(written by Elliot of Team Kernow)
  
   Volta ao Porto – Race Review
  
  Knut Pave (Team Wells) became the first Dane to win the Volta ao Porto while Miles Finnerty’s (cway) final stage win gave him the sprinter’s Green Jersey.
  
   Prologue success for home favourite
  
  The Volta got off to a spectacular start with home favorite Rogério Aleixo winning the 4km Prolouge to the delight of the local supporters. The organizers had been worried by the lack of Portuguese entrants, but this was soon put to bed after Aleixo's maiden victory. Elsewhere, there where strong performances from sprinters Finnerty and Abdul-Ra'uf Ala' (Team Weeny), who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively, but former champion Yasir Sahir (Torreira) finished over 2 minutes behind in 31st place.
  
  If Stage 1 had been bad for Sahir, Stage 3 was disastrous. Looking increasing uncomfortable by the pace being set out at the front, he was dropped on the foot of the climb up to Portelinha. However, he wasn't alone in his suffering. In what was proving to be a bad day for former Volta winners, Keegan Shiable (Team Kernow), the inaugural champion, also began to feel the heat. To the complete bemusement of his team manager, he trailed in behind five of his team mates. His only consolation was that as well as Sahir, another pre-race favourite, Salim Wajeeh (Equipe 44), also finished behind him.
  
  Up front, having claimed Stage 2 with Rayan Ioannidis, it was the Norwegians team nrk who were dictating the tempo for there man Darell Randel. The Barbadian Young Gun would finish the stage in first, followed by Team Kernow’s Travis Plowman and Randel’s team mate, Ilídio Mendes. But it was to be the 33 year old Roy Marstrand (Team Weeny) who would unexpectedly finish the day in the leader’s Yellow Jersey. "I will not take this off, I want to sleep in it".
  
   The battle for Green heats up
  
  This year’s Volta had arguably the most competitive Green Jersey competition ever, with no fewer than 15 teams eyeing the prize, and Stage 4 was set to be a classic. The Stage into Aveiro was narrow with the finishing line following a couple of tricky bends. The indomitable cway train had controlled the race up to the town but, once into the town, a mixture of teams muscled their way in, leading to the most frantic finish of the tour.
  
  Despite the withdrawal of Egan Moseley (Poker21), there were still 14 top sprinters and 14 eager teams desperate to put there man in the best possible position for the sprint. Something had to give and it did. The winner wouldn't just have to be a great sprinter, he would also have to be the bravest. It was Quennel La Bouville (deadalus), who kept his nerve

and crossed the line a fraction ahead of Alain Dobbelaere (Darkwave Recordings) and Ethan Churchill (disco cycling) whilst others, including Finnerty, Ioannidis and Abdul-Ra'uf Ala', found themselves boxed in.
  
   Pave takes control
  
  Knut Pave was to dominate the next two stages, laying down the foundations for his victory. The ITT, also finishing in Aveiro, was dominated by the GC hopefuls, with victory for Pave and both Sahir and Shiable going someway to redemption by finishing 2nd and 3rd. In fact, Shiable had pulled himself right back into contention with this result and now sat happily in 3rd place overall after the Stage. On the face of things, Abdul-Ra'uf Ala' had performed admirably by finishing the Stage in 4th but the 5 points he missed out on by not finishing 3rd would later prove costly for his SC ambitions.
  
  Pave then struck again, winning the mountain-top finish to Aveiro – Penamacor, the King Stage, closely followed by former Equipo Easy On rider, Lionel Lefever (Poker21), who was relishing his new status as team leader, and would eventually go onto win the youth jersey.
  
  If Pave had an Achilles heel it would be his descending and it was in Stage 7 where this would be severely tested. In fact, at several points on the way to Vinhais, Pave was actually out of Yellow on the road. Both nrk and Team Kernow had pushed the pace knowing, if they could break Pave, they were set to profit and they came mightily close. But Pave is made of stern stuff and held on to the jersey by a slender margin of 2 seconds ahead of Randel with Shiable 25 seconds back.
  
  Randell claimed his second victory of the tour, again beating Kernow's Travis Plowman who was creating his own headlines by his refusal to support Shiable, who finished 5th. Yasir Sahir finished a respectable 6th but, in a press conference after the race, declared that his chances of regaining the title were over. Salim Wajeeh’s chances were also over after a very tough day in the saddle saw him finish in 18th place.
  
  In the Stage 8 route around Vinhais, Roy Marstrand was to add a stage win to his earlier Yellow Jersey, but there was even better news for team mate, Abdul-Ra'uf Ala', who claimed Green from Ioannidis. Finnerty finally claimed his first big points by sprinting to third, a sign of things to come
  
  The penultimate stage, the Porto (ITT), was to decide the Yellow. The time trial was won by the Scotsman Elton Lonergan (johny2), a 3rd professional win. A mature performance by the Young Gun was beyond his years and was more evidence for those backing him to be a future ITT World Champion.
  
  It was the last 3 riders to set off that the crowd were eagerly anticipating. Early on it was clear that Shiable would fall short of making up the 25 seconds required of him. But 2 seconds is nothing and Randel set off at a blistering pace.

Meanwhile Pave's smooth, regular pedalling technique was looking very good and by the 3km to go mark, there was to be only one winner. Randel was to eventually lose 44 seconds to him by the end and only finish 9 seconds in front of Shiable.
  
  Pave latter dedicated his win to his team and his family, "It's been a real rollercoaster. There were times when I felt I couldn't continue but the team’s support was phenomenal, especially after the crash here last season. I would like to personally thank them all and also my wife and kids for putting up with me".
  
   Finnerty ends with a Bang
  
  With the GC all wrapped it was now down to the perfectly poised SC to entertain and it did not disappoint. Finnerty had finished 2nd in the previous day’s time trial and had added 10 points to his total. He was now amongst 5 riders who could still win Green on the final stage; the others being Abdul-Ra'uf Ala', Rayan Ioannidis, Melor Borisova (Red Star) and Quennel La Bouville.
  
  The Parade proved to be anything but. The stage itself is immensely flat, which was perfect for the big leadouts. cway again led the peleton into the finish but this time there were no mistakes as the big frame of Farley Lanchbury propelled Finnerty to the line. Ra'uf Ala' had stuck like a limpit to Finnerty’s back wheel and pulled out with 20 meters to go but could not pull himself parallel. He had to settle for runners up spot in both the stage and the SC by the smallest of margins - 2 points. The Cypriot Ioannidis stage placing also matched his position in the SC standings, and was delighted with his 3rd spot.
  
  Finnerty's win brought the curtain down on one of the most spectacular Tours in OCM history. Let’s hope for more of the same next season.
  
  
   Volta ao Porto Final Standings:
  
  General Classification
  
  1. Knut Pave (Team Wells)
  2. Darell Randel (nrk) at 46"
  3. Keegan Shiable (Team Kernow) at 55"
  4. Salim Wajeeh (Equipe 44) at 2'02"
  5. Rob Roesems (Team Kernow) at 2'13"
  
  Sprinting Classification
  
  1. Miles Finnerty (cway) 116p
  2. Abdul-Ra'uf Ala' (Team Weeny) 114p
  3. Rayan Ioannidis (nrk) 91 p