Italian rider Sacho Modolo of the Lampre-Merida team has won the opening stage of the Tour of the Algarve in a sprint finish, beating his Portuguese teammate Rui Costa on the line.
Modolo beat the world champion Costa on the line in Albufeira to lead by a second overall from Cesar Fonte, with Costa four seconds off the pace.
Meanwhile, in his first race of the season, Spain's Alberto Contador, riding for Tinkoff-Saxo, finished in the lead group and sits 10 seconds off the pace set by Modolo.
After the 160km trip from Faro to Albufeira, Modolo dedicated the win "to the whole team, but also to Kristoff Goddaert", in reference to the Belgian rider who died while training on Tuesday.
Thursday's second stage will be a 196km ride from Lagoa to Monchique, with the five-stage race concluding on Sunday.
