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.
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 19–23 February 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 689.9 km (428.7 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 16h 29' 57" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.