The peloton for the 50th Volta ao Algarve, which will take place between 14 and 18 February 2024, continues to grow. The only Portuguese stage race in the ProSeries category will have a strong French presence.

The organisers have already secured the participation of the French WorldTeams Groupama-FDJ and Arkea-B&B Hotels. They will join Germany’s BORA-hansgrohe and the Netherlands’ Team dsm-firmenich, which were announced last week.

Groupama-FDJ is one of the teams with the longest history in the Volta ao Algarve. In 2024, they will take part in the Portuguese race for the 15th time, which is their ninth consecutive appearance. Over the years, the team has played a protagonist role in the Algarve, with a total of seven stage wins.

Stefan Küng has won the time trial in Lagoa twice (2023 and 2019), David Gaudu has won at the top of Fóia (2022), Benoit Vaugrenard won in Albufeira (2010) and Bernhard Eisel has won three times in the Volta ao Algarve, in Tavira (2005), Lagos (2006) and Albufeira (2005).

Arkea-B&B Hotels is a more recent team, but it has also been building an important reputation in the Volta ao Algarve, a race that has seen the Breton team grow from ProTeam level to the current WorldTeam.

In 2024, the French team will take part for the fourth time in a row. The biggest highlight in terms of results came in 2021, the year in which Arkea won collectively and triumphed at the top of Malhão through Élie Gesbert.

Among the four teams already announced by the Volta ao Algarve, three major source of tourists for the Algarve’s economy are represented: Germany, France and the Netherlands.