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.[1]

2018 Volta a Portugal
Race details
DatesAugust 1–12, 2018 (2018-08-01 – 2018-08-12)
Stages11
Distance1,589.1 km (987.4 mi)
Winning time41h 15' 32"
Results
Winner  Raúl Alarcón[citation needed] (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
← 2017
2019 →

Teams

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The 18 teams participating in the race are:

UCI Professional Continental teams

UCI Continental teams

Stages

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Stage 4 and queen stage, originally 171,4 km, was shortened 27 km due to extreme weather conditions.[2] The passage through Torre was replaced by Penhas Douradas climb, also the Seia intermediate sprint was eliminated.[3]

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)[2]   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

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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.[4]

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.[4]

Points for the mountains classification[4]
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.[4]

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.[4]

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.[4]

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.[4]

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.[4]

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.[4]

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

References

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  1. ^ "Raúl Alarcón perde duas Voltas a Portugal devido a suspensão por doping" [Raúl Alarcón loses two Volta a Portugal for doping suspension]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 10 March 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Surprise 'mega' doping controls at the Volta a Portugal". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Quarta etapa da Volta a Portugal sem passagem pela Torre". Record (in Portuguese). Lusa. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Regulamento". Volta a Portugal (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 June 2018.
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