"Most bizarre finish we've seen": Farcical finish to pro race... after "total chaos" sees almost entire peloton miss turning during sprint and end up on wrong side of road; Supreme launches SpongeBob kit + more on the live blog

Well, there have been better days to be a race organiser at the Volta ao Algarve. It doesn't get much worse than this... 

Riders go the WRONG way and Ganna takes the win on the opening stage of the Volta Algarve! 😮 pic.twitter.com/zp474DBeyz

— Eurosport (@eurosport) February 19, 2025

An absolute farce and Filippo Ganna left to pick up the pieces after almost everyone went right at a turning and ended up sprinting on the wrong side of the road. As it turns out it was actually quite fortunate the sprint appeared to pass without incident, riders mixing it on the same side of the road as all the spectators who'd turned out to watch... only to find their heroes thrashing down the watts behind them.

Robbie McEwen, commentating for Eurosport was left in disbeleif: "Completely on the personnel of the race organisation, someone has not done their job. We did see some video footage of a marshal pointing to try to send the riders to the left-hand side of the road but it was too little and way too late."

The reaction has been rolling in, ITV commentator Ned Boulting calling it "total chaos" and wishing the commissaires luck working that one out.

He added: "Last time I remember something like that happening was on the final stage of the Tour of Britain, the day the Queen died. As a result, it barely made the news, but as I recall a sizeable group went the wrong side of the barriers then as well."

We're saying Ganna won, we can't really see how they can give it to anyone else, but what a mess. This won't be the last we hear of this...

Thoughts and prayers to the press officer of the Volta ao Algarve.

— Felix Lowe (@saddleblaze) February 19, 2025

Sorry Supreme, you might have called in the big name, Mr SquarePants, but Rapha and Palace's mighty ducks are still the people's champions in the eyes of most who voted in our poll. Oh, and in a double blow for Castelli x Supreme, you voted the follow-up Palace switch-out kit as your second favourite of the three. Oh well, I'm sure the SpongeBob one will still cost loads and sell out instantly...

> Silca is so confident in its new sealant, it's willing to give $500 to the first sponsored rider who gets a puncture that doesn't seal

This Kask visor, seen here on Filippo Ganna during last year's World Championships and which has been in use since 2022, has been banned by the UCI. Velo reports the UCI jury told teams ahead of yesterday's UAE Tour TT that it wasn't to be used, leaving Ineos Grenadiers in a bit of a pickle.

Clearly it wasn't too much of an issue, Josh Tarling winning the stage, team sports director Oli Cookson explaining how a "good resolution" was found.

"Obviously the result there, I don't think it would have changed the result, if you look at the time difference there," he said. "But no, all good. We're always looking to work within the rules and also to push the sport forward, and that will be with our sponsors and the materials as well. I think there's always that balance.

"There's a lot of good people in the team, and we had options in place. It was all done with Kask and we had other options. All good in the end."

There has been some confusion about the UCI's decision not least because... well, the visor was released way back in 2022 and has been raced ever since, not least by Filippo Ganna during his Hour Record success.

The CiCLE Classic, Britain's answer to Paris-Roubaix or Strade Bianche, is still expected to mark its 20th anniversary this year having been abandoned due to heavy rain and flooding in 2024.

However, race director Colin Clews is facing a last-minute change to the route before Saturday 26 April, roadworks around the traditional finish town of Melton meaning plans will need to be changed. 

> Britain's only UCI-sanctioned one-day race to return for 2025, after battling financial pressures that "could have ended the race forever"

"Despite the race plans being known to Leicestershire County Council for several months, it has come as a significant blow that only now has the race organisation been informed of restrictions upon road usage which pose a threat to the race's viability," Clews told the Melton Times.

"Thankfully Rutland County Council have responded positively to an urgent approach made to them to assist in the race finish, in addition to the race start, taking place within Oakham in 2025. But with just nine weeks to go before the race date, there is much to be done to ensure the race happens once again as planned."

The women's and junior races are unaffected and will run as planned on Sunday 23 March.

 Not what we expected to see, but here's Supreme's SpongeBob-themed latest cycling collab with Castelli...

Our resident cycling cartoonist Jo, the artist behind the Mint Sauce collection, is "conflicted" but is happy to admit the "image on the arse of the shorts is genius". Maybe this is one for the cool Gen Z kids, although it's always fun to see a brand like Supreme take an interest in cycling.

The collection is part of Supreme's Spring-Summer 2025 collection and also features a water bottle, socks (aero, of course) and cap. Thoughts? 

Shades of those iconic EF Pro Cycling x Rapha x Palace kits. I feel like dusting the poll machine off. 

Over on Threads, roadie.tony shares some great videos summing up the experience of a cyclist here in the UK. Recently he posted the video below — and while many of his posts contain relaxing footage of gravel trails or road-riding in the pleasant winter sun, this one’s a less enjoyable watch.

View on Threads

As cyclists are slower and more vulnerable on steep climbs, particularly in this urban setting with a hefty door zone and consistent traffic in both directions, Tony (quite reasonably and politely, we'd suggest) simply asked for a little bit of patience from motorists... "Please be aware and give us more room than you usually would," he asked.

You probably see where this is going as — along with the discussion among cyclists that it prompted, including some advising to ride in primary position and away from the door zone, deterring close passes and staying free from any swinging doors — there were the usual depressingly predictable comments too.

"Or you know, unmount, push your bike, and don't be a bother to other road users?"

"There is no space for a cyclist, no extra line, don't be there."

"If you're not able to hold your vehicle straight, you shouldn't use public road."

"If you can't do at least half of the speed of traffic dismount and walk on the sidewalk... I'd never for my own safety do something like this unless I can keep pace with rest of traffic."

"The fact that you rode into that bottleneck without turning to look is insane, you created the most dangerous part of this situation. The rest wasn't really that bad."

The bucketloads of more than questionable 'advice' that funnily enough isn't in the Highway Code, probably tells us how seriously we should be taking these comments. Thankfully, given the fact this is Threads and not the cesspit of a certain other social media site, there were plenty of replies that were from Tony's actually followers and fellow cyclists.

"Little bit of patience saves lives. Stay safe mate."

"That's not 1.50 m distance. None of them."

Tony's since shared a follow-up video with some thoughts:

View on Threads