“Aero Ayuso” and Seixas impress, but logic prevails in Algarve time trial

After stage 2, Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) had taken the race lead, despite losing the sprint for the stage win on Fóia to Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM). That meant Seixas started the time trial on the same time as Ayuso in the overall standings.

The top five after stage 2 was completed by João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates–XRG) at 7 seconds, Oscar Onley (INEOS) at 14 seconds, and Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon) at 16 seconds. Those were the margins heading into the race against the clock.

For the stage win, the focus was on the powerful time trial specialists. Even in 2026 there are no guarantees, but the expected favourites delivered. Söderqvist set the first serious reference time.

Ganna then went seven seconds faster than the Swede and settled in for a long wait in the hot seat. Other big names lost significant time: Stefan Küng (Tudor) was 27 seconds down, while Kévin Vauquelin (INEOS) conceded 23 seconds.

Thymen Arensman (INEOS) also produced a strong ride, placing himself provisionally behind Ganna — and ahead of Vauquelin — before the top GC riders rolled off the ramp. The question was simple: how much could the climbers and all-rounders limit their losses on this kind of course?

The final showdown came with Seixas and Ayuso, the last two riders to start. At the first intermediate check — just over halfway — both were already in the top three on eye-catching speeds. Ayuso was one second faster than Ganna at that point, while Seixas was six seconds slower.

Ayuso, who has previously surprised Ganna in a flat Tirreno-Adriatico time trial, drew plenty of attention again — followers jokingly dubbing him “Aero Ayuso” for his position on the Trek time trial bike at his new team. He stayed right on terms deep into the run-in.

Ganna saw Almeida endure a difficult day, finishing 42 seconds slower than the Italian’s winning time. Seixas faded slightly in the second half but still posted an excellent time, taking third on the stage at 12 seconds down. In the end, Ayuso strengthened his overall position, but came up five seconds short of taking the stage win from Ganna.

Ganna saw that Almeida, with a time that was 42 seconds slower, was not having a top day. Seixas also conceded a bit more in part two, but did record the third fastest time, 12 seconds behind Ganna. The wait was now on Ayuso, who consolidated his leader's jersey a bit, but was 5 seconds short of the day's win over Ganna.