Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) got his 2014 season underway today when he finished safely in 30th on the first stage of the Volta ao Algarve. His Tinkoff-Saxo team is now looking forward to heading into the mountains in tomorrow's second stage.

Alberto Contador has finally opened his 2014 season, having deliberately decided to delay his debut compared to recent seasons. He did so in today's first stage of the Volta ao Algarve where he rolled safely across the line in 30th behind stage winner Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida).

Contador is a former double winner of the race and while he has played down the expectations prior to the race, he rarely lines up in a race without going for the win. By staying near the front in today's stage, he indicates that he is not willing to throw away the GC by losing stupid seconds.

Contador is not the only GC candidate for Tinkoff-Saxo, with Rafal Majka also staying close to the front in 21st. The duo will get their first chance to show their cards tomorrow. A 4.6km climb with an average gradient of 7.6% is located just 5.8km from the finish, offering the climbers their first chance to shine.

Without any sprinters in his ranks, sports director Philippe Mauduit was happy to get safely through the day.

“For a lot of the riders here, this is the first race of the season and they’re here to get back in to the rhythm of the field and our boys all did very well today," he said. "Obviously, we’re not here to win sprint stages and I guess tomorrow’s stage will probably stir up the GC after a quite demanding finale.”

You can read our preview of the race here.