The 50th edition of the Volta ao Algarve, held between 14 and 18 February, broke all media impact records, reveals a study carried out by Cision for the Portuguese Cycling Federation, released this week.

The media space occupied by the Volta ao Algarve is equivalent to a value of 36,054,649 euros, an absolute record since 2018, the year of Cision’s first study. This figure is 13 per cent higher than the previous maximum, which was in 2023, and represents a return of 46 times the event’s budget.

The 36,054,649 euros are the result of the 1,344 news stories and 129 TV spots about the Volta ao Algarve broadcast in Portugal alone. The majority of the news stories (961) were published online, but the largest part of the value – 26,913,500 euros – was generated by the 249 television programmes.

The report presented by Cision reveals that the region of the country where the Volta ao Algarve had the most viewers was the North, with 36 per cent of the total. This was followed by the Centre region (25 per cent), the Lisbon region (23 per cent), the Alentejo (10 per cent) and the Algarve (six per cent).

By gender, the media audience for the Volta ao Algarve was distributed between 58 per cent men and 42 per cent women, with a majority of the public (53 per cent) responsible for household purchases. The most represented age group is the over-64s, with a figure equivalent to that of the 25-44 age group.

Looking at the return from the different partners, the AVE of the main sponsors, the naming sponsors of the yellow, green, white and blue jerseys, stands out. The entire AVE is attributed to the Algarve brand, sponsor of the yellow jersey, winner of the absolute classification.

Crédito Agrícola, sponsor of the Green Jersey, the points classification, had an estimated impact of 2,533,013 euros. The White Jersey, symbolising the best youngster, generated a return of 2,283,384 euros for the IPDJ. The “Água é Vida” campaign, which sponsored the Blue Jersey, the mountain classification, generated an impact of 1 585 679 euros.

The Cision study looked at the presence of the Volta ao Algarve in the Portuguese media. The Portuguese Cycling Federation, the event’s organiser, focused on other data, which reveal the Volta ao Algarve’s strong international presence.

Outside Portugal, 1984 news items were published about the event, which was attended by 37 accredited foreign media professionals from ten countries: Belgium, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Panama, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

The Volta ao Algarve’s own media showed great growth compared to the previous edition of the race. On Facebook: there were 1 376 693 impressions (+20.8 per cent), a figure that rose to 2 427 626 impressions (+1245 per cent) on Instagram. On X there were 761,415 impressions (+40.9 per cent). The race’s official website registered 581,000 page views (+13.2 per cent) during the five days of the race.

The Volta ao Algarve, the only Portuguese stage race on the UCI ProSeries circuit, was broadcast live on RTP1 and Eurosport 2, with repeats on Eurosport 1. Outside of Portugal, the Volta ao Algarve was seen in more than 50 countries on Eurosport, as well as on RBTF and VRT in Belgium, and on Direct TV in Latin America.

The 50th edition of the Volta ao Algarve was won by Belgian Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Qucik-Step), compatriot Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché-Wanty) won the points classification, Portuguese António Morgado (UAE Team Emirates) was the best young rider and Colombian Daniel Felipe Martínez (BORA-hansgrohe) was king of the mountain.

So far, the Volta ao Algarve is the race on the UCI ProSeries circuit with the best quality peloton in the 2024 season, and it’s even superior to some events in the top tier, the UCI WorldTour. View data

It was during the Volta ao Algarve that the most worldwide searches for the word “Algarve” were recorded since the beginning of the year. Graphic