Gustavo Veloso won the Volta a Portugal for the second consecutive year thanks to his consistency and the support of his W52 Quinta da Lixa team.

The Galician rider, 35, started with the number one dossard and as one of the favorites.

"From the first day I came here to try to win the Volta. I never did anything to hide that. It was always clear I had a goal and I'm very happy. I always say that without a great team you cannot win a race. In that respect I am very happy because it has proven to be the best team," he said.

"You have to sacrifice many things in life, especially your family, being away from them for training camps to be in best possible condition. If the Volta was not important to me, I wouldn't sacrifice all these things; if you are not Portuguese, you have to love this race to go forit," he said.

Veloso cemented his victory in the summit finishes and the time trials. 

"It was a different Volta. A little more stressful than last year because every second could be important. All the GC riders had to be up there to score bonus seconds or to avoid splits. It's part of the game and I had to be constantly vigilant," he said.

"The team always helped me and Nuno (Ribeiro), the captain, gave us peace of mind in moments of nervousness. The downside was the bad luck that prevented Delio Fernandez from being on the podium after winning two stages," he added.

In the final GC , he beat Joni Brandao and Alejandro Marque by 2:12 and 2:19 respectively.

"At the strategic level we raced a little differently. For example, on the stage to Torre we decided to ride steady and not join the attacks. We relied on the collective power. It's like a poker game," he said.