There were no surprises on the last day of racing. When the dust cleared, three riders stood standing, and though each of them may have experienced varying degrees of pride and satisfaction, it was safe to say that the job was done.
  
  For the victors, the Volta was an adventure where the end justified the means. For the battered and bruised, it has been a bad week at the office. Some like Jahn Rosenlund and Bartosz Ozóg will bemoan unlucky injuries that cost them a tilt at the title. But then there's always the case of Ian Defley who entered the Volta with a load of expectations and had barely gotten out of the starting blocks before crashing unceremoniously out of the Volta.
  
  Dan Korošec managed one last cheer for beleagured Team iPower with a determined win as the Volta drew to a close. It has been a successful outing for the Danish pro team, but infighting has torn apart its inner core and it looks to be a matter of time before someone leaves.
  
  First timers Scilian haven't had it easy either, but would have been more than happy with Douglas Sullivent's last gasp second placed finish in Stage 10. The team were looking for much more from their premier sprinter, but it soon became apparent that he was not going to get many chances without decent leadout. However, Sullivent showed sufficient nous to hang on to Alain Dobbelaere's (Darkwave Recordings) rear wheel and cut in front of the Belgian right at the death. Dobbelaere was clearly furious as he crossed the finish line, but one would have hazarded a guess that it was more about his own rookie mistake rather than his English competitor's move.
  
  Meanwhile,

Yasir Sahir coasted home safe in 27th place, happy to remain intact within the peloton rather than attempt a foolhardy and potentially disastrous charge to the finish line. His closest challenger, Club Ciclista Riaza's Isaak Papadimitriou tried hard to open a gap as the race drew to a close, but it was to no avail in the end. Papadimitriou could be comforted by his Youth Classification title though in what has been a good first Volta outing.
  
  It was also fitting somewhat that the last day of the Volta would claim yet another victim. Much has been made about safety concerns at this edition of the tour, but it was more rider error than anything else as Team WonderDee's Eilert Hellman was clipped while going around the penultimate corner and wrecked a knee. It was almost a miracle that no one else was injured as the riders around him swerved out of he way in time. With that, Hellman became the 19th and last withdrawal from the race in what was probably the tamest stage of the tour.
  
  Torban Sturmann (Shinboners) on the other hand, made his Sprint title safe as he finished in front of Patya Gordeyeva (Yuri SuperTeam) and Philip Hostede (VakantieZon). Dobbelaere's 3rd place points haul was insufficient to catch up with Sturmann and the German rider was all grins as he rode over the finish line.
  
  This season's Volta ao Porto has certainly given us many ups and downs and may indeed have repurcussions in the weeks after. But one thing's for certain, you don't want to miss the next one next year.
  
  Who knows, maybe Velo Club Bored Man will be back with yet another lead rider. Stay tuned!