The fire trucks that the day before been spraying water to keep the riders cool at Volta a Portugal were occupied with more pressing matters on the 185.2 km stage 4, with a fire on the route leading to the neutralisation of a section and deviation around an ascent.
The stage between Bragança and Mondim de Basto, which finished on a category 1 mountain pass, was neutralised at 51km to go, pausing at the Vila Real intermediate sprint point and skipping the Serra do Alvão climb to avoid the fire. Blazes had been burning in the area for some days, with the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority also extending its alert status across mainland Portugal to August 13 "in view of the weather forecasts for the coming days, which point to a significant increase in the risk of rural fires".
