Jakobsen sprints to victory on the opening stage of the Volta ao Algarve

Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) sprinted to victory at the opening stage of the Volta ao Algarve after a crash in the final 7km wrecked the chances of some of the biggest rivals

Trek Segafredo's Jasper Stuyven and John Debenkolb were seen hitting the deck, they remounted , but finished several minutes behind what was left of the main peloton.

Jakobsen was able to use the slipstream of Simone Consonni (UAE Team Emirates) in the final hundred metres after the Italian had gone early to try and surprise the other sprinters.

VIDEO: 2019 Volta ao Algrave Stage 1 Crash

??‍?? | Deze valpartij van Jasper Stuyven is een smetje op een verder geweldige dag voor de Lage Landen,

Winst voor @Tim_Wellens in de #65RdS: https://t.co/4BxGXABlZp
Winst voor @FabioJakobsen in de #VAlgarve19: https://t.co/5MsfShJ09N

Morgen etappe 2 in beide rondes. pic.twitter.com/rltCAV3C46

— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) February 20, 2019

Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) closed late, sneaking past Pascal Ackermann to take second place ahead of the German.

“It’s amazing to win my first race of the season after all the training in the winter, it’s a perfect start to the year,” Jakobsen said.

The Volta ao Algrave continues on Thursday with a 187.4km stage to a summit finish to Alto de Foia.

2019 Volta ao Algrave Stage 1 Top 10

1 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Deceuninck-QuickStep 4:52:59 
2 Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ   
3 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe   
4 Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates   
5 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal   
6 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb   
7 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo   
8 Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA   
9 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits   
10 Neilson Powless (USA) Team Jumbo-Visma

2019 Volta ao Algrave GC after Stage 1

1 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Deceuninck-QuickStep 4:52:59 
2 Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ   
3 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe   
4 Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates   
5 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal   
6 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb   
7 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo   
8 Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA   
9 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits   
10 Neilson Powless (USA) Team Jumbo-Visma