The Tour of the Algarve was branded as "ridiculous" and a "joke" on Wednesday when a pack of riders took the wrong road and completely missed the finish line.
With around 800m left on the opening stage, most of the peloton took a right-hand exit, reserved for officials and team cars, at a roundabout instead of the left which headed to the finish.
Only around 30 riders chose the correct route including Filippo Ganna who came home ahead of Frenchman Romain Gregoire and Jan Christen of Switzerland.
¡¡¡Victoria de Filippo Ganna!!! El corredor de (Ineos Granadiers) gana la primera etapa de la Vuelta al Algarve, en un final totalmente surrealista con muchos corredores que se equivocaron de camino.🤯😳😂🫣 pic.twitter.com/9AM41Fxe70
— ⚡MazaCiclismo⚡ (@RuedaPedal) February 19, 2025
However, their joy was short-lived as the stage was swiftly cancelled and Ganna's career wins total remains at 33.
"It's a joke! It's completely ridiculous!" said Austrian rider Marco Haller who blamed the chaos on the lack of clear signage at the entry to the right-hand lane.
"The diversion was not blocked off. As a result, the riders followed the motorcycle (of the organisation). There could have been consequences... Fortunately, that was not the case."
Belgium's Jordi Meeus, for whom Haller "had ridden for 190 kilometres", railed at having been deprived of a stage win.
"I only realised 200 metres from the line that there was a problem when we passed police motorcycles. It's a shame this missed opportunity. The main thing is that no spectator was injured," he told Flemish website Sporza.
His compatriot Wout Van Aert, one of the favourites for the stage, was dumbfounded by the chaotic conclusion which saw the peloton weaving its way around bemused spectators.
🚴♂️Filippo Ganna vence a primeira etapa da Volta ao Algarve 🥇
— Eurosport Portugal (@EurosportTV_Por) February 19, 2025
😱 Chegada marcada por uma enorme confusão e com um grande grupo de ciclistas a errar o percurso já nos metros finais pic.twitter.com/RdNStsQVwY
"It's not possible... This road should have been closed," said Van Aert.
"There was, for sure, human error. The first rider followed the motorcycle, the others followed," added the leader of the Visma team.
"I told myself that there was perhaps another chicane further on that we didn't know about. But when I saw people signalling us to slow down, I became aware of the situation. It's almost laughable."
Organisers said they decided to cancel the stage as "true sport had not prevailed".
"All the technical information clearly indicated that the riders had to go left at the last roundabout," explained race director Sergio Sousa.
"The fact is that some of them took the right. It was a bad decision by the peloton, but it is clear that we did not do enough to prevent this from happening, which we regret."