The 46th Volta ao Algarve Cofidis will be played, from the 19th to the 23rd of February, by 25 teams, 12 of which from the WorldTour. The announcement was made today, by the Portuguese Cycling Federation, during the ceremony of signing the sponsorship contracts with Cofidis, “naming sponsor” of the Volta ao Algarve and Algarve Granfondo and sponsor of the program Cycling Goes to School (“O Ciclismo Vai à Escola”, in Portuguese).

The race, which was promoted to the category UCI ProSeries in 2020, will have the presence of 12 WorldTeams, among which four of the five best in the world ranking: the Belgian Deceuninck-QuickStep (1st), the German Bora-hansgrohe (2nd), UAE Team Emirates (4th) and the Kazakh Astana Pro Team (5th).

The first division teams group is composed of British Team INEOS, Belgium’s Lotto-Soudal, USA’s Trek-Segafredo, France’s Groupama-FDJ and Cofidis Solutions Crédits, Germany’s Team Sunweb, Israel Start-Up Nation and Poland’s CCC Team.

The 46th Volta ao Algarve Cofidis will also have five ProTeams, the next level of the international hierarchy: the Spanish Caja Rural-Seguros RGA and Fundación-Orbea, the Belgian Alpecin-Fenix and Circus-Wanty Gobert and the Uno-X Norwegian Development Team.

The Portuguese squad will be represented by eight continental teams: Aviludo-Louletano, Atum General-Tavira-Maria Nova Lounge Hotel, Efapel, Kelly-InOutBuid-UDO, LA Alumínios-LA Sport, Miranda-Mortágua, Rádio Popular-Boavista and W52-FC Porto.

Cycling Goes to School
For the quality of the sport itself and the exciting moment the Volta ao Algarve is, the Portuguese Cycling Federation and Cofidis, want to work together, through the protocols signed today, to boost the practice of basic, recreational, sporting, but also utilitarian.

The programme Cycling Goes to School is the symbol of this strategy. It is essentially aimed at children and young people, especially in a school context, and is also a tool for teaching people of all age groups how to cycle.

At a time when environmental awareness requires the increasing use of sustainable active mobility, initiatives like Cycling Goes to School provide more and more citizens with the necessary skills to change the paradigm and use the bicycle more frequently as a means of transport.

Cofidis, besides sponsoring all the initiatives of this programme, has challenged its employees and their families to receive training, provided by the Portuguese Cycling Federation, keeping in mind the creation of new everyday cyclists. The first training action will take place on the January 25th, at the Jamor Sports Complex.

The Cycling Goes to School programme will be at the start of the first three stages of the Volta ao Algarve, in Portimão, Sagres and Faro, as an invitation for the schools of those municipalities to join the competition and take the students cycling in the gymkhana.

Albufeira, the starting point of the fourth stage, will receive the Family Tour, a get-together initiative available to people of all physical conditions. On February 23rd in Lagoa, where the time trial of the fifth and final stage of the Volta ao Algarve takes place, will be held the Algarve Granfondo Cofidis, an event that will bring together hundreds of participants, many for leisure, but others with the intention of individual achievement.

The president of the Portuguese Cycling Federation, Delmino Pereira, and the general director of Cofidis Portugal, Sébastien Haquette, represented both institutions at this morning’s ceremony, rejoicing at the closer links between cycling and a brand with strong traditions in the sport.