The first stage of the Volta ao Algarve ended in chaotic scenes after a large part of the peloton headed the wrong way.

Italy’s Filippo Ganna raised his arms in celebration after crossing the line first after many of his rivals mistakenly headed up the wrong side of the finishing straight.

Race organisers later said the 192.2km stage from Portimao to Lagos had been cancelled, external with no winner declared.

The bizarre scenes happened after the majority of the first 50 riders followed the camera motorbikes along a deviation, off the course, but parallel to the finish line.

Austrian cyclist Marco Haller labelled the finish “ridiculous” and said there should be consequences for the organisers.

“For me it’s pretty ridiculous because we suffer for 190 kilometres to put ourselves in a perfect position,” Haller told Eurosport., external

“It’s something where there needs to be consequences for the officials, for the organisers.

“You could see on the last kilometre the deviation wasn’t blocked by the officials.

“It cannot always be the riders to be blamed. It’s very frustrating.”

Race organisers later released a statement which said: “On the approach to the finish line in Lagos, the peloton became divided and a large number of the riders took the wrong route, followed the detour of the support cars and missed the finish line.”

Race director Sergio Sousa added: “The College of Commissaires interpreted the regulations and, given what happened, decided to cancel the stage because they considered that sporting truth did not prevail in the end.”