Evenepoel drops Almeida and co with late attack to win Tour of Valencia queen stage

The Tour of Valencia had already delivered plenty of drama in the first three stages. Stage 2’s time trial was ultimately ridden without time gaps and without time trial bikes due to strong wind gusts, and Friday served up a thrilling finale where AJ August (INEOS Grenadiers) emerged on top.

Unfortunately, there was also a heavy crash, with Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar) one of the biggest victims. The Belgian did finish Friday’s stage, but went straight into an ambulance afterwards for checks on his arm and wrist. Those tests showed no fractures, but Uijtdebroeks still did not start on Saturday.

The stage started in La Nucía, an area where several teams base their winter training camps. In the first hour of racing, the peloton also tackled the Coll de Rates on the Costa Blanca — a climb many riders know by heart. It was there that the breakaway formed, featuring Lewis Askey (NSN), Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek), Steff Cras (Soudal Quick-Step), Carlos Garcia Pierna (Burgos-BH), Tommaso Nencini (Solution Tech), Jakob Otruba (Caja Rural), Fernando Tercero (Caja Rural) and Danny van der Tuuk.

After 50 kilometres came the Alto del Miserat (5.4 km at 9.7% on average), one of the area’s regular training climbs — and also a road Evenepoel knows well from his rides around Calpe. It was no surprise, then, that Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe took control and started to set the pace.

The finale truly kicked off around 30 kilometres from the finish on the Alto de la Fustera (1.8 km at 8.3%). The remaining escapees began that climb with a 90-second advantage. Cras tried to put his break companions under pressure, while UAE Team Emirates–XRG and Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe ramped things up in the peloton. Game on.

Before the stage, many expected Evenepoel to use the Cumbre del Sol (2.3 km at 9.3% — the climb where Tom Dumoulin won a memorable Vuelta stage in 2015) as his launchpad from Moraira. His teammates made sure he was perfectly positioned, even delivering a proper uphill lead-out for their leader. Giulio Pellizzari provided the final lift before the move from Evenepoel.

When the Belgian accelerated, Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) initially managed to latch on. But after a few hundred metres, the Italian cracked, and Evenepoel was suddenly alone — free to begin his solo ride to the finish.

Behind him, Tiberi drifted back into a group containing Brandon McNulty, João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates–XRG), Magnus Sheffield (INEOS Grenadiers) and Pellizzari. McNulty then sacrificed himself for Almeida, who had to battle it out to the line with the two Italians.