Gustavo Cesar Veloso continued to build his advantage in the Volta a Portugal when he finished second in the first big mountain stage of the race. However, the defending champion is still very cautious in his assessment of his chances and is especially wary of Luis Leon Sanchez.

Last year Gustavo Cesar Veloso won the biggest race on his calendar when he emerged as the strongest in the Volta a Portugal. This year he finds himself in a great position to repeat that achievement as he leads the race after the first two summit finishes.

Yesterday he again extended his advantage when he was the only rider able to keep up with Edgar Pinto in the first big mountain stage of the race. Nonetheless, the OFM leader still sees plenty of riders that can challenge him in the overall standings.

"There was a lot of fighting, but I have a great team with me and they showed great professionalism," he said. "I think there is no better team and the goal is the yellow jersey. Last year we also had a good result and we will see where we end up this year.

"I think Ricardo Mestre is a strong candidate for the victory, Rui Sousa is also good as well as Edgar Pinto. I hope Luis Leon Sanchez will have a bad day, otherwise he will be the most dangerous when it comes to the time trial."