With no sprinter in the team, Efapel tried to deny the sprinters in stage 8 of the Volta a Portugal by sending David De La Fuente into the early break. The Spaniard was the final rider to get caught with 7km to go.

"Given the few opportunites for the sprinters in this edition of the Tour of Portugal, we knew we had little chance," sports director Americo Silva said. "We tried to have a rider in the break but was fully aware that in Castelo Branco it would be a compact peloton because there were several formations with interest in this outcome."

Rafael Silva sprinted to sixth for the Portuguese team.