED) | Belkin Pro Cycling | + 1' 08" |
| 7 | Rubén Fernández (ESP) | Caja Rural–Seguros RGA | + 1' 20" |
| 8 | Simon Špilak (SLO) | Team Katusha | + 1' 23" |
| 9 | Chris Horner (USA) | Lampre–Merida | + 1' 24" |
| 10 | Eduard Prades (ESP) | OFM-Quinta da Lixa | + 1' 25" |

### Stage 4
#### 22 February 2014 — Almodôvar to Loulé–Alto do Malhão, 164.5 km (102.2 mi)

| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Alberto Contador (ESP) | Tinkoff–Saxo | 4h 02' 08" |
| 2 | Rui Costa (POR) | Lampre–Merida | + 3" |
| 3 | Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step | + 10" |
| 4 | Eduard Prades (ESP) | OFM-Quinta da Lixa | + 13" |
| 5 | Tiago Machado (POR) | NetApp–Endura | + 14" |
| 6 | Chris Horner (USA) | Lampre–Merida | + 14" |
| 7 | Edgar Pinto (POR) | LA Alumínios–Antarte | + 16" |
| 8 | Pello Bilbao (ESP) | Caja Rural–Seguros RGA | + 16" |
| 9 | Alexandre Geniez (FRA) | FDJ.fr | + 16" |
| 10 | Sergey Firsanov (RUS) | RusVelo | + 16" |
| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step | 13h 05' 50" |
| 2 | Alberto Contador (ESP) | Tinkoff–Saxo | + 16" |
| 3 | Rui Costa (POR) | Lampre–Merida | + 29" |
| 4 | Alexandre Geniez (FRA) | FDJ.fr | + 1' 10" |
| 5 | Wilco Kelderman (NED) | Belkin Pro Cycling | + 1' 29" |
| 6 | Rubén Fernández (ESP) | Caja Rural–Seguros RGA | + 1' 30" |
| 7 | Eduard Prades (ESP) | OFM-Quinta da Lixa | + 1' 32" |
| 8 | Chris Horner (USA) | Lampre–Merida | + 1' 32" |
| 9 | Simon Špilak (SLO) | Team Katusha | + 1' 38" |
| 10 | Edgar Pinto (POR) | LA Alumínios–Antarte | + 1' 41" |

### Stage 5
#### 23 February 2014 — Tavira to Vilamoura, 155.8 km (96.8 mi)

| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Mark Cavendish (GBR) | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step | 3h 24' 10" |
| 2 | Arnaud Démare (FRA) | FDJ.fr | s.t. |
| 3 | Bryan Coquard (FRA) | Team Europcar | s.t. |
| 4 | José Joaquín Rojas (ESP) | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 5 | Sacha Modolo (ITA) | Lampre–Merida | s.t. |
| 6 | Alexey Tsatevich (RUS) | Team Katusha | s.t. |
| 7 | Danilo Napolitano (ITA) | Wanty–Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 8 | Igor Boev (RUS) | RusVelo | s.t. |
| 9 | Tom Leezer (NED) | Belkin Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 10 | Yoann Offredo (FRA) | FDJ.fr | s.t. |
| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step | 16h 29' 57" |
| 2 | Alberto Contador (ESP) | Tinkoff–Saxo | + 19" |
| 3 | Rui Costa (POR) | Lampre–Merida | + 32" |
| 4 | Alexandre Geniez (FRA) | FDJ.fr | + 1' 13" |
| 5 | Wilco Kelderman (NED) | Belkin Pro Cycling | + 1' 32" |
| 6 | Rubén Fernández (ESP) | Caja Rural–Seguros RGA | + 1' 33" |
| 7 | Eduard Prades (ESP) | OFM-Quinta da Lixa | + 1' 35" |
| 8 | Chris Horner (USA) | Lampre–Merida | + 1' 35" |
| 9 | Simon Špilak (SLO) | Team Katusha | + 1' 41" |
| 10 | Edgar Pinto (POR) | LA Alumínios–Antarte | + 1' 42" |

## Classification leadership table

| Stage | Winner | General classification | Mountains classification | Sprints classification | Points classification | Portuguese classification | Teams classification |
| 1 | Sacha Modolo | Sacha Modolo | Valter Pereira | César Fonte | Sacha Modolo | César Fonte | Lampre–Merida |
| 2 | Michał Kwiatkowski | Michał Kwiatkowski | Valter Pereira | César Fonte | Rui Costa | Rui Costa | Lampre–Merida |
| 3 | Michał Kwiatkowski | Michał Kwiatkowski | Valter Pereira | César Fonte | Rui Costa | Rui Costa | Lampre–Merida |
| 4 | Alberto Contador | Michał Kwiatkowski | Valter Pereira | César Fonte | Rui Costa | Rui Costa | Lampre–Merida |
| 5 | Mark Cavendish | Michał Kwiatkowski | Valter Pereira | César Fonte | Rui Costa | Rui Costa | Lampre–Merida |
| Final | Final | Michał Kwiatkowski | Valter Pereira | César Fonte | Rui Costa | Rui Costa | Lampre–Merida |