Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta 2023 – Stage 4

It is time for the second mountain/hill top finish in Algarve.

The route

The classic double Malhao. First time is the test. It reduces the peloton, but most teams should still have a few riders in the front group if they have GC ambitions.

Here is the climb. I would be surprised to see a reduced bunch sprint – it is too hard for that.

Weather

Wind from the east. No rain, around 18 degrees C.

Contenders

Cort – it should be out of his comfortzone, but he is in fantastic shape.

Higuita – won here last year, beating some quite fast names in the reduced group sprint. He had a very poor position on stage 2, not sure why he wasn’t at the front with his two teammates.

Hindley – 5th on stage 2. I think he will do very well tomorrow and I can easily see Bora-Hansgrohe having two riders in the finale. Hindley is more willing to risk it, I think he can be an attacking option. He is also quite handy in a sprint.

Arensman – honestly, I just don’t think this suits him that well.

Martinez – second here last year. I don’t think his current form is good enough to get him a win tomorrow.

Costa – he has had good results on this climb in the past, and his current form should make him be one of the best placed riders tomorrow. I think he will be challenging for the podium.

Madouas – I think this suits him very well. He is so versatile and he packs a good sprint. I think he is one of the favorites tomorrow.

Almeida – not too sure what happened on stage 2, but he was nowhere to be seen. He is good on short, steep climbs.

Van Wilder – in terrific form already. He is the dark-horse for this stage. He recently climbed very well in Portugal, but this is a much higher level.

Who will win?

It is a GC battle. Normally, I would have gone for Almeida but his current shape is a bit unknown, though he normally starts the season off very well. Therefore, I will go for Madouas. He is good on steep inclines and as it flattens out just near the top, he is one of the quickest too.