The 2015 race was won by Geraint Thomas of Team Sky. He took the lead with victory in a solo breakaway on stage 2, then defended his lead with third place in the time trial and fourth place on the summit finish. He ended the race 27 seconds ahead of Kwiatkowski, with Tiago Machado (Team Katusha) in third place. Thomas also won the points classification; his teammate Richie Porte won the summit finish and also the mountains classification.
In the other classifications, the young riders competition was won by Davide Formolo (Cannondale–Garmin), Machado won the Portuguese classification and Team Katusha won the team classification.
The first stage was a 166.7-kilometre (104-mile) route from Lagos to Albufeira, across generally hilly terrain, though it was expected that the race would end in a bunch sprint.[3][4]
Gianni Meersman (Etixx–Quick-Step) won the sprint ahead of Ben Swift (Team Sky) and Paul Martens (LottoNL–Jumbo) and moved into the race lead. Joni Brandão, having finished on the same time as Meersman, was third in the general classification thanks to the bonus seconds he won.[6]
Stage 2 was a mixed stage: the first part saw the riders riding across gentle hills, but the final part of the 197.2-kilometre (123-mile) course was much more demanding, with several difficult climbs in the last 70 kilometres (43 miles).[8]
The final climb finished 5.4 kilometres (3 miles) from the end of the stage. Rein Taaramäe (Astana) attacked on this climb, before Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) launched his own attack. Thomas was able to catch and pass Taaramäe, taking a solo victory by 19 seconds ahead of Taaramäe and 23 seconds ahead of the rest of the lead group.[10] With bonus seconds taken into consideration, Thomas now led the general classification by 30 seconds, as well as leading the points and mountains classifications. His teammate Sebastián Henao led the young riders classification.[11] This was Thomas' first win of the season.[12]
Stage 3 was a 19-kilometre (12-mile)individual time trial from Vila do Bispo to Cabo de São Vicente. Though there were no significant climbs, the route was hilly throughout. There was additional difficulty caused by a headwind. The pre-stage favourite was former world time trial champion Tony Martin (Etixx–Quick-Step), who was wearing the German time trial champion's jersey for the first time in four years.[14][15]
Adriano Malori (Movistar Team), who had won the time trial in the 2015 Tour de San Luis, set an early time of 21' 51". Martin was 10 seconds ahead at the checkpoint halfway along the course, but could not hold this advantage to the finish; he ended up winning the stage by 0.4 seconds from Malori. Geraint Thomas (Team Sky), riding in the yellow skinsuit of the race leader, was ten seconds ahead of Martin at the checkpoint, but faded over the final kilometres to finish three seconds behind Martin and Malori. Defending champion Michał Kwiatkowski was fourth. Thomas therefore increased his race lead, with Martin and Kwiatkowski in second and third.[15][16]
The fourth stage was the queen stage of the race, a 215.7-kilometre (134-mile) route from Tavira to the Alto do Malhão[pt] in Loulé. The first part of the stage was relatively flat, before a difficult final section. This included three difficult climbs in the final 45 kilometres (28 miles), before the summit finish.[17]
The fifth and final stage of the race was a 184.3-kilometre (115-mile) route from Almodôvar to Vilamoura. The first half of the stage was fairly hilly, but the final 80 kilometres (50 miles) were fairly flat.[20]
In the 2015 Volta ao Algarve, five different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers at intermediate sprints and at the finish of mass-start stages, the leader received a yellow jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the 2015 Volta ao Algarve, and the winner of the classification was considered the winner of the race.
Additionally, there was a points classification, which awarded a green jersey. In the points classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 10 in a mass-start stage. For winning a stage, a rider earned 25points, with 20 for second, 16 for third, 13 for fourth, 10 for fifth, 8 for sixth, 6 for seventh, 4 for eighth, 2 for ninth and 1 for tenth place. Points towards the classification could also be accrued at intermediate sprint points during each stage; these intermediate sprints also offered bonus seconds towards the general classification. There was also a mountains classification, the leadership of which was marked by a blue jersey. In the mountains classification, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs.
The fourth jersey represented the young rider classification, marked by a white jersey. This was decided in the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1992 were eligible to be ranked in the classification. The fifth jersey represented the Portuguese rider classification, marked by an orange jersey. This was calculated in the same manner as the general classification, calculated by adding each Portuguese cyclist's finishing times on each stage. There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest total time.
↑ "Para Meersman la 1ª etapa en Algarve"[The 1st stage in the Algarve for Meersman]. Biciciclismo (in Spanish). Cycling Total comunicación y servicios S.L. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
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