February 22, 2026
There is just one more opportunity to shake up the GC before the race reaches its conclusion atop the Alto do Malhão. Fortunately for the viewers, we have enough on the parcours of today's stage to tease out attacks and aggressive racing. The first 90KM after leaving Faro is fairly gentle with nothing to break up the peloton. The finale begins as the riders enter a 43KM circuit to be completed one and half times. The lap begins with an hors d'oeuvres of the third category Soidos climb. It's just 2KM long but at 7%, it will build some fatigue in the legs. 14KM later is the main feature of the Alto do Malhão, a 2.9KM climb that rises at an average of 9%. Over the top, the road gradually descends with a few small hills to contend with on the way down. At the bottom with 32KM to go, there is an 800M rise at almost 11% before descending once more, into Salir, to start the undulating journey back to Soidos. The second time up Soidos comes with 14KM to go and could be a launch pad for someone who wants a head start before the hilltop finish on the Alto do Malhão.
Race Summary
As expected, the start was rapid and the bunch was still together through the first intermediate sprint in Olhão. Paul Magnier of Soudal Quickstep took the points and 3 bonus seconds but in third, race leader Juan Ayuso of Lidl-Trek snagged a single second which gave him a GC lead of 8 seconds. A star-studded break formed afterwards with Max Schachmann of Soudal Quickstep, Jan Tratnik of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe, Luca Van Boven of Lotto Intermarché, Julian Alaphilippe of Tudor Pro Cycling, and Tobias Bayer of Alpecin-Premier Tech.
When live coverage began with 44KM to go on the first ascent of the Alto do Malhão, only Schachmann and Alaphilippe remained at the front. They had 2 minutes still in hand but there was action behind. João Almeida of UAE-XRG was driving the pace on the front and had ripped apart the peloton. By the time they reached the top, only eight riders were still in the group with others scattered down the hill. Almeida eased off and the group slowed for a few moments which allowed dropped riders to get back. Florian Lipowitz of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe and Kévin Vauquelin of Ineos came from behind with a head of steam and flew passed the GC lead group like they were standing still. Ayuso had a teammate get back on for the descent and it wasn't long before the group swelled to over 30 riders with more reinforcements for Lidl-Trek.
When the two leaders reached a steeper part of the descent, Alaphilippe was railing the corners to preserve as much of their advantage as possible. Schachmann overcooked a left corner as it tightened up on him and came down, sliding into the barriers. Schachmann was still down when the peloton came through but the corner was signaled well and everyone else made it through safely. Lipowitz and Vauquelin caught Tratnik and Bayer with 29KM to go as they reached the easier section of road that runs back towards Soidos. Tratnik went to the front to pull to give Lipowitz a breath before the climbing resumed but they couldn't rest much because the peloton was just 20 seconds behind.
Tratnik was able to help extend the gap back to the peloton. Through Benafim with 21KM to go, they were 30 seconds ahead of the peloton and 45 seconds behind Alaphilippe who was riding really well alone at the front. Alaphilippe arrived at the base of Soidos with 16KM to go through really narrow cobbled streets. Vauquelin led the first chase group just behind and caught Alaphilippe about 400M later. Lipowitz and Vauquelin rode hard on the Soidos which dropped Alaphilippe halfway up. By the top, the pair had built a 40 second lead on the peloton as Lidl-Trek were setting a more controlled pace that could be sustained to the base of the Alto do Malhão.
UAE-XRG gave a hand to Lidl-Trek with the chase and with 4KM to go, the gap to Lipowitz and Vauquelin was just a handful of seconds. The catch was made right at the bottom of the Alto do Malhão. The bunch crossed a small bridge, made a tight right turn, and immediately started climbing. Felix Großschartner of UAE-XRG pulled on the lower slopes but he gave way to Almeida who went to the front with 2KM to go in an attempt to ride everyone off the wheel.
The tactic worked well as riders dropped one by one and, with 1,400M to go, only seven riders were still with him. Almeida looked around for the first time with 1KM to go. Matthew Riccitello of Decathlon CMA CGM didn't hesitate and went straight to the front to start pulling for Paul Seixas. At this point, the group was down to Riccitello, Seixas, Almeida, Oscar Onley of Ineos, Juan Ayuso of Lidl-Trek, and Thomas Gloag of Pinarello Q36.5. Seixas made a seated acceleration with 500M to go but it was too far and the group slowed. Onley was bouncing nervously out of the saddle until 200M to go when opened his sprint. Onley hugged the inside barrier of the sweeping left turn with Ayuso glued to his wheel and Seixas locked on in third position. When the road straightened in the final 50M, Ayuso came up to Onley, drew level, and the pair threw their bikes at the line. Neither celebrated but it looked on the first take that Ayuso made his run just in time to take the win. First impressions were proven correct and Ayuso was awarded the victory. Onley settled for second place with Seixas in third on the same time.
Juan Ayuso extended his GC lead with the bonus seconds to finish the five days of racing 14 seconds ahead of Paul Seixas and 59 seconds up on his former teammate, João Almeida. The win will likely give Ayuso a lot of confidence and will be a formidable force going into his upcoming races.