Vingegaard wins Volta ao Algarve after strong time trial, Van Aert second and Christen out of top 3 overall

The Tour of the Algarve ended on Sunday with an all-deciding time trial. It promised an exciting day in Portugal, where every second was important in the GC. Jan Christen had a lead of only four seconds on his teammate João Almeida, while Laurens de Plus was seven seconds behind in third place. Riders like Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič were still in the race, with around twenty-second gaps.

The time trial scheduled between Salir and Malhão was 19.6 kilometers long and had a challenging end with the Alto de Malhao (2.6 km at 9.2%). The finish line was drawn on top of the small climb, so it seemed quite challenging for the real time trialists.

Wout van Aert, Filippo Ganna, and Geraint Thomas were the first riders to register a respectable time. Yet Thomas crossed the finish line in a provisional 16th place, only slightly faster than sprinter Jordi Meeus, indicating he is not yet in top form. Just before the other two top riders arrived, Jakob Söderqvist had set the best time.

It soon became clear how good the young Swede from Lidl-Trek's time was. Ganna was struggling badly. Even before the climb, he was already facing a gap of two seconds. At the finish, it had increased to thirteen seconds. Van Aert, on the other hand, outpaced all his opponents. The Belgian took the hot seat with a comfortable time of 28'36"70. He had raced across the course at an average of 41 km/h. The Visma l Lease a Bike rider was 27 seconds faster than Söderqvist. It seemed like a result that would stand for a long time.

Indeed, van Aert's result stayed for a while, although there were signs that other riders had a chance. Ben Tulett reduced his gap to Van Aert on the climb by half a minute. The Brit was still 45 seconds slower, but several climbers who are strong in time trials could challenge the time.

Jan Christen was the last rider to leave the starting platform, and the exciting battle for the GC could begin. Antonio Tiberi had meanwhile moved up to the provisional podium. The Italian also made up half a minute on the climb and was only three seconds short of beating Van Aert's time.

Roglic, meanwhile, did not seem to be having a good day; after eight kilometers, he was already thirty seconds behind. Vingegaard, however, was doing quite well and was only five seconds behind. The first evaluation could be made after everyone had passed the first intermediate point. The Danish Tour winner did exceptionally well and moved to second place in the GC, but more might be possible.

Roglič eventually finished sixth, 38 seconds behind Van Aert. Although he climbed hard, the Slovenian did not manage a top time. All eyes were on the next rider, Jonas Vingegaard, who was performing well and had to keep up his pace on the climb. The two-time Tour de France winner did just that, sending his teammate off the hot seat by crossing the finish line eleven seconds faster. It also seemed to be a solid attempt to take the double.

All eyes were on the current top three in the GC. De Plus was the first to cross the line, 36 seconds behind Vingegaard. Next was Almedia. The Portuguese rider, as always, had a strong finish and came in sixth, thus keeping his podium spot. Christen was the last to cross the finish line, but he struggled and finished 27th.

Thus, Vingegaard won both the stage and the GC. Almeida and De Plus joined him on the podium while Van Aert and Tiberi completed the stage podium.