“The big news is the last day, which brings us to Malhão through an individual time trial and not through a stage. (…) We hope that there will be more public support because the show will be more complete and comprehensive”, said Cândido Barbosa.

The leader was speaking to journalists in Faro, after the press conference to present the route of the next edition of ‘Algarvia’, which will take place from the 19th to the 23rd of February 2025.

This change exchanges “a fleeting arrival, of two or three minutes”, for an “arrival of two or three hours, for everyone to see cycling and support cyclists, each one, individually”, explained the newly elected president of the federation, the entity that organises the test.

Cândido Barbosa also highlighted that, in relation to the 50th edition, “the squad will remain almost identical” and that the eventual loss of Belgian Remco Evenepoel, winner in 2024 and currently in the process of recovering from injury, will be covered by other figures.

“From now on and up to 10 days before the Volta ao Algarve starts, there will always be some entries from other athletes who can compensate for the departure of this name, who we would really like to be here”, he commented.

The president of the Portuguese Cycling Federation said he hopes that João Almeida (UAE Emirates), fourth placed in 2024, and the Olympic track champions Rui Oliveira (UAE Emirates) and Iúri Leitão (Caja Rural), like other Portuguese cyclists who race for teams foreigners, can participate in the only Portuguese stage race on the UCI ProSeries circuit.

“João Almeida announced his presence here. It was important that all our emigrant cyclists, who are on these international teams, could all be here, because normally they only compete in Portugal here, in the national championship and now in the Clássica da Figueira”, he highlighted.

The president of the Algarve Tourism Region, André Gomes, highlighted that the 39 hours of international television broadcasting of the event in 2024 generated an economic value “in excess of 36 million euros”, proving the “notoriety and importance” of the ‘Algarve’.

The director recalled the increases recorded in the Algarve in guests (+6.2%), overnight stays (+4.6%) and passengers handled at Gago Coutinho Airport (+9%) in the month of February 2024, compared to the previous year, which demonstrate “the direct impact” of the test on the regional economy.

A time trial ending in Malhão will decide the winner of the 51st Tour of the Algarve, with cyclists facing, between February 19th and 23rd, a route that includes a 'new' climb to Fóia.