Volta ao Algarve: Juan Ayuso wins final stage summit finish to take overall title

Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) secured the stage 5 win and the overall victory at the Volta ao Algarve on Sunday.

The Spaniard, wearing the yellow leader's jersey, was part of a small selection that formed on the final ascent of the decisive Alto do Malhão, before he sprinted to the day's victory.

Oscar Onley (Ineos Grenadiers) led the race into the final few hundred metres and launched his sprint first; however, Ayuso was quick to react and punched around the British rider right at the line.

Onley was forced to settle for second while Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) took third, while João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was fourth on the day.

Ayuso, who led the race since stage 2 that finished at the summit in Fóia, won the overall title by 14 seconds ahead of Seixas and 59 seconds ahead of Almeida.

"From the start to the end, it was a very stressful and tense day, right from the beginning in the [intermediate] sprint. My job was to cover Paul [Magnier] if he wanted to go for the sprint, and then I had to respond, and he tried to take some seconds, and I had to respond," Ayuso said after the stage.

"I'm super proud of how the team raced all day. They put us under pressure from the start. There were very strong teams, Ineos and Red Bull, trying to make their moves, and trying to always have guys out front to put us under pressure. Thanks to my teammates today, we controlled it perfectly."

"In the final, it was a very tense race, nervous; they tried to isolate me on the first time up Malhão, but my team responded perfectly, led me into the final in the perfect position to go for the win. Normally, I would be really proud of my performance, but today they deserve it; they did an amazing job and this win is definitely for them."

Runner-up Onley was pleased with second place, meanwhile.

"I knew the finish straight was narrow, and it can be quite hard to pass, so I just tried to open it up early, and I could feel Ayuso on my shoulder, on my hip, and he was stronger," he said.

"Overall, I'm happy with the day, from the team. We were really active, and with Kevin, it was a good move. It's exactly why I wanted to join this team and play like this in these kinds of races. Maybe we don't have the strongest guy outright, but together with our strengths, we can make things happen."

How it unfolded

The race for the overall victory hung in the balance as the peloton tackled 153.1km from Faro to the summit of Alto do Malhão for the final day of racing at the Volta ao Algarve.

The big question at the start of the race was whether Ayuso could hold on to his overall lead, or if Seixas would gain the 14 seconds he needed to eclipse the Spaniard, or if Almeida, 44 seconds back, could pull off a surprise.

Ayuso was off to a good start as he extended his lead by one second after finishing third at an early intermediate sprint in Olhão.

An early breakaway formed that included Maximilian Schachmann (Soudal-QuickStep), who was the highest placed on GC at 1:45 behind Ayuso, Jan Tratnik (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Tobias Bayer (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Luca Van Boven (Lotto Intermarché) and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling), taking the next set of bonus seconds in Loulé.

Lidl-Trek set the pace on the front of the peloton, holding the breakaway at a manageable minute.

The gap held steady over the category 3 Soidos, but the breakaway split apart on the first time over the Alto do Malhão, a 2.6km climb that averaged nearly 10%.

Schachmann and Alaphilippe surged over the top and gained 20 seconds on Tratnik as Bayer was distanced even further back. Some activity in the peloton behind led to Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) and Kévin Vauquelin (Ineos Grenadiers) in a two-person chase at about 1:20 back.

Alaphilippe ended up alone off the front when Schachmann overcooked a left-hand corner on the descent with 35km remaining. The German rider appeared to be in distress as he received medical assistance, and his team has not released the extent of his injuries. He did finish the race.

A chase group joined Alaphilippe with 16km to go, but a new lead group emerged, with Lipowitz and Vauquelin continuing onward as the race headed toward the final climb of the Alto do Malhão.

Lidl-Trek and UAE Team Emirates-XRG led the peloton onto the final slopes of the race, catching the two remaining breakaway riders, and resetting the race for the overall victory.

Eleven riders emerged on the ascent, with Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM) kicking off a series of attacks. Seixas was the next to accelerate, attempting to put Ayuso under pressure, and Almeida appeared to struggle to hang onto the pace.

Only five riders remained inside the final few hundred metres: Ayuso, Seixas, Almeida and Onley, along with Thomas Gloag (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling). Onley launched his sprint first, but he was followed by Ayuso, who then outkicked him at the line as the Spaniard won the final stage and the overall classification.

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