Fury as Tour of Algarve stage wiped from history over roundabout blunder

Roundabouts can be tricky, especially in cycling events when there is a lot of street furniture to avoid, but the cyclists usually manage to find the right exit.

Not so at the Tour of Algarve where the first stage has been annulled after the majority of the peloton followed a motorbike carrying a TV cameraman, and found themselves on the wrong side of the barriers, sharing the road with spectators.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Algarve cycling race ends in farce after wrong turn.

Back at the roundabout a few knew where they should be heading, and Italy’s Filippo Ganna sprinted clear of a rather small pack to claim a much-needed win for the under-pressure INEOS team.

Or so he thought.

But he wasn’t alone. Journalists interviewed as the winner, Olympic silver medallist Wout van Aert came over to congratulate him, and he was sent to doping control.

It was clear, however, that something had gone wrong — not that the Italian thought this was his problem.

“I took the right route, and I won. Nothing more to say,” said Ganna.

He then told Eurosport: “I know that everyone took the wrong route, and I took the right one.”

“You need to know the rules, and you need to know the course,” he said.

“In the past, I took the wrong route during the time trial, and because of that, I lost the race. Now it’s different, and I win.”

Unfortunately not.

No winner’s ceremony took place, the podium was left empty and the 192.2km ride from Portimao was all in vain.

“On the approach to the finish line in Lagos, the peloton became divided and a large number of the riders took the wrong route, followed the detour of the support cars and missed the finish line,” race organisers said in a statement.

“The College of Commissaires interpreted the regulations and, given what happened, decided to cancel the stage because they considered that sporting truth did not prevail in the end.

“It was a wrong decision by the peloton but it’s clear that we didn’t do enough to avoid this outcome, which we very much regret,” explained Sergio Sousa, race director.

None of the leading Australian riders are in the race, but several big names besides Van Aert include Jonas Vingegaard, Geraint Thomas, Primoz Roglic and Julian Alaphilippe.

The peloton will set off for Thursday’s second stage with the clock reset to zero.