Christen and Almeida go 1-2 at Algarve, Sivakov takes race lead at Andalucía

It was an afternoon to remember for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, who took the race lead in both the Vuelta a Andalucía and the Volta ao Algarve, whilst Tadej Pogačar maintained the race lead at the UAE Tour. In the Algarve, Jan Christen won stage 2 with teammate João Almeida in second, as the Emirati squad proved dominant on the Alto da Foia summit finish.

Taking his second victory of the season, Christen made a bold attack on the first summit finish of the race to win the stage, whilst Almeida proved the strongest of the favourites’ group behind to unite with his teammate and pose up for a picture-perfect moment for UAE Team Emirates-XRG at the finish.

With the stage win, Christen now goes into the yellow leader’s jersey at the Volta ao Algarve, with Almeida slotting into second, as teammate Antonio Morgado performed admirably to take fifth place across the line. The recent Figueira Champions Classic winner now sits fifth overall.

Given that the final stage is set to be a mountain time trial, stage 2 was going to prove the only true summit finish of this year’s Volta ao Algarve, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG more than stepped up to the mark.

Christen was rewarded for his bravery on stage 2, with the young Swiss rider going on the front foot throughout the final 10km of racing. After Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Primoź Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) had traded blows earlier in the climb – with Almeida always on the wheel – Christen made a swift attack off the front of the peloton with a little over 8km to ride.

Laurens De Plus (Ineos Grenadiers), Luca Vergallito (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) followed suit and before long, the quartet were up the road with a healthy advantage. Never content with allowing the move to wither, Christen pressed the pace and at first, only De Plus could follow.

Little by little, the summit approached and it soon became clear that the day’s winner would emerge from the front group. Inside the final few kilometres, Vingegaard made a push from the group behind and was smartly followed by Almeida, before Christen went alone under the flamme rouge.

Gritting his teeth as the finish line came into view, Christen began to sense a momentous win was on the horizon, and from behind, Almeida made his definitive move. With Christen now sure to be the stage winner, the Portuguese bridged across to his teammate and with the day’s spoils reserved for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Almeida bowed to Christen for a job well done and the pair came across the line together.

In second on both the stage and GC, Almeida now sits four seconds from the race lead of Christen, with UAE Team Emirates-XRG controlling the top of the standings.

Christen: “I am super happy, it is an amazing stage win. I think all in all, the first part was quite easy and with the final climb it was all in. Now I am a bit speechless, to win such a climbing stage and with such a strong climbing field at the start. I am super thankful for the team, for João and Antonio, who were in the back protecting me.

“It is amazing to already have a second win of the season. Today is for sure one of my most special victories.”

Volta ao Algarve stage 2 results

1. Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 4:28:44

2. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t

3. Laurens De Plus (Ineos Grenadiers) +7″

5. António Morgado (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +10″

Volta ao Algarve general classification after stage 2

1. Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 4:28:44

2. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +4″

3. Laurens De Plus (Ineos Grenadiers) +13″

5. António Morgado (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +20″

Meanwhile, across the border in Spain, UAE Team Emirates-XRG seized control of the Vuelta a Andalucía on stage 2 through Pavel Sivakov. The Frenchman finished third place on the uphill finish in Torredelcampo, and in doing so, moved into the yellow leader’s jersey.

With eighth place on the day reserved for Sivakov’s teammate, Tim Wellens, UAE Team Emirates-XRG enjoyed another successful afternoon. The Belgian raced in the green sprinter’s jersey and combined with Marc Soler in the finale. The pair now sit fifth and sixth on general classification, respectively.

It was Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe’s Maxim Van Gils who was knocked off the top of the GC standings, with the stage 1 winner unable to follow the attack of Sivakov on the final categorised climb of the day.

Starting the day with a small deficit to the yellow jersey, UAE Team Emirates-XRG took control of proceedings on the Alto de Los Villares. With over 55km still to ride, Sivakov decided to take his leave from the peloton and move towards the front of the race.

Sivakov’s teammate Igor Arrieta had spent most of the stage in the breakaway of the day, and on the Alto de Los Villares, which served as the final categorised climb, the Spaniard showed himself as the strongest of those out front. With Arrieta continuing his own pace on the climb, Sivakov stamped on the pedals to put Van Gils into difficulty.

Once he had broken free of the peloton’s shackles, Sivakov was tracked by Brandon Rivera (Ineos Grenadiers) and Clément Berthet (Decathon AG2R La Mondiale), both of whom would prove the Frenchman’s companions for the rest of the stage. Their acceleration would continue as the summit of the climb approached and the favourites group behind dwindled in number, with Van Gils desperate to make up ground.

Noting Sivakov’s deficit of just seven seconds in the GC, the young Belgian dug deep but was passed by Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), Enric Mas (Movistar) and Johannes Staune-Mittet (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) as they came over the summit, some 11 seconds down on Sivakov’s leading trio.

It was on the descent that Van Gils’ hopes of holding onto the race lead were extinguished, as Pidcock and Mas bridged across to the leading trio. As the front group swelled to five, the race situation stabilised for the final 40km of racing. It was only an uphill kick to the line that would decide the race winner.

Aiming to put his good legs to use, Sivakov was the first to attack the stage victory, but his move was closed and over the line, the Frenchman was strong enough for third behind stage winner Pidcock. Given the deficit to Van Gils behind, Sivakov’s aggression was rewarded with the leader’s jersey, which he now controls with a 23-second advantage over Berthet.

Sivakov: “It was super good. Already yesterday I was quite surprised with my legs. I tried to go a bit too far maybe, with 60km to go I was solo for a while and still managed to finish almost with the first guys. Today we did a super good job with the team.

“At the end, I maybe went a bit early. It was a long last 200m on the flat but I have the leader’s jersey and now I think we have a really good team to try and defend it.

“We have to be careful, we need to race to the finish on Sunday and not relax beforehand. It is going to be tough but the hardest stages are done. We have to be careful every day.

“It is a good opportunity for me. We have a really strong team and always, when you have an opportunity like this, it is good to take it. Now it is up to me to finish the job and I will do my best.”

Vuelta a Andalucía stage 2 results

1. Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) 3:22:04

2. Brandon Rivera (Ineos Grenadiers) s.t

3. Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t

4. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +30″

8. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +1’10”

Vuelta a Andalucía general classification after stage 2

1. Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 7:41:34

2. Clément Berthet (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +23″

3. Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) +32″

5. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +1’03”

6. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +1’38”

Across the world in the United Arab Emirates, Tadej Pogačar rode strongly to defend his race lead after stage 4.

The Slovenian put his nose in the wind with over 130km still to go, making the most of a lull in the proceedings after the intermediate sprint, but rival teams soon jumped on this moment of panic.

Instead, the race came down to a bunch sprint in Umm al Quwain, with UAE Team Emirates-XRG staying well positioned throughout a finale hit by crosswinds.

Pogačar now takes his 18-second lead over Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) into stage 5 on Friday.

UAE Tour general classification after stage 4

1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 12:23:42

2. Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) +18″

3. Pablo Castrillo (Movistar) +23″

6. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +33″