Global Riders to Watch: Volta ao Alentejo 2022

The Volta ao Alentejo is here with a very global startlist. The race is very sprinter friendly this year with a lumpy 8.4k TT expected to settle the GC.

Here are some of the riders to look out for this week, starting with a favourite from Portugal.

Rafael Reis

29, Portugal, Glassdrive/Q8/Anticolor

Reis is a name familiar to many. This parcours suits him really well as he's a strong time-trialist.

Rafael spent two years at Caja Rural, riding the Vuelta in 2017. He has been a consistently top rider domestically in Portugal, winning stages in almost all the big races. A stage win in Alentejo eludes him, he's got a great chance of putting that right this week. He was third overall here last year and third on the identical TT stage. He will hope to better that in 2022.

He's started the season off OK, but this race is a chance for him to kick on and push for a professional contract.

Francisco Guerrero

21, Portugal, Efapel Racing

Francisco Guerrero is one of the rising talents in Portugal. He will hope to be one of the few who break free from the domestic scene and secure a professional contract.

He is at the stage of his career where he is working out what type of rider he can be. He's had results on the climbs and on the flats. His best result in a higher-profile race came just in the last few days at Classica de Arrabida where he finished 11th in a strong field.

This is the biggest race of his career so far and he can be expected to challenge on the slightly tougher finishes of stages 2 and 5. A top 10 in any stage would be a great success for Francisco.

Samuel Mugisha

24, Rwanda, ProTouch

Fresh from an extremely attacking ride in Rwanda (and a race on his mountain bike), Mugisha takes on his first European race of the season. Having ridden for the Qhubeka Conti Team for three seasons and then two French amateur teams, he has a lot more experience on European roads than you might expect. Samuel won the climber's jersey at Valle d'Aosta in 2018 and was 13th on a mountain top finish there the following year - a stage won by Andrea Bagioli.

This race isn't perfect for Samuel, he would prefer more hills, but we can still expect him and the whole ProTouch team to be attacking. It would be great to see Samuel going for the climber's jersey in this race, but he might have lots of motivated Portuguese riders with the same ambition.

Tiano da Silva

20, South Africa, ProTouch

All the South Africans riding for Pro Touch this week are worth looking out for, but Tiano is probably the least well known for now.

Tiano has already been in good form in national South African races this year, winning the U23 TT champs and finishing 2nd in the Berge en Dale Classic. These results are not to be sniffed at, the standard of domestic racing In South Africa is on the rise.

Da Silva is an exciting talent. Expect to see him attacking with his other team-mates this week.

Hopefully we see him building his experience and picking up a few good results in Europe this year.

Carlos Iván Oyarzún

40, Chile, Aviludo-Louletano-Loulé Concelho

There haven't been many Chilean riders racing in Europe over the years. Oyarzún first began in Europe in 2011 with Movistar, riding the Giro in that year. He wasn't kept on thought by the team and over the years since he has ridden for teams from Serbia, Angola and Portugal.

He is a good time-trialist, taking 4th in Chrono des Nations in 2014. He will have a good go at the TT on stage 4.

Tomas Contte

23, Argentina, Aviludo-Louletano-Loulé Concelho

Contte started this season with a good result - 2nd in Prova de Abertura among similar company to this race. He then managed to get in the breakaway during the Volta Algarve. He is a gifted sprinter and has gone well at Vuelta san Juan in the past, finishing 3rd behind Barbier and Belletti in 2020. His team are waiting for him to translate that talent to UCI races in Europe.

This race suits him well. Hopefully he can challenge in the sprints. It will be interesting to see him up against the likes of Peñalver and Lobato.

Orluis Aular

25, Venezuela, Caja Rural - Seguros RGA

Another favourite for the race here. Aular is the only professional Venezuelan rider and his has flown the flag brilliantly for the nation already this year. Just last week, Aular won the Classica de Arrabida. This year he's also been 4th on a stage of Gran Camiño and 6th in Vuelta Murcia in elevated company.

This race is well suited to Aular and in this level of opposition he is expected to win. We will have to see how he goes in the TT, but in the other stages he should be challenging.

Leangel Linarez

24, Venezuela, Tavfer-Mortágua-Ovos Matinados

Another Venezuelan. Linarez is hoping to emulate his countryman by breaking into the professional ranks.

Linarez is well on his way this season having started off with a big win at Prova de Abertura, ahead of Contte and others in this race. He also finished a brilliant 10th on stage 3 of Volta ao Algarve, a stage won by Fabio Jakobsen.

Linarez will be hoping to challenge in the sprint stages this week and with his great form, he may even pull off a big surprise.

Bruno Araujo

24, Angola, BAI Sicasal Petro de Luanda

It's great to see the Angolan team, BAI Sicasal, get an invite to this race just as they have done in previous seasons. It's wonderful to see a Conti Team from Angola racing in Europe. Hopefully they get opportunities outside of Portugal this year.

Bruno Araujo is the best of their Angolan riders. Araujo has ridden for the team for the past 5 seasons, dominating the domestic Angolan racing circuit. During that time, he has also raced in Portugal, Rwanda, Gabon and Burkina Faso. He was 2nd overall at the Tour du Faso in 2019 and won the Sprints jersey in Rwanda the year prior.

Araujo is clearly a capable rider and it would be good to see him being active in this race.

Alessandro Guimaraes

26, Brazil, Almovodar-Delta Cafes-Credito Agricola

Alessandro Guimaraes is one of the many Brazilian riders trying to make their way in Europe. It's great to see Brazil with more active riders in Europe.

Guimaraes has taken a lot of wins across the smaller South American races and has ridden San Juan and the Tour of Colombia in the past. His best result is his only UCI win in stage 1 of the 2019 Vuelta a Chiloé. He won that day on a sprint after a hard day of racing, something which we can expect to see at Alentejo. The standard here is much higher though, so challenging for a stage win may be a struggle for Alessandro.

A top-10 on a stage here would be a brilliant result for the Brazilian.