Deceuninck – Quick-Step to Volta ao Algarve

Sam Bennett returns to action at the five-day Portuguese race.

Two stages for the sprinters, two summit finishes and a 20.3km individual time trial will be in store next week, when the riders will line up at the start of the 46th Volta ao Algarve, a race our team has won on four occasions, most recently in 2019, when Remco Evenepoel took home the glory after a dominant ride.

This time, our squad will be built around Sam Bennett, the most successful sprinter of this season, who so far has captured a total of five victories, all on World Tour level. Winner of the Tour de France green jersey last year, the Irishman will count on a strong team consisting of Shane Archbold, Kasper Asgreen, Davide Ballerini, Fabio Jakobsen, Michael Mørkøv and Bert Van Lerberghe, who will replace Tim Declercq. “El Tractor” was scheduled to race Algarve, but had a training accident and damaged his wrist, and while he could still have raced, the team decided to give him extra time to heal.

“It’s the parcours we know, with a bit of everything for everyone. We will aim for good results with Sam in the bunch sprints. These will be technical, but we are confident in him and his solid lead-out. We are curious to see Kasper in the time trial, but also how Fabio will fare. After Turkey, this race will be another important step in the right direction for him”, said Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director Tom Steels.