Tavira (dpa) - Germany's cycling star Florian Lipowitz crossed the finish line with the peloton in the opening stage of the Tour of the Algarve. It was only the second appearance of the season for last year's Tour de France bronze medallist. Previously, the 25-year-old had only competed in the team time trial on Mallorca and secured his first victory alongside his new Red Bull team-mate Remco Evenepoel.
Frenchman Paul Magnier won the first stage in Portugal after 183.5 kilometres from Vila Real de Santo Antonio to Tavira in a bunch sprint ahead of Jordi Meeus from Belgium and Pavel Bittner from the Czech Republic. The best German was Pascal Ackermann, who sprinted to the finish in seventh place. On Thursday, the second stage of the day leads over 147.2 kilometres from Portimao to Foia. The Tour of the Algarve ends on Sunday.
